Innovative Sensors and Devices Applied in Bicycle and Pedestrian Crossings at Freeway Interchanges

Pedestrian and bicycle (P/B) often have difficulty mixing with modern transportation modes because of big difference in travel behaviors, especially when they are crossing freeway interchanges. Fortunately, the various innovative detection and communication equipments newly developed in other fields provide great tools for traffic engineers to improve safety and efficiency for P/B crossings at freeway interchanges. In this paper, an inventory of novel devices and equipments are created based on the intensive literature review and the contacts with manufactures. The identified equipments include the Animated Display Eyes, the Microwave Detectors for Pedestrian, the Infrared Pedestrian Detectors, the Countdown Signals and so on. Problems for P/B crossings at a typical freeway interchange in Houston, Texas are identified, while the sample treatments using some of the intelligent devices and sensors are listed. The on-going works include the design of the implementation plan and conduct the cost analyses for selected test sites.