Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr.

Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Pedestrian Studies

Introduction
People walk for many reasons: to go to a neighbour’s house, to run errands, for school, or to
get to a business meeting. People also walk for recreation and health benefits or for the
enjoyment of being outside. Some pedestrians must walk to transit or other destinations if they
wish to travel independently. It is a public responsibility to provide a safe, secure, and
comfortable system for all people who walk. In this lecture we will discuss about the pedestrian
problems, pedestrian survey (data collection), characteristics, different level of services, and
design principles of pedestrian facilities. There are many problems related to safety security
of pedestrians.

Pedestrian Problems
Accidents Circumstances - Pedestrian accidents occurs in a variety of ways; the most common
type involves pedestrian crossing or entering the street at or between intersections.
Darting: It is used to indicate the sudden appearance of a pedestrian from behind a
vehicle or other sight obstruction.
Dashing: It refers to the running pedestrians.

Special Problems
 Age: Children under 15 years of age from the largest group of pedestrian victims and
have the highest injury rate per population in their age group, the elderly have the
highest fatality rate because of the lower probability of their recovery from injuries.
 Intoxication and Drug effects: Alcohol and drugs impair the behaviour of pedestrians to
the extent that they may be a primary cause of accident.
 Dusk and Darkness: Special pedestrian safety problems arise during the hours of dusk
and darkness, when it is most difficult for motorists to see pedestrians.

Definition of a Pedestrian
Any person afoot is the definition of Uniform Vehicle Code of pedestrian. However expand
this definition to explicitly include people with disabilities, such as who use wheelchairs or
other mobility devices. At the beginning and end of every motorist’s trip, he or she is
pedestrian.
The driver and/or passenger walks to the vehicle, which is parked, drives to a destination, parks
the vehicle again, and walks to the final destination. In urban centers, pedestrian flows can be
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

significant, and they must be accommodated in planning and design of traffic facilities and
controls. Pedestrian safety is also a major issue, as the pedestrian is at a visible disadvantage
where potential pedestrian-vehicle conflict exist, such as at the intersections.
It is important to recognize the forces influencing the demand for provision of more and better
pedestrian facilities. Undoubtedly one important factor has been the increased awareness of
the environmental problems created by the rapid national and worldwide growth in vehicle
travel, but of equal important has been the recognition by many people of need for physical
fitness and the role that play in achieving this.

Factors affecting pedestrian demand

 The nature of the local community- Walking is more likely to occur in a community that
has a high proportion of young people.
 Car ownership -The availability of the private car reduces the amount of walking, even
for short journey.
 Local land use activities- Walking is primarily used for short distance trips.
Consequently the distance between local origins and destinations (e.g. homes and
school, homes and shops) is an important factor influencing the level of demand,
particularly for the young and elderly.
 Quality of provision- If good quality pedestrian facilities are provided, then demand will
tend to increase.
 Safety and security- It is important that pedestrians perceive the facilities to be safe and
secure. For pedestrians this means freedom from conflict with motor vehicle, as well as
a minimal threat from personal attack and the risk of tripping on uneven surfaces.

Pedestrian Term
 Pedestrian speed is the average pedestrian walking speed, generally expressed in units
of meters per second.
 Pedestrian flow rate is the number of pedestrians passing a point per unit of time,
expressed as pedestrians per 15 min or pedestrians per minute. Point refers to a line of
sight across the width of a walkway perpendicular to the pedestrian path.
 Pedestrian flow per unit of width is the average flow of pedestrians per unit of
effective walkway width, expressed as pedestrians per minute per meter (p/min/m).
Pedestrian density is the average number of pedestrians per unit of area within a
walkway or queuing area, expressed as pedestrians per square meter (p/m2).
 Pedestrian space is the average area provided for each pedestrian in a walkway or
queuing area, expressed in terms of square meters per pedestrian. This is the inverse of
density, and is often a more practical unit for analyzing pedestrian facilities.
 Platoon refers to a number of pedestrians walking together in a group, usually
involuntarily, as a result of signal control and other factors.
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Data collection
Before deciding on the appropriate extent and standard of pedestrian facilities, it is important
to assess the potential demand. The possible methods of obtaining such estimates are manual
count, video survey, and attitude survey described as follows.

