Investigation of critical gap for pedestrian crossing using fuzzy logic system

Abstract

This paper assesses pedestrian crossing behavior and critical gaps at a two-way midblock crossing location. A critical gap is the shortest gap that a pedestrian accepts when crossing a road. A dataset was collected in 2017 in Edinburgh (UK). The analysis was performed using the fuzzy logic system. The adopted membership function of the fuzzy logic system is of a triangular form since it has a simple and convenient structure. The input variables that are used in the analysis are the number and length of rejected gaps and length of accepted gaps at the crossing location. The output variables are the critical gaps. The results show that assessing critical gap estimation of pedestrians crossing using fuzzy logic is achievable and produces reasonable values that are comparable to values that are reported in the literature. This outcome improves the understanding of pedestrian crossing behavior and could therefore have implications for transport infrastructure design. Further analysis using additional parameters including waiting time and demographic characteristics and alternative forms for membership functions are strongly encouraged.