The effects of selected factors on pedestrian crossings in urban areas

Pedestrian crossings are designed to help pedestrians cross a road. There are at-grade pedestrian crossings with or without traffic lights and grade separated crossings such as subways and footbridges. Pedestrian crossings may be located next to a junction or on road sections between junctions. Where at-grade crossings are involved, pedestrians and motorists interact, which may lead to dangerous situations and road traffic conflicts. These mutual interactions between infrastructure users determine how pedestrian crossings operate. They also affect the operation of junctions, if located next to them. The article presents the most important factors that affect the operation of pedestrian crossings. Because of the multiplicity of factors, only one of the parameters of traffic factors is described in detail

The application of microscopic models in the study of pedestrian traffic

Cities (especially in Central and Eastern Europe) focus on improving the road network, which aims to improve the efficiency of motor traffic and minimize congestion. Most of existing tools for analysing the effectiveness of urban transport networks do not assume to analyse the impact of walking and cycling on efficiency of transport systems. It is therefore necessary to develop solutions that on the one hand will reduce congestion, and on the other hand, improve the safety and quality of travel of vulnerable road users. One of the tasks to be developed in order to improve pedestrian conditions is to determine the relationship between pedestrian and vehicle traffic. An attempt has been made to establish the relationship between pedestrians and vehicle traffic in order to describe traffic conditions and pedestrian safety at pedestrian crossings. The analyses were based on simulations carried out using the PTV Vissim/Viswalk software and with the use of surrogate safety measures

Traffic users delays variability at pedestrian crossings

Most cities (especially in Central and Eastern Europe) focus on improving the road network, which aims to improve the efficiency of motor vehicle traffic and minimize congestion. Most existing tools for analysing the effectiveness of urban transport networks do not correctly analyse the impact of walking and cycling on network performance. Instead, they focus exclusively on the results of motor vehicle transport and exclude pedestrians and cyclists, or incorporate them as factors that interfere with the traffic of motor vehicles. It is therefore necessary to introduce solutions that will, on the one hand, reduce congestion and, on the other, improve the safety and travel quality of vulnerable road users. One of the tasks that need to be done to improve pedestrian conditions is to determine the relationship between pedestrian and vehicle traffic. An example of the application of microscopic models in the study of delays of traffic participants (road users) is presented in this paper. These analyses do not exhaust the test issues but are only a prelude to further research that will be run, among others, within the FLOW Project framework (HORIZON 2020)

Draft guidelines for designing line infrastructure for pedestrians

Ministerstwo Infrastruktury podjęło prace dotyczące zmiany warunków technicznych, jakim powinny odpowiadać drogi, i standardów projektowania dróg. W ramach zbioru standardów opracowano także nowe „Wytyczne do projektowania infrastruktury dla pieszych”. Drugą część tego projektu stanowią „Wytyczne projektowania infrastruktury liniowej dla pieszych”. W artykule przedstawiono identyfikację problemów projektowania infrastruktury dla pieszych w Polsce oraz przegląd sposobów rozwiazywania tych problemów w innych krajach. Przedstawiono również zasady projektowania infrastruktury liniowej dla pieszych.The Ministry of Infrastructure has launched work on changing the technical conditions to be met by roads and road design standards. As part of the set of standards, new “Guidelines for the design of pedestrian infrastructure” have been also developed. The second part of this project is “Guidelines for designing pedestrian line infrastructure”. The article presents the identification of problems in designing pedestrian infrastructure in Poland and an overview of the measures to solve these problems in other countries. The principles of designing a pedestrian line infrastructure are also discussed in the article

Pedestrian safety in road traffic – studies, recommendations and proposed improvements

Dimensional variability arises in AWJ system from uncontrolled factors intervention or due to the variability of input signals considered fixed or due to interactions of the input signals with unexpected effects, leading to deterioration of unpredictable outcome. Number of noise factors, negatively influence the results registered, dispersion of the result values is directly proportional to the number and their effect. Stochastic influence and his unpredictable nature determine a thorough research of the hydroabrasive process. The research refers to the study of dimensional variability for different configurations of hydroabrasive liquid pressure, abrasive type and traverse velocity. This is achieved by performing the experiments statistically processed by combining of control parameters, which allow favorable conclusions on reducing variability results and on optimizing the entire process of hydroabrasive machining

Growing role of walking and cycling and the associated risks

Increasing the role of active mobility, including walking and cycling, is one of the tools for developing sustainable urban transport systems as recommended by the EU. The article describes the trends in pedestrian and bicycle traffic in Poland and its share in urban modal split. It identifies and describes the main sources of risks to pedestrian and cycle safety. Recommendations are proposed on how to ensure that pedestrians and cyclists can use traffic safely