Manual counts
Count the flow of pedestrian through a junction, across a road, or along a road section/footway
manually using manual clicker and tally marking sheet. Manual counts need to satisfy the
following conditions.
 The time period(s) in the day over which the counts are undertaken must coincide with
the peak times of the activity of study.
 The day(s) of the week and month(s) of the year when observations are made must
be representative of the demand. School holidays, early closing, and special events
should be avoided since they can result in non-typical conditions.
 The survey locations need to be carefully selected in order to ensure that the total
existing demand is observed.

Advantages of this manual counting are that these are simple to set up and carry out, and
flexible to response observed changes in demand on site and disadvantages are that these are
labour intensive also simple information can be achieved and not detailed information.

Video survey
Cameras are setup at the selected sites and video recording taken of the pedestrians during the
selected observation periods. A suitable vantage point for the camera is important. Such survey
produces a permanent record of pedestrian movement and their interaction with vehicles. In it
the record of behaviour pattern is also obtained which helps in analyzing the crossing
difficulties.

Attitude survey
Detailed questionnaire requires enabling complete information about pedestrian’s origins and
destination points, also can gather information on what new facilities, or improvements to
existing facilities, need to be provided to divert trips to walking, or increase the current
pedestrian activities.

Pedestrian Flow characteristic

In many ways pedestrian flow are similar to those used for vehicular flow because it can be
described in terms of familiar variables such as speed, volume, rate of flow and density. Other
measures related specifically to pedestrian flow include the ability to cross a pedestrian traffic
stream, to walk in the reverse direction of a major pedestrian flow, to manoeuvre generally
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

without conflicts and changes in walking speed, and the delay experienced by pedestrians at
signalized and unsignalized intersections. It is dissimilar to the vehicular flow in that
pedestrian flow may be unidirectional, bidirectional, or multi-directional. Pedestrian do not
always travel in clear “lanes” although they may do sometimes under heavy flow.

Pedestrian Speed-Density Relationships

The fundamental relationship between speed, density, and volume for pedestrian flow is
analogous to vehicular flow. As volume and density increase, pedestrian speed declines. As
density increases and pedestrian space decreases, the degree of mobility afforded to the
individual pedestrian declines, as does the average speed of the pedestrian stream, it is shown
in Fig.1.

Figure 1 Relationship between pedestrian speed and density.

Flow-Density Relationships
The relationship among density, speed, and flow for pedestrians is similar to that for vehicular
traffic streams, and is expressed in equation.
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Where,
Qped= unit flow rate (p/min/m),
Sped= pedestrian speed (m/min), and
Dped= pedestrian density (p/𝑚2 ).

Pedestrian density is an awkward variable in that it has fractional values in pedestrian per
square meter. This relationship often expressed in terms of Space module (M) which is the
inverse of pedestrian density. The inverse of density is more practical unit for analyzing
pedestrian facilities, so expression becomes:

Where,
M in (𝑚2 /ped).

The basic relationship between flow and space, recorded by several researchers, is illustrated
in the Fig. 2. The conditions at maximum flow represent the capacity of the walkway facility.
From Fig. 2, it is apparent that all observations of maximum unit flow fall within a narrow
range of density, with the average space per pedestrian varying between 0.4 and 0.9 𝑚2 /p.
Even the outer range of these observations indicates that maximum flow occurs at this density,
although the actual flow in this study is considerably higher than in the others. As space is
reduced to less than 0.4 𝑚2 /p, the flow rate declines precipitously. All movement effectively
stops at the minimum space allocation of 0.2 to 0.3 𝑚2 /p.
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Figure 2: Relationship between pedestrian space & flow.

