The impact of mid-block crossing on urban arterial operational characteristics using multimodal microscopic simulation approach

The operational characteristics of major arterials depend on their geometric and traffic conditions. The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) has developed pre-defined procedures to identify some of these operational characteristics, such as capacity and level of service (LOS). However, there are other important factors that affect major arterials operational characteristics which are not fully addressed, such as the effect of pedestrian movements. In this paper, a microscopic simulation approach is used to assess the effect of mid-block crossing on the operational characteristics of major arterials. The study corridor is a major arterial that connects the City of Nablus from the west side with other cities and villages. This corridor also experiences high pedestrian volume due to its unique location, which is adjacent to An-Najah National University new campus. Vehicular traffic and pedestrian counts were collected between 7:00 am - 5:00 pm. This research has compared the operational characteristics of the major arterial under three different scenarios. The first scenario ignores the pedestrian movements presenting the base condition. The second scenario is when pedestrians are crossing the street from designated crossing areas. The third scenario allows pedestrians to randomly cross the street. Simulation results have shown that the scenario when pedestrians are allowed to randomly cross the study corridor is the one that has resulted in lower operational speed, and much higher delay and number of stops. Moreover, it has the most negative environmental impact.