pooled fund Projects
In development
Guidelines for Pedestrian Walking Speeds at Signalized Intersections
| Research Area | Pedestrian safety Traffic management |
| Responsible Council / Committee | Chief Engineers' Council Traffic Operations and Management Standing Committee |
| Related TAC publications | Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Canada (1999) |
| Expected Start Date | TBD |
| Expected Duration | |
| Total Funding Estimate | $105,000 |
| Project Funding Partners to Date | Halifax Regional Municipality; City of Hamilton; Alberta Transportation; City of Burlington; City of Toronto; Ministère des Transports du Québec; The City of Winnipeg; City of Ottawa; City of Vancouver; Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation |
| Staff Contact | Sarah Wells |
Abstract
Section B4.1.1 of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Canada (MUTCDC) refers practitioners to the Canadian Capacity Guide for Signalized Intersections and the ITE Traffic Engineering Handbook as reference documents for the operational requirements for traffic control devices. While both state that a pedestrian walking speed of 1.2 m/s (4.0 ft/s) is usually applied for traffic signal timing purposes, it is noted that the walking speed is based on the U.S. Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). In 2006, the U.S. MUTCD National Committee approved a proposal by its Pedestrian Task Force to change the pedestrian walking speed value in the new version of the U.S. MUTCD (publication expected late 2009) to other than 4.0 ft/sec (1.2 m/s). When published, this change in walking speed will directly affect traffic signal operations in Canada because of the reference in the ITE Handbook.
The major objective of this project is to introduce modifications to Section B4 of the MUTCDC with respect to pedestrian walking speed to eliminate reliance on other technical documents regarding pedestrian walking speed at signalized intersections and explicitly address Canadian research and references on this issue.
Tasks will include:
- Reviewing recent literature on pedestrian walking speed.
- Investigating pedestrian walking speed at signalized intersections, including the design, development and conduct of a data collection program in selected jurisdictions over a period that covers different seasons. The following aspects should be investigated:
- Pedestrian walking speed at signalized intersections as a function of age and gender in the Canadian environment
- Speed of pedestrians who use assistive devices for mobility
- The effect of pedestrian countdown signals on pedestrian walking speed
- The effect of seasonality in the walking speed of pedestrians, taking into account age, gender, and use of assistive devices for mobility
- Probability distributions for each of the above cases
- Developing a set of pedestrian walking speed guidelines.
- Recommending modifications to the MUTCDC to reflect the developed guidelines.
It is expected that the scope of the project will be limited to three major urban areas in the country: one each from eastern, central and western Canada, although some modifications to this plan may be possible depending on project participants. It is understood that a comprehensive research project on this issue has already been conducted in Winnipeg, which should be used as the foundation for this work.
Major deliverables of this project will be pedestrian walking speed guidelines and recommended revisions to the MUTCDC.