Microscopic behavioural analysis of cyclist and pedestrian interactions in shared spaces

Abstract

This study investigates the microscopic interaction behaviour between cyclists and pedestrians in shared space environments. Video data was collected at the Robson Square shared space in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. Trajectories of cyclists and pedestrians involved in 208 interactions (416 trajectories) were extracted using computer vision algorithms. The extracted trajectories were used to define different indicators for the analysis. The indicators included the speed and acceleration profiles and the longitudinal and lateral distances between road users during different phases of the interactions. The study also investigated the collision avoidance mechanisms employed by road users to avoid collisions with other shared space users. The collision avoidance mechanisms included changing the walking–cycling speed and changing the movement direction. The results showed that the collision avoidance mechanisms depend on the shared space density and the space available for road users. The study identified a set of parameters that can be used to calibrate microscopic cyclist–pedestrian modeling platforms to represent the behaviour of pedestrians and cyclists in shared space environments.