UPCPL 305 : TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

Module 3: Transport and Environment

Lecture-1: Road and Pedestrian Safety

Rohan Dhal
Lecturer
Department of Planning
Odisha University of Technology and Research, Bhubaneswar
Email id: rohan.dhal25@gmail.com
What is a Pedestrian?
Every person is a pedestrian, who walk, sit or stand in public places.

The World Health Organization (WHO, 2013) defines “A pedestrian is any person who is travelling by walking for at least part of his or her
journey.

As per IRC 2012, Pedestrian defines as “A significant proportion of trips upto 1-2 km in length is performed on foot”.

A person is also considered a pedestrian when running, jogging, hiking, or when sitting or lying down in the roadway.

The person may carry items of varying quantities, held in hands, strapped on the back, placed on the head, on shoulders, or pushed/pulled
hand cart etc.

In addition to the ordinary form of walking, a pedestrian may be using various modifications and aids to walking such as wheelchairs,
walkers with skateboards and roller blades etc.
What is a Pedestrian?
A favorable environment for pedestrians would mean a “favorable environment for ALL” with integration of the
concept of Universal Design and Street Design with inclusivity and accessibility.

Walking is slowest of all other modes of transport, this slow pace has a lot of advantage as at this pace we can
see distinguish between people, feel and understand the environment nearby.

While walking we observe, connect, interact and learn.

The benefits of walking can be classified into Economic, Environmental, Social and Health benefits, all of these
benefits lead to a better quality of life for people
Pedestrian Facilities
Footpath (Design & Materials) Steer Furniture (Benches, trees, tree-covers, street
lights etc.)
Kerbs
Bollards
Crossings (At-grade to Grade separated; zebra, Table-
top, FoB, Subways etc.) Elevators & lifts
Ramp & Steps (Level Change) Bus stops, Schools or Hospital zones
Guard Rail & Lighting Urinal Public Toilets
Traffic Signals Public Parking
Traffic Islands Multi-functional Zones
Signage & Cautions
 Pedestrian Facilities
In order to serve the requirements of Pedestrian Facility Design, there are Six Basic Physical Characteristics:
 Footpath Surface
 Footpath Width
 Obstruction
 Continuity
 Encroachment
 Potential for Vehicle Conflict

•In order to make walking a pleasurable experience, Pedestrian Facility Design requires three Basic User Characteristics of :
 Walk Environment (coherence and directness)
 Attractiveness & Comfort
 Safety & Security
Pedestrian Conflict Area Classifications:
High - Areas with significant numbers of pedestrians expected to be on the sidewalks or
crossing the streets during darkness. Examples are down-town retail areas, near theaters,
concert halls, stadiums, and transit terminals.
Medium - Areas where lesser numbers of pedestrians utilize the streets at night. Typical are
down-town office areas, blocks with libraries, apartments, neighborhood shopping, industrial,
older city areas, and streets with transit lines.
Low - Areas with very low volumes of night pedestrian usage. These can occur in any of the
cited street classifications but may be typified by sub-urban single family streets, very low
density residential developments, and rural or semi-rural areas.
User Safety Issues
As per Manual on Road Safety Audit (IRC SP:88-2010)

Two of the most significant issues to be considered in tine present day traffic scenario in India are:
a) Safety issues for non-motorized traffic and
b) Safety issues on high speed corridors

The mixed traffic conditions and the wide variety of road users on highways create a safety challenge of significant
magnitude.

In India, the newly upgraded highways & urban roads will lead to significantly increased speeds due to the new
smooth surface and increased width, but there is no appropriate provisions of pedestrian and non-motorized users.
User Safety Issues
Road accidents are a leading cause of death of young people between the age of 10 – 24 years.(WHO, 2013)

In the year 2014 about 141,526 people died in road crashes in India while the number of injured were
477,731. (NCRB, 2015)

However, the actual number of injuries (fatal & non-fatal) requiring hospital visits are around 3,000,000 (Thirty
Lakhs).

On average 40% of the total fatalities are pedestrian fatalities (NCRB figures show this figure around 10%),
where the highest is 78% in Mumbai and the lowest is 11% in Udaipur. (NCRB, 2015)

(WHO- World Bank Organization, NCRB- National Crime Record Bureau)

User Safety Issues
• Indian roads are turning deadlier for pedestrians. Killer
Indian roads claim lives of 56 pedestrians daily,
• The trends of vulnerable road users indicates, need to
segregate these road users from other vehicles to reduce
conflicts.

