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Do Pedestrians/Rollers/Cyclists Deserve an Effective Red-Clearance Interval?
Jinxiang Ren1 and David S. Hurwitz 2
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DOI:10.17265/2328-2142/2026.02.007
1. Oregon Department of Transportation, Salem 97301, USA 2. School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331, USA
Believe it or not, over the last 70 years, the yellow change and red clearance intervals (CCI) at signalized intersections have been continually studied, researched, modified, improved, and vigorously debated. Still, we can see quite a variety of different CCI guidance applied from federal, state and local perspectives. The latest ITE journal article suggests that CCI “Research [is] Still Needed!” Within 11 areas of identified and related interests, “safety benefits of yellow change and red clearance intervals” is identified as the most important. In 2020, “ITE Releases Recommended Practice for Traffic Signal Change”; however, “this report is specifically focused on the timing of traffic signal change intervals and does not address pedestrian signal change intervals or enforcement of red light running”. If we seek to design surface transportation systems that promote the safety of all road users, we ask the question: do pedestrians and rollers/cyclists deserve all-red clearances that serve their needs in the way that the concurrent moving vehicles at signalized intersections receive. And, if so, what should the duration of the all-red indication be? To answer this question, the authors illustrate a thought experiment of five hypothetical signalization scenarios including dynamic traffic “simulation” by manually diagraming the three critical seconds of signal timing transition: yellow, red, green in one cycle with considerations of all approaches of passenger cars, pedestrians, cyclists and rollers. Through the scenarios, we can visually see the progressive safety improvements of reducing the frequency of “forced conflicts” as a surrogate for potential crashes. The authors randomly surveyed around 100 northwest urban signalized intersections among each of the states of Oregon and Washington, and Canadian British Columbia District (BC). The random survey findings are mostly supportive of the all-red-clearance signalization for all travelers, particularly the superior leading pedestrian intervals (LPI), which has also been incrementally implemented at major cities, such as Portland, Seattle and Vancouver.
pedestrian/roller intersection signalization, traffic safety, leading pedestrian interval, minimum
distance to collision
Jinxiang Ren and David S. Hurwitz . (2026). Do Pedestrians/Rollers/Cyclists Deserve an Effective Red-Clearance Interval?, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering 14 (2026) 90-97
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[2] Colorado DOT vehicle change and clearance interval guidelines v1 31.
[3] Florida DOT Yellow Change and Red Clearance Interval Standards for Signalized Intersections.
[4] NCHRP Guidelines for Timing RPT 731.
[5] Mats Järlström 2019. An Extended Yellow Change Interval Solution Derived from GHM’s Critical Distance.
[6] Jay Beeber, Yellow Change Intervals for Turning Movements Using Basic Kinematic Principles.
[7] Jeremy W. Fitch, Kevin Shafizader, Weili Zhao, William D. Crowl, A Rational Method for Setting All Red Clearance Intervals, ITE.
[8] NCHRP Guidelines for Timing RPT 731.
[9] Traffic Signal Change and Clearance Intervals – Research Still Needed! March 20 ITEJ.
[10] ITE Releases Recommended Practice for Traffic Signal Change and Clearance Intervals, 3-2020.
[11] State Traffic Data Traffic Safety Facts 2019-2023 Data.
[12] Motor Vehicle Related Crashes, Injuries and Fatalities 10-year Statistics for British Columbia, 2014-2023 Retrieved from: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/
driving-and-transportation/driving/roadsafetybc/data/bi-2848_roadsafetybc_annual_summary_2.pdf.
[13] Oregon DOT’s “Traffic Signal Policy Guidelines”, July 2024.
[14] Colorado DOT Guidelines for Traffic Signal Vehicle Change and Clearance Intervals, 2024.
[15] City of Vancouver Traffic Signal Timing Guidelines, Oct. 2023.
[16] Oregon DOT TSAP (Transportation Safety Action Plan) Update Fact Sheet 2_Crash Data Update.