Effects of installing a marked crosswalk on road crossing behaviour and perceptions of the environment.

Havard, Catriona; Willis, Alexandra

Abstract

A two-pronged study was conducted to investigate (a) pedestrians’ road-crossing behaviour and (b) perceptions of the walking environment, both before and after the installation of a marked crosswalk (zebra crossing) at a single case-study location in Edinburgh, UK. The observational and questionnaire surveys indicated that: (a) pedestrians were significantly more likely to use the location to cross the road, waited significantly less time to cross, and walked significantly more slowly after the zebra had been installed compared
with before; and (b) people felt safer, less vulnerable to traffic and more confident when crossing the road after the zebra had been installed. The results indicate that installing a marked crosswalk such as a zebra crossing can significantly enhance the road-crossing experience of pedestrians and therefore improve the walking journey more broadly.

Citation

Havard, C., & Willis, A. (2012). Effects of installing a marked crosswalk on road crossing behaviour and perceptions of the environment. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 15, 249-260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2011.12.007

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2012-05
• Deposit Date: Jun 20, 2012
• Print ISSN: 1369-8478
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Pages: 249-260
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2011.12.007
• Keywords: road crossing; pedestrian; environment; planning; transport; observation; real-world
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/5474
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2011.12.007