Level of service of pedestrian facilities: Modelling human comfort perception in the evaluation of pedestrian behaviour patterns

• Published in: Transportation research. Part F, Traffic psychology and behaviour Vol. 58; pp. 365 - 381
• Main Authors: Cepolina, Elvezia M., Menichini, Federico, Gonzalez Rojas, Paloma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2018; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Behavioral psychology; Behavioural patterns; Comfort; Continuity (mathematics); Diagrams; Human behavior; Methodology; Pedestrian comfort; Pedestrian density; Pedestrian level of service; Pedestrian modelling; Pedestrians; Perceptions; Personal space; Psychological factors; Quality of service; Trajectory generation; Voronoi diagram; Walking; Behavioural patterns; Walking; Voronoi diagram; Pedestrian comfort; Pedestrian level of service; Personal space; Trajectory generation; Pedestrian modelling; Pedestrian density
• ISSN: 1369-8478; 1873-5517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2018.06.028

•The method is useful in assessing the performance of pedestrian facilities.•Good facilities promote people to comfortably walk.•The method assesses the level of comfort perceived by each pedestrian.•Level of comfort is a function of the space people feel currently available and of their required space.•The required space depends on the person’s walking direction as well as on physical and psychological factors.•The available space depends on the current positions of pedestrians. The paper presents a new methodology for evaluating the quality of operation of pedestrian facilities: the methodology is based on the individual level of comfort perceived by each pedestrian that moves in the area. At each time instant, each pedestrian perceives a comfort level which is a function of the space they feel currently available and of his required space. The required space depends on the subject’s walking direction as well as on physical and psychological factors. The available space depends on the current positions of pedestrians. The proposed methodology quantifies the current discomfort due to pedestrian interactions as a continuous function of the interpersonal distances. The proposed methodology has been applied to empirical data. The experimental data are presented, discussed and compared with widely accepted level of service assessment methods.