Investigation of Distracted Pedestrians' Exposure Duration at Signalized and Unsignalized Pedestrian Crossings: A Bayesian Modeling Approach

During the last decades, distraction caused by mobile phones has created concerns about pedestrians' safety, especially while crossing a road. The aim of this paper is to investigate the factors that have an effect on the crossing duration of pedestrians, distracted by mobile phone use, at both signalized and unsignalized crossings. Pedestrians with mobile phones were observed during crossing the aforementioned types of crossings in Thessaloniki, Greece, while their crossing duration was further examined via the development of Bayesian regression models, one for unsignalized and one for signalized crossings. For the research purposes, 554 pedestrians were observed at unsignalized crossings and 409 at signalized ones. The most commonly observed type of distraction was talking on the mobile phone, while texting was also found to be very common. The variables, found to be associated with crossing duration, were significantly different between unsignalized and signalized crossings. Crossing duration at unsignalized crossings seemed to be affected by the experience of a potential conflict with a motorized vehicle and the presence of additional distractors, such as the carrying of an object and the presence of company. At signalized crossings, duration tended to be influenced by the age of the pedestrian and the position before crossing. Current research contributes in understanding and modeling distracted pedestrians' behavior when crossing streets

Pedestrian level of service assessment in an area close to an under-construction metro line in Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract Pedestrian mobility is one of the most sustainable transport alternatives as it offers significant environmental, social and economic benefits. In fact, the non-motorization contributes to the reduction of emissions and at the same time, walking is able to revive purchases and also sociality and communication between people. The present paper focuses on the assessment of a section of a pedestrian area located in the center of the Municipality of Kalamaria, which is one of the biggest Municipalities in the Thessaloniki Metropolitan area, Northern Greece. The pedestrian area which was examined includes the oldest and most important pedestrian street in the Municipality, as it is located in the central business district (CBD) and it serves a large number of pedestrian flows on a daily basis. Also, the construction of a metro station in the area is expected to further increase the pedestrian flows. The analysis of the paper includes the evaluation of the existing situation of the pedestrian street through Viswalk, which is a microscopic software for pedestrian simulation. The aim of the specific evaluation is the identification of variations in the Level of Service (LOS), as the pedestrian composition and flows change. The results of the simulation show that even tripling the pedestrian flow in the pedestrian area will not cause a significant drop in LOS, with the exception of specific sections of the pedestrian street, where bottlenecks are formed

Comparison of red-light running (RLR) and yellow-light running (YLR) traffic violations in the cities of Enna and Thessaloniki

Abstract This paper investigates the characteristics of Red-Light Running (RLR) and Yellow-Light Running (YLR) traffic violations at three signalized intersections which are located in the city of Enna, Italy, and four signalized intersections which are located in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. The trigger for this particular research is that there are cases in the literature in which the driving styles, as far as compliance with the Highway Code regulations is concerned, change from city to city and from country to country. Two sets of counts were used in the framework of this paper in order to investigate this phenomenon. The first one concerns the year 2018 in Enna and the second one the year 2015 in Thessaloniki. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in order to analyze the collected data and more specifically to investigate the correlation between the violations at signalized intersections in both cities. One of the most important findings of the specific research is that private cars are the responsible for the vast majority of the violations at the signalized intersections. In addition, it was found that traffic lane plays a significant role in the under study traffic violations

Pedestrians-Cyclists Shared Spaces Level of Service: Comparison of Methodologies and Critical Discussion

Pedestrians–cyclists shared spaces, sidewalks and streets are now a commonly implemented urban design solution in many cities, due to the willingness to promote sustainable mobility and the non-availability of public space. The proper design and management of these infrastructures requires an accurate evaluation of their performance. The most dominant evaluation metric is the level of service (LOS) and various methodologies have been proposed in the literature for its assessment in infrastructures that are being used by pedestrians, cyclists or by both of these two types of users. The present paper gathers and presents various methodologies, and it applies some of them on two pedestrians-cyclists shared spaces in a medium-sized city in Greece. The outcomes of the methodologies are being compared both among themselves and in relation to the opinions of the users, who participated in a questionnaire survey. The review of the literature, along with the application of some of the methodologies, leads to a fruitful discussion, which sets the groundwork for future research in the field of LOS and it also assists practitioners in selecting the appropriate methodologies for the assessment of pedestrian–cyclists shared spaces

