Method to Determine Pedestrians Level of Service for Unsignalized Intersections

This paper aims at developing a Level of Service (LOS) model for unsignalized intersection crosswalks for pedestrians from the perspective of the pedestrian's perception of comfort and safety in unsignalized intersection environment. Firstly, the potential primary factors influencing pedestrian LOS at crosswalk were summarized from three respects: traffic conflicts, crossing facilities and delay. Secondly, data for the model were collected, including 459 participants' real-time sense of comfort and safety when they crossing the 11 selected intersection crosswalks and the design and operational characteristics of the selected intersections. The selected crosswalks were typical of those prevalent in the urban areas of China, and the participants of questionnaire survey covered a broad cross section of Chinese population of pedestrians. Based on the survey data, Pearson Correlation analysis and step-wise regression analysis were carried out to develop pedestrian LOS model for unsignalized intersections. A reliable, statistically calibrated pedestrian LOS model for unsignalized intersections was developed, suitable for application in the vast majority of Chinese urban areas. The study revealed that the factors significantly influencing pedestrian LOS at unsigmalized intersections included: left turning bicycles from side streets, through bicycles from side streets, right turning bicycles from side streets, left turning bicycles approaching from the street parallel to the crosswalk, through bicycles from the approach opposite to the crosswalk, right turning bicycles from the street parallel to the crosswalk, through bicycles from the approach opposite to the crosswalk and the presence of the median.