Measuring the impact of pedestrian flow on vehicle delays for a proposed DLT intersection with two displaced left turns in an urban commercial area

Abstract

This study evaluates the impact of pedestrian flow through vehicular delays in a proposed DLT intersection located in an urban area with a high vehicular and pedestrian traffic volume. In addition, it evaluates the pedestrian–vehicle conflict points, the effect on the other accesses after the implementation of the displaced left turns, and the consequences of reorganizing pedestrian flow. Three scenarios are evaluated through microsimulation; the existing one, which is a conventional cross-shaped intersection; a proposed DLT intersection with two displaced left turns on adjacent accesses; and a third one, similar to the last one, but with the inclusion of a pedestrian underpass. Results indicate that a proposed conventional DLT increases the vehicle delays of the intersection by 6.0% compared to the existing condition, mainly due to the high volume of pedestrians and the conflicts it generates. However, with the inclusion of a pedestrian underpass, vehicle delays are reduced significantly by up to 34.0%.