(85%) transport - final literature review

Jesse Kahler s2799588 |

Literature Review Pedestrian Behaviour

4037ENV – Transport Planning

4037ENV – Transport Planning Jesse Kahler s2799588

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LITERATURE REVIEW

The use of pedestrian counts play a pivotal role for the future planning of areas, particular within

built environments, due to their ability to identify the flow and direction of pedestrians in a

quantitative manner. This literature review will examine two aspects pertaining to the key area of

pedestrian behaviour, an area which has a significant effect on the results obtained from pedestrian

counts. The two factors within this significant focus area which address, and can also significantly

influence pedestrian counts, are pedestrian activity and pedestrian safety.

Pedestrian activity:

Stanton and Wanless (1995, p. 292) classified normal pedestrian movement into 5 categories:

“strolling, window shopping, open air wandering, passage through railway stations with crossing

flows; and movement into, within and out of public places”. Ye, Chen and Jian (2012) identified that

pedestrian traffic flows, and therefore pedestrian counts, are subjected to a myriad of motive -

related factors. These factors are identified as: gender, age and disability; the slope gradient, width

and design properties of the walking surface; the motivation behind the visit (e.g. shopping

purposes, leisurely activity etc.); and environmental conditions of temperature, weather, and

lighting (Ye, Chen & Jian 2012, p. 46). In 2005, (Schweizer, p. 9) it was found that influences of

weather, temperature, and season can impact a pedestrian activity, as well as the purpose of the

trip. Similarly, Aultman-Hall, Lane and Lambert (2009) also identified that environmental factors,

such as weather conditions, can significantly affect pedestrian counts, seen by the number of

pedestrians who pass through a given area. It was identified that weather can ultimately reduce

pedestrian traffic flow by up to 30% (13% due to rain, and 16% due to the winter season) (Aultman-

Hall, Lane & Lambert 2009, p. 18).

The American Planning Association (2013) identified aesthetic motives as a key limitation of

pedestrian counts. Additionally, Gehl Architects (2004) recognised a desire for aesthetically pleasing

environments and public places for pedestrians to sit and relax. Implementation of features to

satisfy these desires of the public may be noted to affect the pedestrian count. For example, if a

large number of pedestrians sat and relaxed for an extended period of time, or took a more ‘scenic’

route to their destination compared to that of their normal one which would pass through a

pedestrian count location, the assigned time frame for that count location may have passed,

resulting in a somewhat false representation of pedestrian data.


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It is delineated by many (Gotschi & Mills 2008; Giles-Corti et al. 2010; Rabl & de Nazelle 2012; Petre

& Wagner 2013) that the integration of active transportation (walking or cycling), as well as mixed

land use (Olaru, Smith and Taplin 2011, p. 220), can significantly help to reduce detrimental

environmental effects caused by dependency on private motor vehicle transportation. Therefore, it

may be seen that due to the prescribed trend toward active transportation, the method in which is

used to identify pedestrian activity from pedestrian counts may face further limitations. Thus, the

importance of the aspects of methodology used to conduct pedestrian traffic counts, as outlined by

Sands (1972), may be of even greater concern for obtaining representative pedestrian traffic data.

Pedestrian safety:

The American Planning Association (2013) identified how pedestrian counts can be used in three

main ways to address pedestrian safety: as a way to generalise whether pedestrians obeyed traffic

signals, take into consideration traffic accidents which occur due to pedestrians and pedestrian flows

on adjacent footpaths, and for the identification of jaywalkers as a percentage of the total

pedestrian count. Additionally, pedestrian counts may also identify significant events such as

pedestrian-vehicle incidents, which in turn may allow for a significant influence in the design of a

road in order to maximise safety for pedestrians and cyclists in particular.

