Influence of Pedestrian Crosswalk Guidance Strategy on Traffic Efficiency and Exhaust Emissions

Giving way to pedestrians is a courtesy appealed by society and all drivers are encouraged to follow. However, in practical situations, it is noticed that pedestrians crossing without certain rules or traffic signals would break down the traffic flow and then cause congestion, especially at intersections with high flow rate. This research is intended to investigate the effects of employing different pedestrian crosswalk guidance strategies on the traffic efficiency and exhaust emissions. A straight street scenario and an intersection scenario were simulated on VISSIM. Free-crossing strategy and signal strategy (including fixed cycle signal strategy and actuated signal strategy) were considered for comparison. The simulation results demonstrate that, in most cases the fixed cycle signal strategy is the most environment-friendly strategy. Secondly, the actuated signal strategy is environment-friendly only under the low pedestrian flow rate strategy conditions, and last, the free-crossing strategy affected the environment the most.