Modelling Pedestrian Movements and Design of Facilities

Due to economic conditions, transportation facilities, urban structure and cultural backgrounds, people in developing countries have to walk relatively long distances for daily activities. However, consideration of pedestrian movement characteristics from developing countries, in particular, from least developing countries is by and large neglected to take into account in standard capacity parameters for pedestrian facilities. Thus, the direct use of foreign design codes and unavailability of well-recognized local parameters for pedestrian facilities has been a concern in least developing countries. This study is focused on pedestrian movements on the sidewalks in the capital city Dhaka, Bangladesh. The pedestrian flow characteristics and relationships have been determined through more appropriate statistical tools. In addition, a queuing based analytical model has been developed as a function of relevant determinants and functional factors to predict the travel time on pedestrian facilities. The queuing based model was used in the development of a new methodology for the control of pedestrian flow and in the design of facilities.