Development of Pedestrian Recall Versus Actuation Guidelines for Pedestrian Crossings at Signalized Intersections

At signalized intersections, pedestrian phases can be configured as recall or pushbutton actuated. While pedestrian recall results in a moderate reduction in pedestrian delay because, with recall, a pedestrian arriving during the time nominally reserved for the Walk interval will be served immediately rather than waiting to be served in the next cycle, it can also lead to longer cycle lengths, increasing delay for all users, including pedestrians. This research explores the impact of pedestrian recall along a coordinated-actuated arterial for pedestrians crossing the mainline (i.e., crossing the coordinated phase) to provide pedestrian recall versus actuation guidelines for agencies. The guidance was developed with the aim of balancing pedestrian delay with operational efficiency for vehicles. Two criteria were considered while developing the guidance: (1) pedestrian demand; and (2) vehicular green time duration for the concurrent vehicle phase that is parallel to the pedestrian crossing. VISSIM microsimulation software was used on a real network in Fairfax County, Virginia to model the effects of pedestrian recall and actuation. Results showed that pedestrian recall should be considered when pedestrian demand is large enough that there is a pedestrian call in most cycles (pedestrian probability in a given cycle is greater than 0.6 or pedestrian volume per cycle is greater than 0.9). The guidance also suggests setting pedestrian phases on recall when the length of the vehicular green for the concurrent phase is long enough in most cycles that a pedestrian phase would fit without constraining the signal cycle length.