Assessment of Walkability and Pedestrian Level of Service in Two Cities of Kerala

Abstract

Pedestrian becomes most vulnerable victim in most of the road accidents. The provision of facilities to the pedestrian has been altered due to the widening of roads as the traffic is getting increased. Walking and living circumstances in an area forms walkability. It is how supportive an environment is in the circumstances of people who live, walk, shop, visit and spend time in an area. It can be networked to the building quality, urban planning and connectivity, security and desirability for infrastructure accessibility. Walkability is a vital parameter in sustainable urban transport system. It indicates the environment for walking of people. Few factors influencing walkability are high-quality footpaths, traffic, road conditions, land-use pattern, building accessibility and safety. The study focusses to assess, review and quantify existing pedestrian facilities and infrastructure in selected road corridors in two cities. This would lead to understand the present state of walkability in each corridor so that pedestrian level of service (LOS) could be enhanced so as to improve the walkability in each corridor.