Development and implementation of a methodological framework for assessing pedestrians-cyclists shared spaces through modelling level and quality of service

The limited available public space in modern cities has created the need for re-distributing public space among the different categories of road users. Thus, the concept of shared space, which expresses spaces where different road users co-exist and interact, is being promoted again. In the framework of this PhD Thesis, a holistic methodological framework for assessing pedestrians-cyclists shared infrastructure is being developed. The methodological framework consists of two main parts, where the one deals with the level of service and the second deals with the perceived quality of service. The first main part of the methodological framework is based on a previous methodology which was developed by the Dutch researcher Hein Botma, who introduced the hindrance concept, which attempts to express the movement restrictions that a user perceives. The first main part of the methodological framework concludes with the formation of an equation, which estimates the hindrance that a user experiences and therefore it identifies the level of service that is provided by the infrastructure. The second main part of the methodological framework is related with the investigation of the quality of service that pedestrians and cyclists perceive. This part is based solely on users’ (pedestrians and cyclists) attitudes and it aims to examine relationships between factors that are associated with users’ characteristics, behavior, attitude towards specific qualitative characteristics and perceived quality of service. The investigation of these relationships is being made through modelling and examining a theoretical hypothesis that the author of the PhD Thesis forms based on the literature. In the framework of the PhD Thesis, the proposed methodological framework is being applied in shared infrastructure in the city of Thessaloniki, with the aim of calibrating the statistical models based on real data and assessing its performance. For the application of the first main part of the methodological framework, initially weights are being assigned to the various event types, based on two questionnaire surveys (in the first survey 250 pedestrians participated, while in the second one 200 cyclists). The respondents were asked to assess the relative weight of the event types, by responding in pairwise comparisons and their responses were analyzed through the Analytic Hierarchy Process method. Next step of the application of the methodological framework is the estimation of the frequency that a user is experiencing events. The estimation was based on field observations, as well as on the development of regression tree models. Regarding the second main part of the methodological framework, its application is based solely on questionnaire surveys. Thus, 275 responses from pedestrians and 214 responses from cyclists were collected. The responses were initially analyzed in terms of descriptive and inferential statistics. As a next step, one of the most commonly used models for examining theoretical hypotheses, i.e. Structural Equation Model (SEM), was used. The PhD Thesis ends up with useful conclusions, as well as with the provision of answers in the research questions that had been set. Moreover, options for applying and adapting the methodological framework are being presented.