Source:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66021092.cms?utm_s
ource=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
(1.10.2018)
Design Guidelines

Footpath Zoning System

• Comfort, continuity, and safety are the governing criteria
for the design and construction of pedestrian facilities.
• Minimum 1.8 m (width) x 2.2 m (height) clear from all
obstructions
Design Guidelines

Footpath Width
• The width of the of the footpath can vary as per the
adjacent land use.
• Footpaths in residential areas require a minimum
clear width of 1.8 m, which is enough space for two
wheelchairs to pass.
• For commercial areas, the clear width should be at
least 2.5 m.
Footpath Height
• The height of the kerb above the carriageway should
not exceed 150 mm

Source: (IRC:103-2012)
Design Guidelines

Pedestrian crossings: Intersection

• Intersection design should
manage conflict in a way that
enhances safety for pedestrians.
• The preferred design is to raise
the intersection to the level of the
footpath.
Design Guidelines

Level of Service (LOS)

• Footpaths are designed for level of service B and level
service C (under resource constraint)
• The width of the footpath should be designed based on
expected pedestrian traffic
Design Guidelines

Basically, there are three sources of

input data:
1. Default values found in this manual;
2. Estimates or locally derived default
values developed by the user; and
3. Values derived from field
measurements and observation.

Source: HCM/ IUT, 2010

 Design Guidelines
UTTIPEC
OBJECTIVES Streets valuable urban spaces.
Increase comfort of current
walking population
More equity in space allocation of
roads.
SIDEWALK Sidewalks to be of 3 pavement
zones, which are Dead width,
pedestrian zone and planting
zone.
Clear walking zone of min width
1.8m.
Kerb height should not exceed
150mm.
Maximum corner curb radii 12m.
Continuous pavement.
Universal accessibility.
IRC ITDP IUT CODES
Reduce pedestrian Comfort, continuity The primary purpose
conflicts to vehicular and safety are the of IUT is to provide cod
traffic to a minimum. governing criteria for of practice for various
the design and urban components.
construction of
pedestrian facilities
Provide guidelines for Footpaths designed as Exclusive, continuous
sidewalk. per the zoning system lanes for slow modes.
Minimum side walk (frontage, pedestrian, Shaded path with
width should be 1.5m. furniture zone) to facilities like hawking,
Which should vary provide uninterrupted benches, etc.
from 2-4 according to walking space for Sidewalk width ranging
pedestrian volume. pedestrians. from 1.5 to 5.5 as per
(obstruction width not the road type.
included)
Policy for Pedestrian Facilities and Safety in Pune City
GOALS
The policy aims to achieve the following goals in line with the vision.
1. Safety and comfort for all pedestrians irrespective of age, sex, status and special needs
2. Improved access and mobility for all citizens at all times as per need by providing necessary safe
and usable pedestrian facilities which will be well designed and well maintained
3. Better road design with traffic calming measures to make roads safer for pedestrians and other
road users also
4. Status, dignity and top priority to walking by changing the existing attitude and mindset of all
concerned
5. Creation of ‘pedestrian only zones’ in the city
6. Promotion of walking as a convenient and zero cost mode of transport
Policy for Pedestrian Facilities and Safety in Pune City
GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The guiding principles and basic requirements that should be complied with for the planning, design, implementation
and management of pedestrian infrastructure as well as roads and traffic in the city for the safety of pedestrians.

1. All roads shall have a designated path for walking conveniently and safely.

2. The entire pedestrian infrastructure on road (footpaths, road crossings etc.) shall be well designed, adequate in size
and universally accessible (barrier-free) so that all persons including those with special needs, senior citizens and
children would be able to walk on the road and cross the road safely and conveniently.

3. All roads shall have designated crossings for pedestrians where any person would be able to cross the road without
any difficulty or exposure to any risk at any time of the day, as long as the proper rules for crossing are followed.
 Policy for Pedestrian Facilities and Safety in Pune City
A) At road junctions
The order of priority for road crossing design shall be as under –
1. ‘At grade’ pedestrian road crossings at non-signalized junctions with traffic calming measures as needed.
2. Where traffic calming measures prove to be ineffective, the junction should be
signalized.
3. ‘At grade’ pedestrian road crossings at signalized junctions with pedestrian crossing phases integrated into the traffic signal
cycle and an ‘all red’ phase once in each cycle.
4. Junction improvements – Where signalized junctions are found to be unsafe for
pedestrians, junction improvements shall be carried out to channelize traffic flows,
reduce pedestrian crossing distances, provide proper connectivity across various road segments and make ‘at grade’
crossing safer for pedestrians.
5. Grade separated pedestrian crossing can be considered as a last resort only in case of very large junctions where it has
been proved to be practically impossible to
provide safe ‘at grade’ crossings using above higher priority options.
 Policy for Pedestrian Facilities and Safety in Pune City
B. At mid-block locations

The order of priority for road crossing design shall be as under –

1. ‘At grade’ non-signalized crossing

2. ‘At grade’ non-signalized crossing with rumbler bump type speed breaker

3. ‘At grade’ signalized crossing with posting of traffic police / warden

4. Grade separated crossing can be considered only where pedestrian volume is very high and above higher priority options
have been proved to be practically ineffective in providing safe passage for pedestrians with probability of accidents being
high.
Policy for Pedestrian Facilities and Safety in Pune City
Considerations that still make the location unsafe for pedestrians should a grade-separated crossing option be considered.

Some such considerations are –

a) Very high traffic volumes

b) Very wide roads

c) Very large junctions

d) Very high and continuous pedestrian movement such as in the vicinity of bus /metro / train stations or in large commercial
areas

e) Highway passing through urban areas