Crosswalks design in view of comfort and safety of road users

Road traffic safety presents a common problem for urban environment. Insufficient safety measures in crosswalk areas lead to dangerous road situations. Consequently, relevant studies in ensuring pedestrian and driving safety as well as in improving urban road conditions are of importance. In this study, we set out to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing traffic management in crosswalk areas, to propose measures for its improvement, and to propose a plan and organization methods for conflict sites. Based on the conducted studies, solutions to this problem were proposed, i.e., installing additional road signs and road markings that warn of approaching crosswalks and require drivers to yield to pedestrians. In addition, crosswalk areas can be equipped with additional traffic lights controlling pedestrian and car traffic. One of the key aspects in ensuring pedestrian safety and minimizing the risk of accidents consists in determining optimal places to install crosswalks. In this regard, crosswalks of streets network in the city of Irkutsk, Russia were studied. To eliminate the problem of road congestion, we proposed a technical solution implying a reconstruction of a typical problematic road intersection.