Development of Sidewalk Evaluation Model  for Existing Pedestrian Environment in  Indian Cities: Case Example of Pune City,  Maharashtra, India

Medha Vijay Gokhale; Dr. Milind V. Telang

Volume : II, Issue : XI, November - 2013

Development of Sidewalk Evaluation Model for Existing Pedestrian Environment in Indian Cities: Case Example of Pune City, Maharashtra, India

Medha Vijay Gokhale, Dr. Milind V. Telang

Abstract :

The goal of any transportation system is to provide safe, comfortable and efficient mobility to the varied end users. �Walking� is the basic mode of transportation, and �Pedestrian� being the end user is provided with limited space in the form of sidewalks in Indian cities. However there are various sidewalk issues which need to be evaluated and addressed. Though Indian Road Congress have provided design guidelines, addressing the physical dimension of sidewalks, they are inadequate from pedestrian point of view and lack evaluation tool for assessing the sidewalk environment. Hence this paper attempts to put forth evaluation method for assessing the performance of sidewalk infrastructure facilities in Indian cities in terms of Gross Sidewalk Walk ability Index. This Index will serve as an universal evaluation model for pedestrian environment in any urban areas irrespective of social and environmental context. This model will not only provide the local government with a tool to assess the quality of pedestrian environment but also serve as pioneer method to identify the sidewalk issues in varied context and formulate the design policies and the implementation strategies on priority basis to generate pedestrian responsive environment in any Indian city