Three-Step Performance Assessment of a Pedestrian Crossing Time Prediction Model

Abstract

Pedestrian behavior and safety are emerging issues in current transportation. One way to safely study pedestrian dynamics, especially at potential conflict points such as crosswalks, is through micro-simulation. This tool provides the opportunity to repeatedly study pedestrian behavior and safety under different scenarios of interest. However, to obtain reliable results, micro-simulation models need to be calibrated and their parameters fine-tuned. One way to methodically calibrate these models is to identify the outcomes of interest, develop a predictive model for those specific outcomes, and use it as a tool to fine-tune the input parameters of the micro-simulation model. To be reliable, the results of the predictive model should be comparable to those of the micro-simulation model, and these should be validated.