Pedestrian

Definition of 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
Pedestrian Crossing- is a place
where pedestrians
can cross a street and
where motorists must stop
to let them cross.
Types of Pedestrian Crossing
School Crossing- these are found in the areas
surrounding schools, and are manned by crossing
patrol officers.
Zebra Crossing- identified by black and white road
markings, amber flashing beacons and zig-zag road
markings.
Pelican Crossing- feature a pedestrian- controlled push
button, notifying the traffic lights that there is someone
Puffin Crossing- a more advanced version of the pelican
crossing, puffin crossing come equipped with sensors that
monitors whether pedestrians have crossed the road
prematurely or have moved away from the crossing.
Toucan Crossing- so called because two can cross, toucan.
Crossing allows both cyclists and pedestrians to pass at the
same time. They are twice as wide as puffin and pelican
crossing so are easily spotted.
Pegasus Crossing- are equivalent to toucan
crossings, if the cyclists were on horseback
instead. The main difference is that the control
panel is positioned high enough for horse riders
to reach.
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.
Identifying the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and
disabled people

Before deciding on the appropriate extent and standard

of pedestrian, cyclist and disabled people's facilities, it is
important to assess the potential demand. Here the
possible methods of obtaining such estimates are
examined. There are two steps in the process: obtaining
reliable estimates of the existing demand and projecting
this demand to a future design year. Most survey
techniques are concerned with the first step.
1. Manual counts
Manual counts are concerned with counting the flow of
pedestrians or cyclists through a junction, across a
road, or along a road section/footway. Because it is
important to determine conflicts with motor vehicles,
vehicle counts (by type) are normally carried out at the
same time.
If manual counts are to be useful, they need to satisfy
the following:
1. The time period(s) in the day over which the counts
are undertaken must coincide with the peak times of
the activity of study (e.g. school trips).
2. 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.
3. The survey locations need to be carefully selected in
order to ensure that the total existing demand is
observed.
The advantages of manual counts are: they are simple
to set up and carry out; and they are flexible- changes
in the agreed survey schedule can be introduced
quickly in response to observed changes in the demand
on the site. Their disadvantages are: they are labour
intensive; only simple information is obtained, namely
flows over given time periods (often 5-10 minutes); and
no detailed information is obtained on problems
2. Video surveys
Cameras are set up at the selected sites and video recordings
taken of the pedestrian and/or cyclist movements, together
with their interaction with vehicles where appropriate, during
the selected observation periods. A suitable elevated vantage
point for the camera is important. Such surveys produce a
permanent record of pedestrian and cyclist movements and
their interaction with vehicles. In addition a record of delays
and behavior patterns (e.g. the reluctance of an elderly person
to cross the road) is obtained. From such information, for
example, pedestrians' crossing difficulties can be analyzed.
3. Attitude surveys
The two survey techniques covered briefly above obtain an estimate of
what is happening now. What they do not do, and what they cannot do,
is determine the circumstances under which increased walking or
cycling might take place. This requires detailed questionnaire-based
attitude surveys, often directed at particular target groups such as
schoolchildren, shoppers, disabled people etc. Devising such
questionnaires is a skillful task and requires considerable expertise if
complete, unbiased information is to be obtained.
4. Prediction of demand in the
design year
Once an estimate of the existing demand has been
obtained it is necessary to predict what the demand is
likely to be at some future date. This is carried out in
two stages. The first stage is concerned with deciding
on an appropriate target or design year. This will
depend on the particular local circumstances and
planning context, but for pedestrian and cyclist facility
planning, a 10-year target figure beyond the end of the
planning period is often considered to be appropriate.
The second stage involves predicting the probable level
of change in walking and cycling demand to the design
year. In considering this it should be stressed that this is
not a precise process, since the future demand cannot
be estimated using carefully researched and
formulated mathematical expressions. All that can be
hoped for is that the estimated flows will be sufficiently
close to those which will finally occur so that the
correct decision on the provision of facilities will have
main factors to be considered are:
• planned and anticipated changes in land use developments over the
design period, and hence possible changes in the number of
generated trips being made which fall within the distance ranges
normally covered by walking and cycling
• possible changes in the level and cost of public transport provision,
together with constraints on car usage
• changes in the age structure and socio-economic status of the local
residents and the effect of this on car ownership and car usage
• anticipated changes in local attitudes towards walking and cycling as
viable/acceptable modes of travel.
Identifying priorities of need
Safety

