Design Implications of Walking Speed for Pedestrian Facilities

Pedestrians walk differently on different types of facilities. Walking speeds are governed not only by the width of the facility but also by age and gender, land uses, temporal variations, cell phone usage, carrying baggage while walking, and movement in groups. This paper discusses development of adjustment factors for effective design of pedestrian facilities on the basis of pedestrian walking speeds under such influences on three types of facilities, e.g., sidewalks, wide-sidewalks, and precincts. Eighteen locations are selected in five cities in India, and data are analyzed considering the influencing parameters. Pedestrians walk faster than the population mean walking speed on sidewalks at 71.22 m/min, whereas they walk at a speed of 63.60 m/min on precincts. Exercise and leisure walking speeds of pedestrians are 74.57 m/min and 62.44 m/min, respectively. Significant difference is observed in the walking speed of pedestrians when moving alone or in a group. Pedestrians carrying baggage walk slower at 64.26 m/min compared with the population mean walking speed. Similarly, pedestrians using cell phones walk slower at 62.82, 62.19, and 59.29 m/min on sidewalks, wide-sidewalks, and precincts, respectively. Land use also plays a major role in determining the walking speed of pedestrians. Pedestrian speed in an educational area (85.27 m/min) and in shopping areas (60.21 m/min) are 28% faster and 16% slower, respectively, than the population mean walking speed.