Risk analysis of pedestrian crosswalks in airport drop-off zones based on integrated VISSIM–SSAM model

Airport drop-off zones present a high-risk traffic environment due to limited space and frequent pedestrian–vehicle interactions. To address these challenges, this study develops an integrated simulation framework combining VISSIM and the SSAM to reconstruct microscopic pedestrian and vehicle behaviors, calibrate conflict detection thresholds, and evaluate safety performance in complex terminal settings. The framework enables the quantification of both the frequency and severity of pedestrian–vehicle conflicts under varying spatial and behavioral conditions. A set of scenario-specific TTC and PET thresholds is derived to enhance the accuracy of conflict identification. Based on these insights, two safety strategies are proposed: pedestrian signal control, which facilitates temporal separation, and spatial no-stopping zones, which provide physical buffers to reduce interaction intensity without compromising operational flow. Simulation experiments confirm the effectiveness of both interventions across key safety metrics. The proposed framework provides a transferable methodological basis for assessing pedestrian safety and testing mitigation strategies in high-density curbside environments such as airports and multimodal urban terminals.