Project title: Economic Evaluation of Implementing a New Signalization System: Digital Countdown Device

File: I040.1

Problem:
A new numeric signalization system for pedestrians, called a digital countdown device, was experimented at two intersections in Ville Saint-Laurent in 1992. The cost of installing it is known, but it is necessary to develop a methodology for evaluating the benefits.

Objectives:
The primary goal of this project is to measure the costs and benefits of installing a digital countdown device and to verify that the new signalization system is economically and socially viable. In particular, the economic and social benefits of installing a numeric system intended to increase pedestrian safety must be evaluated.

Methodology:
One way to measure the effect of a digital countdown device is to study the change in the number of victims over a given time span using multivariate regression. For a more detailed description of the effect of a digital countdown device, it is also possible to analyze its marginal effect on the probability that a pedestrian is involved in a pedestrian-vehicle conflict while crossing an intersection. Calculation of the probability of a conflict can be performed with the aid of a multivariate statistical model that verifies whether use of a digital countdown device affects the probability of a conflict.

General information:

Modality:
Postsecondary