Users’ behavioral intention and their behavior: before-and-after study of “keep left” markings on shared footpaths

The intention-behavior relationship is examined in a keep-left experiment involving interactions of pedestrians and cyclists on a shared footpath in Singapore as a case study. Data collection entailed before-and-after on-site perception surveys and naturalistic observations from field-recorded video footages. The perception surveys involved 120 pedestrians and 119 cyclists in the before period, and 59 pedestrians and 60 cyclists in the after period. Movement profiles were captured for 303 pedestrians, 148 cyclists, and 90 pedestrian-cyclist interactions for the before period, and 262, 174, and 76, respectively for the after period. The findings suggest that the “keep left” markings on the footpath are generally effective in improving users’ behavioral intention in keeping left. However, whereas cyclists did change their behavior, pedestrians did not do so which is rationalized as being due to their previously formed habit. The findings reveal a weak intention-behavior relationship for pedestrians’ habitual behavior. As consistent with the unchanged pedestrians’ behavior, no distinct changes in the pedestrian-cyclist interaction patterns were observed after the “keep left” treatment. There was no significant change in the perceived conflict level and the safety level as well.