The Effects of Pedestrian Countdown Signals in Lake Buena Vista

A countdown signal displays the number of seconds left until the steady Don’t Walk phase appears and opposing traffic receives a green light. A pedestrian who has just arrived in the queuing area can use this information to decide whether to start crossing. A person who is in the crosswalk when the flashing Don’t Walk interval appears can see the number of seconds remaining before the cross traffic gets a green light. This may reduce the likelihood that a person is still in the intersection when the light changes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of countdown signals at intersections in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. A “treatment” and “control” study design was used: countdown signals at two intersections were matched with three control intersections that were similar but did not have countdown signals. The countdown signals were evaluated according to three measures of effectiveness: 1. Pedestrian compliance with the Walk signal 2. Pedestrians who ran out of time 3. Pedestrians who started running when the flashing Don’t Walk signal appeared The countdown signals had the positive effect (compared to sites without countdown signals) of reducing the number of pedestrians who started running when the flashing Don’t Walk signal appeared. They had the undesired effect of reducing compliance with the Walk signal. There was no effect on the number of persons who ran out of time while crossing. It is recommended that countdown signals be tested at other locations. The use of countdown signals should be accompanied by public educational campaigns that explain what these devices are and how pedestrians can benefit from them.