Application of level of service facilities for sidewalk assessment

Abstract

The model share of pedestrians, in developing cities has the tendency of being very high, as opposed to developed cities. For example, between 25-50% of trips in major Indian cities, and about 50% of all trips in major African cities, are made entirely on foot. However, though such is the case, in majority of developing cities, pedestrian infrastructure, amenities, and services are often neglected in municipal planning and budgets (Fang, 2005). Improved walking facilities not only will generate new pedestrian flows, but will also increase the comfort of the current walking population. Consequently, it will result in an increase in the public transit usage and a decrease in private vehicle trips. Accordingly, a need has arisen to measure the performance of pedestrian facilities for improvements and priority setting. Traditionally, pedestrian facility operations were evaluated on the basis of the level of-service (LOS) concept. Therefore, the LOS methods used in the assessment of pedestrian facilities are to be examined in detail, to identify what is to be added or improved in the South Asian context. In response, this paper aims to study the current status of the sidewalks in Sri Lankan urban areas for the estimation of the sidewalk level of service. It reveals that the current level of services methodologies are lacking, as they address western conditions rather than the prevailing conditions in Sri Lanka. So, this study intended a review of existing methodologies by evaluating the existing sidewalks, and a combination of most appropriate factors for Sri Lankan conditions were selected. As for the review of existing methodologies, recent methodologies that developed at an international level have been selected. They are included in Table1. This study is at the initial stage and is to be developed as an “all-inclusive pedestrian facilities Level of Services methodology for South Asian Countries”.