Harmonizing Pedestrians Mobility At Level Crossing (the Case Of Sebategna Level Crossing In Addis Ababa)

The highway-rail grade crossing is unique in that it constitutes the intersection of tworntransportation modes, which differ in both the physical characteristics of their traveled ways andrntheir operations. Level crossings involve a considerable number of pedestrians and theirrnharmony with the road and rail traffic, along with railway and road geometry setup is paramountrnto enhance the economic, social and environmental aspects of public transportation. The levelrncrossing being a shared space, pedestrians experience time and space constrained mobility andrntheir safety at the level crossing is at risk. This research harmonizes the mobility of pedestrians atrnlevel crossings. The case of Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit (AALRT) is chosen, with a specificrnfocus on Sebategna level crossing. The current level crossing at Sebategna is a multi-modalrnshared space that is managed by the train signal, a bell that rings for an approaching train, levelrncrossing signalmen and traffic officers. This setting results in space and time constrainedrnmobility of pedestrians, congestion, and crashes. Constraints to pedestrian mobility and causes ofrnsafety-related issues experienced by pedestrians at the level crossing were examined. Using PTVrnVissim multi-modal simulation software, this research developed and evaluated two testrnscenarios that could improve pedestrian mobility and improve their safety at Sebategna levelrncrossing. The results of the study indicate that the constraints to pedestrians’ mobility atrnSebategna level crossing include; no coordinated signal control at the level crossing, crosswalksrnopposite the station platforms entrance are not fully observed by vehicular traffic, somernsidewalks being blocked by market vendors and congestion on the level crossing during peakrnhours which causes significant delays. The causes of safety-related incidents experienced byrnpedestrians’ cuts across pedestrians’ behavior, driver behavior, pedestrian infrastructure in placernand its’ utilization. From the results of the simulated test scenarios, improving and adjusting therninfrastructure geometry (shared level crossing, lane configuration, conflict areas) in place canrnimprove pedestrian safety and mobility. There are improved queue length and delay times in testrnscenario 1, compared to test scenario 2, in which signal control was incorporated. However, fromrna safety perspective, the later would be suitable because of signal control. The queue length andrnvehicular delay results of the existing scenario is reduced from 66.66 m and 50.52 s to 25.63 mrnand 14.47 s respectively. The number of conflict areas reduced from 120 in the existing scenariornto 110 and 51 in test scenario 1 and 2.

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