The United State Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has published the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) that provides procedures for analysing uninterrupted and interrupted pedestrian flows on walkways (Rouphail et al., 1998). Interrupted pedestrian flows refer to pathways intersected by traffic lights and other mechanisms to halt pedestrian flow for vehicular traffic. Since most of the walkways in National Parks in Victoria are exclusively pedestrian facilities, this report will only review the work relating to uninterrupted pedestrian flows. The features of pedestrians are very important to examine: who is walking on sidewalks highly influence the performance of them and the characteristics of their traffic flow. In the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), published by the Transportation Research Board (TRB), there is a method to calculate and analysis level of service (LOS) in the USA. In order to estimate sidewalk comfort for pedestrians it is calculated the pedestrian level of service (LOS). It is used to design new sidewalks, to test the performance of a existent sidewalk, to decide its redesigning, to improve its width, to analyze its capability after a change, and so on. The HCM presents a measurement, that is adaptable, with indexes linked to places and times, to different sites. However some international studies show that the HCM measurement of pedestrian LOS does not consider the complex pedestrian background under different situations: like, for example, environmental, and psychological factors which affect their travel expectations and needs. After surveying international literature and collecting and analyzing pedestrian data, our research group studied the HCM methodology and its application on Italy urban roads. The target of this article is to evaluate the HCM pedestrian LOS methodology in terms of its suitability for pedestrian planning in Italy, to compile a pedestrian features database, and to study pedestrian LOS analysis in Italy. This study was concentrated in Cagliari, a city of Italy. Cagliari is the largest city in the Sardegna (a big island of Italy), but it is not a very big city. According to the census, 150,000 people lived in Cagliari. In the city there are different kind of people: citizens, students (who live there for studying, because there is the largest University of Sardegna), businessmen and workers (who only work in Cagliari but live apart), tourists, and so on. This study is divided in two main parts. The first one is addressed to analyze the appropriateness of the HCM pedestrian LOS methodology for Cagliari. The second one aims to measure the factors that congestion the pedestrian flow on the sidewalks.
Evaluation of the HCM Pedestrian LOS Methodology in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy)
PINNA, FRANCESCO;
2010-01-01
Abstract
The United State Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has published the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) that provides procedures for analysing uninterrupted and interrupted pedestrian flows on walkways (Rouphail et al., 1998). Interrupted pedestrian flows refer to pathways intersected by traffic lights and other mechanisms to halt pedestrian flow for vehicular traffic. Since most of the walkways in National Parks in Victoria are exclusively pedestrian facilities, this report will only review the work relating to uninterrupted pedestrian flows. The features of pedestrians are very important to examine: who is walking on sidewalks highly influence the performance of them and the characteristics of their traffic flow. In the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), published by the Transportation Research Board (TRB), there is a method to calculate and analysis level of service (LOS) in the USA. In order to estimate sidewalk comfort for pedestrians it is calculated the pedestrian level of service (LOS). It is used to design new sidewalks, to test the performance of a existent sidewalk, to decide its redesigning, to improve its width, to analyze its capability after a change, and so on. The HCM presents a measurement, that is adaptable, with indexes linked to places and times, to different sites. However some international studies show that the HCM measurement of pedestrian LOS does not consider the complex pedestrian background under different situations: like, for example, environmental, and psychological factors which affect their travel expectations and needs. After surveying international literature and collecting and analyzing pedestrian data, our research group studied the HCM methodology and its application on Italy urban roads. The target of this article is to evaluate the HCM pedestrian LOS methodology in terms of its suitability for pedestrian planning in Italy, to compile a pedestrian features database, and to study pedestrian LOS analysis in Italy. This study was concentrated in Cagliari, a city of Italy. Cagliari is the largest city in the Sardegna (a big island of Italy), but it is not a very big city. According to the census, 150,000 people lived in Cagliari. In the city there are different kind of people: citizens, students (who live there for studying, because there is the largest University of Sardegna), businessmen and workers (who only work in Cagliari but live apart), tourists, and so on. This study is divided in two main parts. The first one is addressed to analyze the appropriateness of the HCM pedestrian LOS methodology for Cagliari. The second one aims to measure the factors that congestion the pedestrian flow on the sidewalks.
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