Ο περιορισμένος διαθέσιμος δημόσιος χώρος στα σύγχρονα αστικά κέντρα έχει δημιουργήσει την ανάγκη για ανακατανομή του δημόσιου χώρου, επαναφέροντας στο προσκήνιο την έννοια των υποδομών κοινής χρήσης (shared spaces), όπου οι διάφορες κατηγορίες χρηστών συνυπάρχουν και αλληλεπιδρούν. Στο πλαίσιο της παρούσας Διδακτορικής Διατριβής αναπτύσσεται ένα ολιστικό μεθοδολογικό πλαίσιο για την αξιολόγηση υποδομών συνύπαρξης πεζών και ποδηλατιστών, το οποίο αποτελείται από δύο κύρια μέρη, τη διερεύνηση του επιπέδου εξυπηρέτησης και τη διερεύνηση της αντιληπτής ποιότητας εξυπηρέτησης. Το πρώτο κύριο μέρος του μεθοδολογικού πλαισίου βασίζεται σε προηγούμενη μεθοδολογία του Ολλανδού ερευνητή Hein Botma, ο οποίος εισήγαγε την έννοια της παρεμπόδισης (hindrance concept), που επιχειρεί να εκφράσει τους περιορισμούς κίνησης που αντιλαμβάνεται ένας χρήστης, λόγω της παρουσίας και της κίνησης άλλων χρηστών. Το πρώτο κύριο μέρος του μεθοδολογικού πλαισίου καταλήγει με τη διαμόρφωση μίας μαθηματικής σχέσης, η οποία εκτιμάει την παρεμπόδιση που βιώνει ένας χρήστης της υποδομής και κατ’ επέκταση προσδιορίζει το επίπεδο εξυπηρέτησης που προσφέρει η υποδομή. Το δεύτερο κύριο μέρος του μεθοδολογικού πλαισίου αφορά στη διερεύνηση της ποιότητας εξυπηρέτησης που αντιλαμβάνονται οι πεζοί και οι ποδηλάτες από μία υποδομή κοινής χρήσης. Αυτό το μέρος του μεθοδολογικού πλαισίου βασίζεται αποκλειστικά στις απόψεις των χρηστών (πεζών και ποδηλατιστών) και στόχο αποτελεί η διερεύνηση σχέσεων μεταξύ παραγόντων που συνδέονται με τα χαρακτηριστικά των χρηστών, τη συμπεριφορά τους, τις απόψεις τους για συγκεκριμένα ποιοτικά χαρακτηριστικά των υποδομών και την άποψή τους για την ποιότητα εξυπηρέτησης που προσφέρει η υποδομή. Η διερεύνηση των σχέσεων αυτών γίνεται μέσω της προτυποποίησης και εξέτασης μίας συγκεκριμένης θεωρητικής υπόθεσης που διαμορφώνει ο συγγραφέας της Διδακτορικής Διατριβής βάσει της βιβλιογραφίας. Στο πλαίσιο της Διδακτορικής Διατριβής, το προτεινόμενο μεθοδολογικό πλαίσιο εφαρμόζεται σε υποδομές συνύπαρξης πεζών και ποδηλατιστών στην πόλη της Θεσσαλονίκης. Στόχο της εφαρμογής αποτελεί η βαθμονόμηση των μαθηματικών προτύπων χρησιμοποιώντας πραγματικά δεδομένα και η αξιολόγηση του μεθοδολογικού πλαισίου. Για την εφαρμογή του πρώτου κύριου μέρους του μεθοδολογικού πλαισίου, αρχικά αποδίδονται βάρη στα συμβάντα, αξιοποιώντας δύο έρευνες ερωτηματολογίων, όπου στην πρώτη συμμετείχαν 250 πεζοί και στη δεύτερη 200 ποδηλάτες. Οι συμμετέχοντες στην έρευνα κλήθηκαν να αξιολογήσουν τη σχετική βαρύτητα των συμβάντων, απαντώντας σε ζεύγη συγκρίσεων και οι απαντήσεις τους αναλύθηκαν με χρήση της Αναλυτικής Ιεραρχικής Διαδικασίας. Επόμενο βήμα εφαρμογής του μεθοδολογικού πλαισίου αποτελεί η εκτίμηση της συχνότητας βίωσης των συμβάντων, η οποία βασίστηκε σε παρατηρήσεις πεδίου και στην ανάπτυξη δέντρων παλινδρόμησης. Όσον αφορά στο δεύτερο κύριο μέρος του μεθοδολογικού πλαισίου, η εφαρμογή του βασίζεται αποκλειστικά σε έρευνες ερωτηματολογίων. Για τον λόγο αυτόν, συγκεντρώθηκαν απαντήσεις από 275 πεζούς και 214 ποδηλάτες. Οι απαντήσεις αρχικά αναλύθηκαν με όρους περιγραφικής και επαγωγικής στατιστικής. Εν συνεχεία, εφαρμόστηκε ένα από τα πλέον διαδεδομένα πρότυπα για διερεύνηση θεωρητικών υποθέσεων, το μοντέλο δομικών εξισώσεων. Η Διδακτορική Διατριβή καταλήγει με τη διατύπωση χρήσιμων συμπερασμάτων και απαντήσεων στα ερευνητικά ερωτήματα που τέθηκαν. Επίσης, παρουσιάζονται τρόποι με τους οποίους το μεθοδολογικό πλαίσιο μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί σε υποδομές ή πόλεις με διαφορετικά χαρακτηριστικά από αυτά της πόλης της Θεσσαλονίκης, πραγματοποιώντας κατάλληλες προσαρμογές