Conflict
Luckily accidents are a relatively rare event at any particular location, but conflicts
between competing travelers are much more common and often result in 'near misses'.
The procedure is based on PV 2, where P = pedestrian flow (ped/h) across a 100 m
length of road centered on the proposed crossing location, and V = number of vehicles
on the road in both directions (veh/h). The P V 2 value is the average over the four
busiest hours of the day. A formal crossing is normally justified if the value of PV 2 > 10
s.
Satisfying policy objectives
The satisfying of any formal transport policy objectives must be an
important factor when identifying priorities. For example, if an
important local transport policy objective is to provide an extensive
pedestrian route system aimed at increasing the amount of walking by
elderly and disabled people, then those road crossing points in the
vicinity of concentrations of such groups of people are likely to have a
higher priority than those elsewhere.
Cost effectiveness
Because of the competing demands for finance within the transport
sector, all proposals given top priority on the basis of the above three
criteria should be subjected to an appropriate cost-effectiveness
analysis. This would be aimed at establishing the benefits to
pedestrians and/or cyclists resulting from reduced delays, easier
movement and increased safety, and to compare these benefits with
possible increased delays incurred by vehicle occupants and the capital
and maintenance costs of construction.
Pedestrian and cyclist
characteristics and
requirements
Walking speeds
An important design element, particularly when planning at-grade road
crossings, is the need to provide sufficient crossing time to enable all
pedestrians to complete the road crossing maneuver before traffic begins
to move. This is an aspect which requires careful local study if the 'best'
solution is to be provided, and is likely to be both time-of-day and area
dependent. For example, during the morning and evening peak travel
periods, most pedestrians will be physically fit and active, whereas in areas
with many old peoples‘ homes, there will be significant numbers of elderly
and disabled people with lower walking speeds.
Some research into road crossing speeds s has indicated an average value in
the range 1.2 m/s to 1.35 m/s at busy crossings with a mix of pedestrian age
groups. However, if crossings are less busy, then average walking speeds
approximating to the free-flow walking speeds in pedestrian concourses of
1.6 m/s can be expected. 9 However, for disabled people a more appropriate
value is 0.5 m/s if the needs of most disabled people are to be satisfied.
Walking distances
Walking distance is an important design aspect, since the shorter the journey
distance, the higher the probability that it will be made on foot. It has been
found that over 60 per cent of all journeys under 1.5 km are made on foot,
and that pedestrian journeys rarely exceed 3 km in length. ~ This means that
if walking is to be encouraged, then the distance between origins (e.g. home)
and destinations (e.g. shops) should preferably be less than 1 km.
Seating
Seating areas should not be affected by or hinder circulation,
nor be subject to adverse microclimatic conditions. They should
stimulate social interaction through their grouping ... They
should allow for activities to be viewed, to enhance visual
interest and be sited parallel to major pedestrian flows,
especially in narrow street spaces.
Seating fulfils a distinct role for disabled people, since it
provides needed resting areas. This means that the accessibility
range of disabled people can be increased by ensuring that
seating provision is provided within the maximum distances.
1. Needs of cyclists
The main objectives relating to the provision of new or
improved cycle facilities can be summarized as follows:
• to encourage increased cycling activity by providing facilities
which give increased convenience, comfort and safety to
cyclists
• to minimize direct conflict between cyclists and vehicles,
especially at busy roads and junctions
• to ensure that where there are significant numbers of cyclists
(e.g. in residential areas), traffic speeds are kept low.
2. Pedestrian areas

Creating an environment which respects a human

rather than a vehicular scale. However, to be
successful, such schemes require satisfactory
provision to be made for local and through traffic
and for public transport and parking, including in
particular the access needs of mobility
handicapped people.
Special needs of elderly and
disabled people
Ramp gradients
Ideally a ramp gradient should not be greater than 5 per
cent, and in no circumstances greater than 8 per cent. To
aid wheelchair users, as well as other elderly and disabled
users, handrails should be provided on both sides. Flat rest
platforms should be provided at intervals of 10 m on the
steeper ramps for wheelchair users, and should be at least
1350 mm long.
Steps
Street furniture
Any piece of street furniture (including seating) is
a potential obstruction and needs to be located
away from pedestrians' main movement paths. To
help visually impaired people, the color of any
street furniture should contrast with surrounding
objects, particularly the walking surface and
building frontages.
Walking surface quality
It is, therefore, important to establish a regular
monitoring and maintenance program to ensure
that the quality of the walking surface is kept to a
high standard. It is also important to ensure that
the walking surface provides a good grip under wet
weather conditions.
Information needs
It is essential that the particular information needs
of elderly and disabled people are recognized and
provided for. These are of two kinds: directional
information in order to reach a specific destination;
and information on when it is safe to cross the
road.