Ukkusuri et al. (2012) noted that the need to create safe walking environments for pedestrians is

vital. Rifaat, Tay and Barros (2012) further addressed this notion, as they identified that pedestrians,

and cyclists alike, are defenseless users of the road due to their absence of protection in a motor

vehicle collision. Rifaat, Tay and Barros (2012) also recognised that pedestrian-vehicle collisions, and

therefore elements of pedestrian safety, can be attributed to a number of factors, such as: “road

design, traffic control, traffic characteristics, vehicle features, social norms, enforcement,

neighbourhood characteristics, weather and environment factors, and driver behaviours” (Rifaat, Tay

& Barros 2012, p. 340). Likewise, Garder (1989, p. 443) found from a case study in Sweden that the

most common cause of pedestrian-vehicle collision was due to either a turning vehicle colliding with

a pedestrian who has been signaled to walk by a traffic signal; or, a jaywalker being hit by a motor

vehicle. Factors which significantly influence the occurrence of these accidents were identified by

Ukkusuri et al. (2012, p. 1150), where it was identified that the design and characteristics of the built

environment, transit, and road are the major influences in pedestrian-vehicle collisions. It is further

noted that the perceived safety of an area may also influence the pedestrian count, as a person is

less likely to walk through an area where they feel in danger, whether it be day or night. Therefore,

it should be known if an area has, or has not implemented design principles of a program such as


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Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) (Queensland Government 2007), as the

CPTED program seeks to limit or prevent incidents of crime through the use of effective design.

Therefore, it is likely that if these design principles are implemented, pedestrians will likely feel safer

to use the streets, thus, altering the pedestrian count results.

Conclusion:

This literature review has examined a significant research area related to the accurate and successful

implementation of a pedestrian count: pedestrian behaviour. From this review it is seen that factors

of pedestrian activity and pedestrian safety are prominent aspects of this research area. However, it

is recommended that further studies be performed to substantially conclude the importance of

these issue areas to pedestrian counts.


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REFERENCES

American Planning Association 2013, The pedestrian count (Online), Available:

<https://www.planning.org/pas/at60/report199.htm> (12 April 2014).

Aultman-Hall, L., Lane, D. & Lambert, R. R. 2009, ‘Assessing impact of weather and season on

pedestrian traffic volumes’, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation

Research Board, vol. 2140, no. 1, pp. 35 – 43.

Garder, P. 1989, ‘Pedestrian safety at traffic signals: a study carried out with the help of a traffic

conflicts technique’, Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 435 – 444.

Gehl Architects 2004, Places for people (Online), Available:

<http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutCouncil/PlansandPublications/Documents/Places_

People_2004.pdf> (14 April 2014).

Giles-Corti, B., Foster, S., Shilton, T. & Falconer, R. 2010, ‘The co-benefits for health of investing in

active transportation’, New South Wales Public Health Bulletin, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 122 – 127.

Gotschi, T. & Mills, K. 2008, Active transportation for America: the case for increased federal

investment in bicycling and walking (Online), Available:

<http://www.railstotrails.org/resources/documents/whatwedo/atfa/atfa_20081020.pdf>

(12 April 2014).

Olaru, D., Smith, B. & Taplin, J. H. E., 2011, ‘Residential location and transit-oriented development in

a new rail corridor’, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, vol. 45, no. 3, pp.

219-237.

Petre, A. & Wagner, J. 2013, ‘Green consumption under misperceived prices: an application to active

transportation’, Southern Economics Journal, vol. 80, no, 1, pp. 187 – 204.

Queensland Government 2007, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: Guidelines for

Queensland (Online),

Available:

<http://www.police.qld.gov.au/Resources/Internet/programs/cscp/documents/CPTED%20P

art%20A.pdf>

(12 April 2014).


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Rabl, A. & de Nazelle, A. 2012, ‘Benefits of shift from car to active transport’, Transport Policy, vol.

19, no. 1, pp. 121 – 131.

Rifaat, S. M., Tay, R. & de Barros, A. 2012, ‘Urban street pattern and pedestrian traffic safety’,

Journal of Urban Design, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 337 – 352.

Sands, S. 1972, ‘Improved pedestrian traffic counts for better retail site location’, Journal of Small

Business Management, vol. 10, pp. 27 – 31.

Schweizer, T. 2005, ‘Methods for counting pedestrians’, Swiss Association of Transport Engineers.

Stanton, R. J. C. & Wanless, G. K. 1995, ‘Pedestrian movement’, Safety Science, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 291

– 300.

Ukkursuri, S., Miranda-Moreno, L. F., Ramadurai, G. & Isa-Tavarez, J. 2012, ‘The role of built

environment on pedestrian crash frequency’, Safety Science, vol. 50, no.4, pp. 1141 – 1151.

Ye, J., Chen, X. & Jian, N. 2012, ‘Impact analysis of human factors on pedestrian traffic

characteristics’, Fire Safety Journal, vol. 52, pp. 46 – 54.