Perception based pedestrian level of service

Abstract

In urban India version of transportation, the traffic planners mostly give stress on motorized mode of movement .All kinds of steps are taken for development of roads in terms of safety, speed or time interval at intersections in case of motorized vehicle. But in present traffic condition, the non-motorized mode of traffic is also increasing. The pedestrians and bicyclists are occupying the track of motorized vehicle as no separate grades are provided for them. It leads to traffic congestion as well as the safety factor of pedestrian is at stake. According to HCM 2010, for this heterogeneous traffic, we can’t just increase the level of service by developing the quality of roads for vehicles Steps have been taken to reclaim pavement for pedestrians by removing the encroachment on footpath. A study was carried out on Bhubaneswar market complex at Unit -2 where about 260 meters of footpath surrounding it and separated from road by divider along road side. The users were asked to answer the questions the quality of service provided by the system in terms of questionnaire formed .The format of questionnaire was based on the factors that user perceive. From the ratings, an analysis was carried out to find the level of service based on perception of the interviewers .The analysis consisted of five factors as safety, Comfort level vendors encroachment ,accessibility and side walk performance, climate condition. The analysis was done on SPSS and the area was categorized to a specific level of service out of 6 degrees of level of service (LOS). It is difficult to have LOS value for an area based on perception as it varies from person to person. So the trail is made to its best possible value of LOS depending on majority of the majority of user’s perception.