Pedestrian behavior at signalized crosswalks in rainy conditions : calibration and simulation

Abstract

Walking behavior at signalized crosswalks or passageways in rainy conditions can differ from that in other conditions. In this study, controlled experiments and field observations were conducted to calibrate the fundamental relationships in various rainy conditions with various bidirectional pedestrian flow ratios at signalized crosswalks in Hong Kong. A potential field cellular automaton simulation model was proposed to investigate walking behavior at crosswalks in rainy conditions, such as pedestrians’ lifting or lowering their umbrellas, which resulted in the umbrellas overlapping during the crossing process. The simulation results show that the proposed model can reproduce the phenomenon of quick-forming pedestrian streams for pedestrians with umbrellas at signalized crosswalks. Rainfall intensity and the pedestrian bidirectional flow ratio have various effects on average walking speeds. The proposed simulation model is particularly useful for the design of intersections with signalized crosswalks in Asian cities with relatively high annual rainfall intensity.