Speed-Flow Relationships
The following Fig. 3 illustrates the relationship between pedestrian speed and flow. These
curves, similar to vehicle flow curves, show that when there are few pedestrians on a walkway
(i.e., low flow levels), there is space available to choose higher walking speeds. As flow
increases, speeds decline because of closer interactions among pedestrians. When a critical
level of crowding occurs, movement becomes more difficult, and both flow and speed decline.
The Fig. 4 confirms the relationships of walking speed and available space, and suggests some
points of demarcation for developing LOS criteria. The outer range of observations indicates
that at an average space of less than 1.5 𝑚2 /p, even the slowest pedestrians cannot achieve
their desired walking speeds. Faster pedestrians, who walk at speeds of up to 1.8 m/s, are not
able to achieve that speed unless average space is 4.0 𝑚2 /p or more.
Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Figure 3: Relationships between Pedestrian Speed and Flow.

Figure 4: Relationships between Pedestrian Speed and Space.

 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Pedestrian Space Requirements

Pedestrian facility designers use body depth and shoulder breadth for minimum space
standards, at least implicitly. A simplified body ellipse of 0.50 m * 0.60 m, with total area of
0.30 𝑚2 is used as the basic space for a single pedestrian, as shown in Fig. 5 this represents
the practical minimum for standing pedestrians. In evaluating a pedestrian facility, an area of
0.75 𝑚2 is used as the buffer zone for each pedestrian. A walking pedestrian requires a certain
amount of forward space. This forward space is a critical dimension, since it determines the
speed of the trip and the number of pedestrians that are able to pass a point in a given time
period. The forward space in the Fig 6 is categorized into a pacing zone and a sensory zone.

Figure 5: Pedestrian body ellipse.

Figure 6: Pedestrian walking space requirement.

 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Pedestrian Walking Speed

Pedestrian walking speed is highly dependent on the proportion of elderly pedestrians (65
years old or more) in the walking population. If 0 to 20 per cent of pedestrians are elderly, the
average walking speed is 1.2 m/s on walkways. If elderly people constitute more than 20 per
cent of the total pedestrians, the average walking speed decreases to 1.0 m/s. In addition, a
walkway upgrade of 10 per cent or more reduces walking speed by 0.1 m/s. On sidewalks, the
free-flow speed of pedestrians is approximately 1.5 m/s. There are several other conditions
that could reduce average pedestrian speed, such as a high percentage of slow-walking children
in the pedestrian flow.

Pedestrian Start-Up Time and Capacity

A pedestrian start-up time of 3 sec. is a reasonable midrange value for evaluating crosswalks
at traffic signals. A capacity of 75p/min/m or 4,500p/h/m is a reasonable value for a pedestrian
facility if local data are not available. At capacity, a walking speed of 0.8 m/s is considered a
reasonable value.

Level of Services
The HCM uses pedestrian space as primary measure of effectiveness, with mean speed and
flow rate as secondary measures. Provision of adequate space for both moving and queuing
pedestrian flow is necessary to ensure a good LOS. Alternatively LOS considered as pedestrian
comfort, convenience, perception of safety and security. Alternative LOS measurements
consider specific constraints to pedestrian flow such as stairway and wait time to cross
roadways.
We are going to discuss LOS of walkways, LOS of queuing and LOS at signalized intersection
below.

Pedestrian Walkway LOS

LOS A
Pedestrian Space > 5.6 m2/pm, Flow Rate = 16 p/min/m. At a walkway LOS A, pedestrians
move in desired paths without altering their movements in response to other pedestrians.
Walking speeds are freely selected, and conflicts between pedestrians are unlikely. It is shown
in Fig. 7.
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Figure 7: LOS A.