Draft guidelines for planning pedestrian routes

W ramach prowadzonych przez resort infrastruktury prac zmierzających do zmiany warunków technicznych, jakie powinny spełniać drogi, oraz standardów ich projektowania powstał m.in. zbiór wytycznych poświęcony projektowaniu infrastruktury dla pieszych. W artykule przedstawiono cele, założenia oraz najistotniejsze elementy „Wytycznych planowania tras dla pieszych” stanowiących pierwszą część zbioru. Prezentowane wytyczne są odpowiedzią na zachodzące zmiany w światowych trendach planowania i projektowania infrastruktury dla pieszych, przykłady zagranicznych dobrych praktyk oraz braku kompleksowych rozwiązań krajowych. W artykule przedstawiono przegląd doświadczeń wybranych krajów dotyczących planowania tras dla pieszych, charakterystykę użytkowników oraz urządzeń dla pieszych. Szczegółowo opisano procedurę planowania tras dla pieszych zawierającą: analizę i ocenę stanu istniejącego i planowanego, określenie popytu dla pieszych, opracowanie planu tras dla pieszych. Nowymi elementami wprowadzanymi przez prezentowane wytyczne do polskiej praktyki planistycznej i projektowej są: uporządkowanie definicji, propozycja zakresu niezbędnych danych w procesie planistycznym oraz zasady identyfikowania problemów i barier dla pieszych, zasady planowania kompleksowej sieci tras dla pieszych, wprowadzenie ich klasyfikacji funkcjonalnej i technicznej oraz ustalenie zakresu wymagań projektowych dla kluczowych tras dla pieszych.As part of the legislative work carried out by the Ministry of Infrastructure, aimed at changing the technical conditions to be met by roads and their design standards, a set of guidelines for pedestrian infrastructure design has been created. The article presents the goals, assumptions and the most important elements of the “Guidelines for planning pedestrian routes” which constitute the first part of the collection. The presented guidelines are a response to the changes taking place in global trends in planning and designing pedestrian infrastructure, examples of foreign good practices and the lack of comprehensive national solutions. The article presents an overview of the experiences of selected countries regarding the planning of pedestrian routes, the characteristics of users and devices for pedestrians. The pedestrian route planning procedure is described in detail, including: analysis and assessment of the existing and planned condition, determination of pedestrian demand, development of a pedestrian route plan. New elements introduced by the presented guidelines into Polish planning and design practice include: sorting out the definition, proposing the scope of necessary data and rules for identifying problems and barriers for pedestrians, rules for establishing a comprehensive network of pedestrian routes, application of functional and technical classification of pedestrian routes, determination of the scope of requirements design for key pedestrian routes

Methodology of research on the impact of ITS services on the safety and efficiency of road traffic using transport models

The current assessment of the impact of Intelligent Transport System (ITS) services on the level of traffic safety and efficiency is based mainly on expert assessments, statistical surveys or several traffic safety models requiring development. There is no structured, uniform assessment method that would give the opportunity to compare the impact of ITS services and their different configurations. The paper presents the methodology for researching the effectiveness of ITS services implementation using transport models and key indicators allowing such an assessment. An approach was used in which the impact of ITS services is analysed using macro, meso and microscopic models. Macro and mesoscopic models allow estimation of the impact of ITS services on the efficiency of transport network operation and constitute the basis of analyses at the microscopic level, which takes into account the behaviour of drivers through the use of car following and lane change models. As part of the analyses, road network test models (for motorways and expressways along with an alternative route) were developed. Test models include road class, network topology, and different traffic intensity. The models were calibrated using real data (data from the traffic measurement station, data measured in the field, traffic distribution data from the VIATOLL charging system) and data from the vehicle simulator

Methodology of research on the impact of ITS services on the safety and efficiency of road traffic using transport models

The current assessment of the impact of Intelligent Transport System (ITS) services on the level of traffic safety and efficiency is based mainly on expert assessments, statistical surveys or several traffic safety models requiring development. There is no structured, uniform assessment method that would give the opportunity to compare the impact of ITS services and their different configurations. The paper presents the methodology for researching the effectiveness of ITS services implementation using transport models and key indicators allowing such an assessment. An approach was used in which the impact of ITS services is analysed using macro, meso and microscopic models. Macro and mesoscopic models allow estimation of the impact of ITS services on the efficiency of transport network operation and constitute the basis of analyses at the microscopic level, which takes into account the behaviour of drivers through the use of car following and lane change models. As part of the analyses, road network test models (for motorways and expressways along with an alternative route) were developed. Test models include road class, network topology, and different traffic intensity. The models were calibrated using real data (data from the traffic measurement station, data measured in the field, traffic distribution data from the VIATOLL charging system) and data from the vehicle simulator