Pedestrians’habits while crossing the road at a former zebra crossing

Abstract

This paper presents research results focused on pedestrians’ crossing behaviour, the role of habit and routine route choice, pedestrians’ perceived safety and comfort, preferences, and waiting times. Data was collected and analysed using rapid on-site interviews with pedestrians, on-site observations and video recordings. The results indicate that vulnerable pedestrians choose different crossing strategies: waiting for a driver to give way to them rather than waiting for a safe gap to pass, and require a much more cooperative approach from drivers than other pedestrians. The results of the study lead to the conclusion that the removal of the crossings reduced pedestrians’ perceived safety and comfort, on the other hand, their awareness has been raised. While adult pedestrians can cope with the new situation relatively well and cross the road without major difficulties, the same does not apply to vulnerable road users.