Traffic stream characteristics at mid-block locations with un-controlled pedestrian crossings: a case study of Bengaluru city

Abstract At un-signalized midblock locations, the haphazard and uncontrolled crossing of pedestrians affects the vehicular traffic on the road, its speed, flow and density. This also affects the level of service on the road. This article presents a case study to analyze the same. As a process of transportation system planning to identify the cause and to give short-term and long-term remedies for the safe movement of pedestrians without causing hindrance to the traffic stream a case study was carried out in a metropolitan city of Bengaluru (Karnataka). Six un-signalized midblock locations with different roadway conditions in the city were studied. Analysis through the ANOVA test shows that pedestrian crossing at such locations significantly affects the flow characteristics. The speeds of vehicles as well as traffic flow rate are found to reduce while vehicular density is found to increase. The effect on heavy vehicles (trucks, buses) is found to be insignificant. The stream speed reduction in the range of 7% to 44% is observed at the pedestrian crossing sections compared to the stream speeds at sections without pedestrian crossings of the same study locations. The capacity of the roadway under consideration decreases only if pedestrian crossings are significant (more than 7% of total traffic). The effect is, further, pronounced with an increase in the number of pedestrians crossing per unit time. Pedestrians crossing with baggage are found to have more effect as compared to those crossing the road stretches without baggage. The study highlights the importance of proper planning, design, construction and maintenance of pedestrian crossing facilities and barriers in the metropolitan city. A multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDM) called Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) was adopted to prioritise the planning and improvement of the study locations based on different criteria to minimize the effect of such pedestrian crossings.