Emerging modes and innovative safety countermeasures: investigating their impacts on road safety, traffic operations and the environment

近年来，积极的交通方式(骑自行车和步行)被视为应对城市机动性持续增长及其负面影响的解决方案的一部分。最近，也出现了被称为微型移动模式(例如电动滑板车和电动自行车)的新交通方式。然而，随着运输方式的多样化，运输需求的增加引发了人们对道路安全的担忧。因此，城市正在寻找创新的对策，以在不恶化交通运营的情况下保护脆弱的道路使用者(VRU)。尽管最近取得了进展，但重要的研究差距和问题也暴露了出来。这包括自动化数据收集工具在关键流量条件下(例如，大流量、混合流量、低能见度)具有一定的局限性。此外，现有工具通常不能提供所有模式(速度、密度、间隙、延迟等)的微观数据。此外，在混合交通条件下，交通参数与交通方式内部和跨模式的性能指标之间的关系很少被研究。另一个重要的研究空白是创新的VRU对策(例如，受保护的十字路口、主动警报装置)的影响。这些对策很少得到评价，不仅是从交通安全的角度，也是从操作和环境的角度。关于微型移动模式对交通运营和安全的影响的研究也非常有限，特别是在加拿大和美国。我的研究计划的总体目标是开发新的知识和创新的解决方案，以监测和改善混合交通条件下现有和新模式的安全和交通运营。这项研究计划的具体目标是：1)建立一个基于LIDAR-VIDEO的自动化系统，用于收集微观数据并调查交通流量参数及其在模式内部和跨模式之间的关系；2)开发不仅从安全角度，而且从操作和排放角度评估创新对策的有效性的方法；3)开发一种方法来调查新的微移动模式对道路安全和交通运营的影响。为实现这些目标，将有六名研究生(三名博士和三名硕士)参与。长期目标是开发方法和工具，以更好地监测和了解新兴模式和创新对策对交通安全、运营和环境的影响。该计划将产生重要的知识和方法，帮助从业者(如交通工程师和城市规划师)更好地评估新兴技术、微机动性和创新几何设计的多重影响，这对确保我们城市的可持续发展至关重要。

In recent years, active modes of transportation (cycling and walking) have been seen as part of the solution to deal with the continuous growth of urban mobility and its negative effects. More recently, new modes of transportation, referred to as micro-mobility modes (e.g., e-scooters and e-bicycles), have also emerged. However, the increasing transportation demand along with the diversification of transportation modes has raised road safety concerns. Accordingly, cities are looking for innovative countermeasures to protect vulnerable road users (VRUs) without deteriorating traffic operations. Despite the recent developments, important research gaps and questions have unfolded. This includes the fact that automated data collection tools have some limitations under critical traffic conditions (e.g., high volumes, mixed traffic, low-visibility). Moreover, existing tools do not often provide microscopic data for all modes (speed, density, gap, delay, etc.). In addition, the relationships between traffic parameters and performance measures within and across modes have rarely been studied in mixed traffic conditions. Another important research gap is the impacts of innovative VRU countermeasures (e.g., protected intersections, active warning devices). These countermeasures have rarely been evaluated, not only from the traffic safety point of view, but also from the operational and environmental perspectives. Research on the impact of micro-mobility modes on both traffic operations and safety is also very limited, in particular in Canada and the US. The general goal of my research program is to develop new knowledge and innovative solutions to monitor and to improve the safety and traffic operations of active and new modes under mixed traffic conditions. The specific objectives of this research program are: 1) to build a LIDAR-video based automated system for collecting microscopic data and for investigating the traffic flow parameters and their relationships within and across modes; 2) to develop methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of innovative countermeasures, not only from the safety, but also from the operational and emission perspectives; 3) to develop a methodology to investigate the implications of new micro-mobility modes on both road safety and traffic operations. In the accomplishment of these objectives, six graduate students (three PhD and three master's students) will be involved. The long-term goal is to develop methods and tools to better monitor and understand the impacts of emerging modes and innovative countermeasures on traffic safety, operations, and the environment. This program will generate significant knowledge and methodologies that can help practitioners (e.g., transportation engineers and city planners) better evaluate the multiple impacts of emerging technologies, micro-mobility, and innovative geometric designs, which is critical to ensure the sustainable development of our cities.