Improving traffic signal control for pedestrians

The paper is focussed on improving pedestrian crossing facilities through better control methods. Options for improving pedestrian crossing facilities through advances in traffic signal and vehicle and pedestrian detection equipment were discussed by Hounsell et al. (2001). A number of different traffic control strategies were considered in these studies. Some of these were aimed at improving existing facilities without the need for any new controller or detection equipment. These improvements were based on ensuring that signal control parameters are set to appropriate values for the prevailing traffic and pedestrian flow levels. The studies also considered new traffic signal control strategies that would require some modifications to the existing infrastructure. The new traffic control strategies discussed in the paper are: alternative vehicle gap detection; and pedestrian signal priority method.