A Study of the Accuracy of Daylighting Simulation of Heavily Obstructed Buildings in the Urban Canyons of Athens

This paper deals with the use and evaluation of daylighting simulation tools in relation to a complex urban environment. The environment concerned is one commonly found in city centre areas where the proximity of buildings leads to the creation of “urban canyons”, the result of this is that assessment and simulation of daylight requires a more sophisticated approach than for other situations. In urban areas building layout is the most important factor effecting daylight, sunlight and solar heat gain reaching a building. It also affects sunlight in open spaces, ventilation, shelter and the dispersal of pollutants. In order to produce a more realistic understanding of the dynamic effects of daylight, there is a need not only for the research and development of advanced CAD and lighting simulation tools, but also of the study of possible alternative methods in their application. In the work reported in this paper, an attempt has been made to move the focus of lighting and daylighting simulation from the scale of a room to that of a whole building, the building itself being surrounded by its specific urban environment (including its microclimate). The study evaluates if there is sufficient evidence that it is possible with such complexity to reach reliable computation results after executing the simulation. The case study presented uses a 4D model of an urban canyon to investigate the sensitivity of such a complex simulation system. It can also be used to find ways to analyse and predict how daylight is reflected, refracted, scattered, diffused, polarised, diffracted and absorbed as it traverses an urban environment

Exploring Travelers’ Characteristics Affecting their Intention to Shift to Bike-Sharing Systems due to a Sophisticated Mobile App

Many cities have already installed bike-sharing systems for several years now, but especially in recent years with the rise of micro-mobility, many efforts are being made worldwide to improve the operation of these systems. Technology has an essential role to play in the success of micro-mobility schemes, including bike-sharing systems. In this paper, it is examined if a state-of-the-art mobile application (app) can contribute to increasing the usage levels of such a system. It is also seeking to identify groups of travelers, who are more likely to be affected by the sophisticated app. With this aim, a questionnaire survey was designed and addressed to the users of the bike-sharing system of the city of Thessaloniki, Greece, as well as to other residents of the city. Through a descriptive analysis, the most useful services that an app can provide are identified. Most importantly, two different types of predictive models (i.e., classification tree and binary logit model) were applied in order to identify groups of users who are more likely to shift to or to use the bike-sharing system due to the sophisticated app. The results of the two predictive models confirm that people of younger ages and those who are not currently users of the system are those most likely to be attracted to the system due to such an app. Other factors, such as car usage frequency, education, and income also appeared to have slight impact on travelers’ intention to use the system more often due to the app

Pedestrians’ Crossing Dilemma during the First Seconds of the Red-Light Phase

Most safety concerns for pedestrian trips arise during road crossing, due to the interaction of pedestrians with motorized vehicles. This present paper attempts to explore the factors that have significant impact on pedestrians’ crossing behavior, and to identify the group of pedestrians that appear to be the most prone to crossing a road during the first five seconds of the red phase. In this context, observations were conducted in twelve signalized crossings in one-way roads, in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. The collected data (600 observations of crossing pedestrians) were analyzed statistically; more specifically, the observations were analyzed through descriptive statistics, and a classification tree was developed for predicting pedestrians’ decisions. The results indicate that pedestrians’ crossing behavior is most of all affected by the behavior of other pedestrians in the signalized crossing. Also, the number of traffic lanes has an impact on pedestrians’ decision to cross the road during the first five seconds of the red-light phase

Do businesses expect benefits from the existence of metro stations in their area? A case study in Thessaloniki, Greece

There is a great number of studies which have proved that a new or improved transport system has an important impact on land uses and real estate prices. While there are many studies which examine the effect of a new urban public transport system on the values of neighbouring properties, the number of researches which focus on the identification of the benefits that businesses can expect is rather limited. The objective of the present paper is to identify parameters which have a significant impact on the business revenue, as well as to quantify that impact, focusing on the city of Thessaloniki, Greece, where a metro system is under construction A questionnaire-based survey took place, addressed to business enterprise owners and professionals in the surrounding area of ten of the planned locations of Thessaloniki metro stations. The data collected by this survey were reinforced with additional attributes of the businesses, such as their distance from the nearest metro station, and a statistical analysis has been conducted, utilizing also regression modelling techniques The results indicate that more benefits can be expected for businesses which are located closer to the metro stations, especially in areas with limited parking availability. The benefits are estimated to be higher for the land use category that includes restaurants/café/bars. Models of that type can be very useful in cases of implementing alternative funding/financing methods, such as Value Capture. For the implementation of such methods it is very important to accurately estimate the benefits that all the parties involved in an investment will gain.</p