LOS B
Pedestrian Space > 3.7−5.6 m2/p Flow Rate > 16−23 p/min/m. At LOS B, there is sufficient
area for pedestrians to select walking speeds freely, to bypass other pedestrians, and to avoid
crossing conflicts. At this level, pedestrians begin to be aware of other pedestrians, and to
respond to their presence when selecting a walking path. It is shown in Fig. 8.

LOS C
Pedestrian Space > 2.2−3.7 m2/p Flow Rate > 23−33 p/min/m. At LOS C, space is sufficient
for normal walking speeds, and for bypassing other pedestrians in primarily unidirectional
streams. Reverse-direction or crossing movements can cause minor conflicts, and speeds and
flow rate are somewhat lower. It is shown in Fig. 9.
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Figure 8: LOS B.

Figure 9: LOS C.

LOS D
Pedestrian Space > 1.4−2.2 m2/p Flow Rate > 33−49 p/min/m. At LOS D, freedom to select
individual walking speed and to bypass other pedestrians is restricted. Crossing or reverse flow
movements face a high probability of conflict, requiring frequent changes in speed and
position.
The LOS provides reasonably fluid flow, but friction and interaction between pedestrians is
likely. It is shown in Fig. 10.

LOS E
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Pedestrian Space > 0.75 − 1.4 m2/p Flow Rate > 49 − 75 p/min/m. At LOS E, virtually all
pedestrians restrict their normal walking speed, frequently adjusting their gait. At the lower
range, forward movement is possible only by shuffling. Space is not sufficient for passing
slower pedestrians. Cross- or reverse-flow movements are possible only with extreme
difficulties.
Design volumes approach the limit of walkway capacity, with stoppages and interruptions to
flow. It is shown in Fig. 11.

LOS F
Pedestrian Space _ 0.75 m2/p Flow Rate varies p/min/m. At LOS F, all walking speeds are
severely restricted, and forward progress is made only by shuffling. There is frequent,
unavoidable contact with other pedestrians. Cross- and reverse-flow movements are virtually
impossible. Flow is sporadic and unstable. Space is more characteristic of queued pedestrians
than of moving pedestrian streams. It is shown in Fig. 12.

Figure 10: LOS D.

 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Figure 11: LOS E.

Figure 12: LOS F.

Table 1: LOS Criteria For Pedestrians At Signalized Intersections.

 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

LOS at signalized intersection

The signalized intersection crossing is more complicated to analyze than a mid-block crossing,
because it involves intersecting sidewalk flows, pedestrians crossing the street, and others
queued waiting for the signal to change. The service measure is the average delay experienced
by a pedestrian. Research indicates that the average delay of pedestrians at signalized
intersection crossings is not constrained by capacity, even when pedestrian flow rates reach
5,000 p/h. The average delay per pedestrian for a crosswalk is given by Equation:

Where, dp= average pedestrian delay (s), g = effective green time (for pedestrians) (s), and
C=cycle length (s).

Design principle of pedestrian facilities

 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

In the design facilities we will discuss the design criteria of sidewalk, street corner, crosswalk,
traffic island, overpass and underpass and other facilities like as pedestrian signals and signage.

Side walk
Sidewalks are pedestrian lanes that provide people with space to travel within the public right-
of-way that is separated from roadway vehicles. They also provide places for children to walk,
run, skate, ride bikes, and play. Sidewalks are associated with significant reductions in
pedestrian collisions with motor vehicles.

 Width: The minimum clear width of a pedestrian access route shall be 1220 mm
exclusive of the width of curb. It varies according to pedestrian flow rate and different
LOS. It is shown in Table below.
 Cross slope: The cross slope of the pedestrian access route shall be maximum 1:48.

Table 2: Minimum pedestrian clear area (excluding sidewalk obstructions).

 Surfaces: Surface should be firm, stable, slip resistance and prohibit openings & avoid
service elements i.e. manholes etc.
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

A buffer zone of 1.2 to 1.8 m (4 to 6 ft) is desirable and should be provided to separate
pedestrians from the street. The buffer zone will vary according to the street type. In downtown
or commercial districts, a street furniture zone is usually appropriate.

