Pedestrian delays at crossing points are an important aspect of urban traffic planning. Accurate determination of these delays is critical to the correct selection of appropriate pedestrian crossing treatments. A recent study aimed to develop models for estimating pedestrian delays at zebra crossings and mid-block signalised crossings, to add to the existing models in the NZTA Pedestrian Crossing Facilities Calculation Spreadsheet. This was achieved using field surveys of seven sites around Christchurch.

From the zebra crossing sites it was found that pedestrian delays increased as pedestrian volumes decreased and traffic volumes increased. This could be attributed to the relative awareness and compliance of drivers in each case. Pedestrians were also more cautious when present in lower numbers or when facing higher traffic volumes.

For the mid-block actuated signalised crossing sites, there were no clear trends observed in terms of volumes and delays. Therefore a SIDRA model was developed independently to show the relationship between pedestrian delay and traffic volume at varying pedestrian volumes. In general, pedestrian delays increased as traffic volumes increased. At lower pedestrian volumes the delays were significantly less, which is probably related to the infrequent crossing phase calls being more likely to be met on demand.