The convenience and safety for pedestrians worldwide has been a topic gaining much attention, when we consider road designs, crosswalks, traffic signals and transportation regulations and infrastructure. The research study conducted by Dr. Fady M. A. Hassouna, from An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine, focuses on the pedestrian walking speed change patterns with reference to different factors related to pedestrian characteristics in Palestine. The factors that were considered included the age of the pedestrians, gender and crossing patterns based on traffic control at different locations, i.e. signalized and unsignalized crosswalks.
The researchers gathered data of crossing speeds for 4,301 pedestrians in a populous city of Palestine, Nablus. The data was taken from six different locations, of which three had traffic signals and three did not have traffic signals. Statistical analysis including Z-Test and ANOVA Test was conducted and certain significant results were found from the study.
The research concluded that male pedestrians walked significantly faster than female pedestrians. Considering the age, younger people turned out to be faster crossing pedestrians than the older generation, which was much anticipated. But the walking speed on crosswalks for unsignaled crosswalks compared to signaled crosswalks did not appear to be significantly high.
Lastly the research found the average and the 15 degree percentile for the pedestrians crossing the crosswalks. These figures were essential to design the facilities and traffic signals for the pedestrians.
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This research article is open access and can be obtained from the following link: https://benthamopen.com/ABSTRACT/TOTJ-14-44
Journal
The Open Transportation Journal