Cross Walk
Marked crosswalks indicate optimal or preferred locations for pedestrians to cross and help
designate right-of-way for motorists to yield to pedestrians. Crosswalks are often installed at
signalized intersections and other selected locations.

1. It should be located at all open legs of signalized intersection.

2. It should be perpendicular to roadway.
3. The parallel line should be 0.2-0.6 m in width and min. length 1.8 m (standard 3m).
4. Marking may be of different type to increase visibility like as solid, standard, continental,
dashed, zebra, ladder. It is shown in Fig.13.

Figure 13: Cross walk marking pattern.

Traffic Islands
Traffic islands to reduce the length of the crossing should be considered for the safety of all
road users. It is used to permit safe crossing when insufficient gap in two directions traffic &
helps elderly, children and disabled.

 It works best when refuse area median is greater than cross walk width or 3.6 m, have a
surface area of at least 4.6 sq.m, are free of obstructions, have adequate drainage, and
provide a flat, street level surface to provide accessibility to people with disabilities.

 The Refuge area width should be at least 1.2 m wide and depend upon traffic speed. It
should be 1.5m wide on streets with speeds between 40-48 kmph, 1.8 m wide(48-
56kmph), and 2.4 m (56-72 kmph).
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Pedestrian Overpass and Underpass

Pedestrian facilities at-grade and as directly as possible are always preferred. However, where
grade separation is indicated, paths that are attractive, convenient and direct can become well-
used and highly valued parts of a city’s pedestrian infrastructure.

 These are expensive method but eliminate all or most conflicts. These may be warranted
for critical locations such as schools factory gates, sports arenas, and major downtown
intersections (specially in conjunction with transit stations).
 Overpasses are less expensive than underpass. However , vertical rise and fall to be
negotiated by pedestrians is usually greater for an overpass, and it may be aesthetically
inferior.
 Minimum width is required 1.22 m, although 1.83 is preferred.
 Ramps slopes not greater than 1:12 (8.33%) are preferable to flights of stairs to
accommodate wheelchair, strollers, and bicycles and to comply with ADA.

Figure 14: Ladder pattern at intersection.

Street Corner
Available Time-Space: The total time-space available for circulation and queuing in the
intersection corner during an analysis period is the product of the net corner area and the length
of the analysis period. For street corners, the analysis period is one signal cycle and therefore
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

is equal to the cycle length. The following equation is used to compute time-space available at
an intersection corner. Intersection Corner Geometry is shown in Fig. 15.

Where,
TS =available time-space (m2-s),
Wa = effective width of Sidewalk a (m),
Wb = effective width of Sidewalk b (m), R = radius of corner curb (m), and
C = cycle length (s).

Pedestrian signals
Pedestrian signals are designed basically considering minimum time gap required for crossing
the pedestrians. This minimum time gap can be calculated by using following gap equation.

Where:
Gs=min time gap in sec,
W= width of crossing section,
ts= start-up time,
tc= consecutive time between two pedestrian,
N=no of rows, and
Sped =pedestrian speed.

Traffic sign
There are many sign used for pedestrian facilities like as in-pavement flashers, overhead signs,
animated pedestrian indications and school zone symbol. These are shown below:

 In-Pavement Flashers (Fig. 16)

 Overhead Signs (Fig. 17)
 Animated Pedestrian Indications (Fig.18)
 School Zone Symbol (Fig. 19)
 Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Figure 16: In-Pavement Raised Markers with Amber LED Strobe Lighting and LED
Signs.

Figure17: Overhead Pedestrian Signs.

Traffic Engineering Prof. Dr. Zainab Alkaissi
Lecture 6

Figure 18: Animated Pedestrian Signals.

Figure19: School Zone Symbol