Modelling Pedestrians for Planning and Design

The movement of pedestrians is vital for sustaining people’s quality of life. To enable and encourage walking, suitable facilities must be available and planning and implementing such facilities requires an understanding of the characteristics of pedestrian movements. This research examined the factors which influence walking speeds, relating them to current pedestrian modelling techniques. A review of current practices and procedures for modelling pedestrian walking speeds is presented, highlighting deficiencies in the methodology used. A significant finding from this work was that the industry-standard Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) methodology as it currently stands is not fully applicable to all types of walking environments. A number of additional factors which have a significant affect on walking speeds were identified and a series of new mathematical models were developed which were tested against independent data and shown to provide significantly better estimates. The research thus provided a greater understanding of the dynamics affecting walking speeds, thereby helping to assist transport planners and engineers with the planning and design of pedestrian facilities.