Modeling the Dynamic Exclusive Pedestrian Phase Based on Transportation Equity and Cost Analysis

Area of Science:

• Traffic Engineering
• Transportation Science
• Operations Research

Background:

• Exclusive pedestrian phases (EPP) enhance intersection safety by minimizing vehicle-pedestrian conflicts.
• Current EPP optimization often prioritizes traffic efficiency and safety, potentially leading to transportation inequities.
• A need exists for criteria that balance efficiency, safety, and fairness in EPP implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a multiobjective optimization framework for determining EPP setting criteria.
• To incorporate transportation equity and cost considerations, including environmental factors.
• To provide operational guidelines for selecting appropriate pedestrian phase patterns.

Main Methods:

• Developed a multiobjective optimization framework balancing transportation equity and cost.
• Proposed a transportation equity index to quantify pedestrian-vehicle equity differences.
• Modeled cost using monetary values for safety and efficiency, incorporating pedestrian-vehicle interaction.
• Validated the framework using video data from wet and dry conditions.
• Compared MOEA and NSGA-II algorithms for generating nondominated solutions.

Main Results:

• A decrease in transportation equity correlates with an increase in overall cost.
• Pareto front approximations demonstrate diverse signal timing strategies balancing equity and cost.
• Sensitivity analysis identified optimal conditions for EPP versus traditional two-way control (TWC).
• EPP is more effective in high-pedestrian, low-yielding-rate scenarios, particularly in wet conditions.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework effectively balances transportation equity and cost for EPP optimization.
• EPP offers advantages over TWC in specific traffic and environmental conditions.
• Results provide practical guidance for traffic engineers and urban planners in selecting intersection control strategies.