Perceived safety and willingness to cross at zebra and mid-block crossings: Do approaching vehicles, bicycles, and e-scooters make a difference?

How do different design features (zebra crossings, mid-block crossings) affect pedestrians’ perceived safety and willingness to cross? And how does the type of approaching road user (vehicle, bicycle, e-scooter) influence these perceptions?

As cities move toward sustainable, walkable, and multimodal environments, pedestrian safety remains a central concern. While zebra and mid-block crossings are widely used, pedestrians’ perceptions of safety and willingness to cross depend not only on infrastructure but also on the type of approaching traffic participant. Vehicles, bicycles, and e-scooters pose different levels of perceived risk due to size, speed, and predictability. Research has traditionally focused on motor vehicles, with limited attention to new mobility forms such as e-scooters and their influence on pedestrian decision-making. This thesis addresses these gaps by investigating how pedestrians evaluate crossing situations in the presence of different approaching road users and under varying infrastructure designs.

Proposal for design and methodology: Online video/image-based survey: Participants are shown short clips or animations of pedestrians at crossings with approaching vehicles, bicycles, or e-scooters. After each scenario, they evaluate perceived safety and their willingness to cross.

Possible start: Immediately

Contact/advisor: Dr. Hiba Nassereddine