Propensities of red light running of pedestrians at the two-stage crossings with split pedestrian signal phases

Two-stage crossing with a median refuge island is commonly installed at the busy urban signalized intersections. To accommodate for the high traffic flow in different directions, split phasing is often applied for pedestrians' right of way of the two crossing stages. Previous studies mainly focus on the time delay, capacity and operation efficiency of two-stage crossings. It is rare that safety of two-stage crossings is investigated. Crossing behaviors and propensities of red light running at the two crossing stages (i.e. from the curbside to a central island, and then to another side of the road) are different from that of single stage crossing. Also, there could be interferences in the crossing behaviors and situational features between the two stages. This study aims to identify the personal characteristics, traffic attributes and environmental factors that affect the red light running propensities of pedestrians at the two-stage crossings, based on the video observation surveys at six urban signal intersections in Hong Kong. Random parameter logit regression approach is applied to measure the association between possible factors and propensities of red light running of pedestrians, with which the effect of unobserved heterogeneity is accounted. Results indicate that, other than the pedestrians' characteristics, pedestrian signal of the second stage, maximum waiting time and traffic flow significantly affect the propensity of red light running in the first stage. Also, there are significant interaction effects between pedestrians' characteristics and situational features on the propensity. On the other hand, pedestrians' waiting time before crossing the first stage significantly affects the propensity of red light running in the second stage. Findings are indicative to the design of pedestrian crossing, signal time plan and effective enforcement and education strategies that can deter against the red light running behaviors of pedestrians. Therefore, safety of two-stage signalized crossings can be enhanced.

Automated summary

Two-stage crossing with a median refuge island is commonly installed at busy urban signalized intersections to accommodate high traffic flow in different directions. This study investigates the safety aspects of these crossings and identifies factors affecting pedestrians' red light running tendencies, with a focus on pedestrians' characteristics, traffic attributes, and environmental factors. Results indicate that factors such as pedestrian signal, waiting time, traffic flow, and situational features significantly affect the red light running behavior at two-stage crossings, with potential implications for pedestrian crossing design and enforcement strategies.