Pedestrian Signal Timing Calculator

Calculate walk and clearance intervals for pedestrian signal phases from crossing distance and walk speed per MUTCD and ADA standards.

Inputs

Crossing Distance

Walking Speed

ft/sec

Walk Interval

sec

Median Refuge Island

Pedestrian Volume

ped/hr

ADA Design Standard

Tab to move between fields

Results

Walk Interval (WALK)

7 sec

Flashing Don't Walk

14 sec

Countdown Timer16 sec

Total Ped Phase (ADA)23 sec

Total Ped Phase20.7 sec

Min Vehicle Green20.7 sec

Leading Ped IntervalYes — 7 sec LPI recommended

APS RequiredYes

Lpi Duration7%

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Crossing Distance, Walking Speed, and Walk Interval.
Set Median Refuge Island, No, and Yes.
Adjust Median Width, Pedestrian Volume as needed.
Review Walk Interval (WALK) (sec) and Flashing Don (sec).
Use Countdown Timer (sec) and Total Ped Phase (ADA) (sec) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Walk Interval

Walk Interval	Walk Interval (WALK)	Flashing Don't Walk
5.1	7 sec	14 sec
7.85	8 sec	14 sec
11	11 sec	14 sec
14	14 sec	14 sec

What each input means

Crossing Distance: Curb-to-curb distance pedestrians must cross (or curb to median if refuge island exists).
Walking Speed: Assumed pedestrian walking speed. MUTCD default is 3.5 ft/s; ADA uses 3.0 ft/s.
Walk Interval: Duration of the steady WALK signal. MUTCD minimum is 7 seconds.
Median Refuge Island: Whether a pedestrian refuge island exists in the median.
Median Width: Width of the median refuge island. Must be at least 6 ft for two-stage crossing.
Pedestrian Volume: Peak-hour pedestrian volume used to evaluate Leading Pedestrian Interval need.
ADA Design Standard: Use ADA-compliant walking speed of 3.0 ft/s for clearance calculation.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Crossing Distance = 48, Walking Speed = 3.5, Walk Interval = 7, Median Refuge Island = 0 = 7 input(s) provided
Calculate Walk Interval
Walk Interval
7 = 7
Calculate Flashing Don't Walk
Flashing Don't Walk
14 = 14
Calculate Countdown Timer
Countdown Timer
16 = 16
Calculate Total Ped Phase
Total Ped Phase
23 = 23

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