Pedestrian Crossing Time Calculator

Work out pedestrian crossing time instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Pedestrian Crossing Time Calculator

Crossing time is the distance divided by walking speed plus a perception and start up allowance, with a slower 0.8 metres per second figure shown for less mobile pedestrians. Standards have moved from 1.2 to 1.0 metres per second or slower for design because the older figure excluded a substantial share of older pedestrians.

Formula

Crossing time

seconds = crossing distance / walking speed + start up time

Worked example

With the default values below, Pedestrian Crossing Time Calculator returns Crossing time required of 13.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Crossing distanceminimum 0.1 m: 12 m
Walking speedminimum 0.1 m/s: 1.2 m/s
Perception and start up timeminimum 0 s: 3 s

Results

Crossing time required: 13.00 s
Walking time alone: 10.00 s
Minimum green plus clearance to set: 13 s
Time needed at 0.8 m/s: 18.00 s

Step by step

1Values used
2Crossing time
3Crossing time required= 13.00 s
4Walking time alone= 10.00 s
5Minimum green plus clearance to set= 13 s
6Time needed at 0.8 m/s= 18.00 s

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Pedestrian Crossing Time figure worked out?

seconds = crossing distance / walking speed + start up time. Crossing time is the distance divided by walking speed plus a perception and start up allowance, with a slower 0.8 metres per second figure shown for less mobile pedestrians.

Why does this matter?

Standards have moved from 1.2 to 1.0 metres per second or slower for design because the older figure excluded a substantial share of older pedestrians.

What do I need to enter?

Enter crossing distance, walking speed, perception and start up time. The defaults shown are a realistic worked example — swap in your own figures to get a result you can use.