A New Evaluation Method Combining Efficiency and Safety: Multimodal Comprehensive Level of Service of Signalized Intersections

Signalized intersections are provided in traffic networks to improve the safety and efficiency of vehicular and pedestrian movements. However, the trade-off between these two items is always a big issue. Most existing methods evaluate the operation of intersections from the view of safety or efficiency separately, and many of them evaluate the level of service of each transport mode individually, often neglecting bicycles and pedestrians. An objective evaluation methodology is needed to comprehensively evaluate both the efficiency and safety of all road users simultaneously. Thus, a new evaluation method is proposed by this paper. Based on the definition of multimodal level of service (MLOS) (delay related) and multimodal safety level of service (MSLOS) (conflict related), a comprehensive performance index, the multimodal comprehensive level of service (MCLOS), is established. With the VISSIM-SSAM simulation platform, a case study of a typical intersection underlines the strengths of the assessment method.