Civil and Environmental Engineering 1 Who is the Most Pleased Pedestrian ? Liv Øvstedal SINTEF Civil and Environmental Engineering Roads and Transport.

1Civil and Environmental Engineering

Who is the Most Pleased Pedestrian ?

Liv Øvstedal

SINTEF Civil and Environmental Engineering

Roads and Transport

www.sintef.no

[email protected]

Eirin Olaussen Ryeng

NTNU The Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Department of Transport Engineering

www.ntnu.no

[email protected]


PROMPTNew means to PROMote Pedestrian Traffic in cities

VTT, Finland

Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, Italy

IBV, Switzerland

SINTEF, Norway

Universite de Liege, Belgium

Certu, France

New means DisseminationImplementation

Safety

ComfortComfort

Attractiveness

Accessibility

Intermodality


1092 on-street Interviews

European Pedestrians aged 8-90

22 interview sites in 16 cities

City centres and suburban areas

ItalieFrascatiL'AquilaModena

NorvègeLillehammer

Trondheim

FranceAmiensNantes

FinlandeHelsinki

JyväskyläKuopio

Myllypuro

BelgiqueAns

EupenLiège

SuisseGenèveSurseeZurich


The European Pedestrian

Regards Safety & security as most important Comfort & Air quality also as important Presence of other people as least important

88% appreciate walking (82% Switzerland -94% Finland)

17% went for a walk (11% France -21% Italy)

42% walked all the way (8% Switzerland -59% Italy)


Comfort interviews

On a scale from 1 to 7:

• How comfortable do you think it is to walk here just now?• Is the pavement surface plain and nice to walk on?• Do you find today’s weather comfortable for walking?

On a scale from 1 to 3: How important is this for you?

Very uncomfortable

Very comfortable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3

Not important Very important

Dimensions

• thermal

• visual

• acoustic

• tactile

• air quality

• ease to move

• security


European Pedestrians

All pedestrians: 2 types, pedestrians seeking

ease & social pleasure security

Male pedestrians: 4 types, pedestrians seeking

ease & comfort social pleasure security nice traffic & street environment


Norwegian Pedestrian Typology

1 Pedestrian seeking air, space and light

An elderly lady on an evening walk

Important whether surroundings are open or narrow

Give highest mean comfort score

Found in Norway, Belgium, France, Italy and Switzerland.



2 Pedestrian seeking security

A busy, middle-aged woman on a shopping trip

She likes to walk

Safety, noise, comfort and traffic conditions are important factors

Found in Norway, Belgium and France.



3 Pedestrian seeking social pleasure

An elderly person shopping in the downtown area during daytime

Others, services, seating & street surface are regarded important

Found in Norway, France and Italy.



4 Easy going Pedestrian

A younger person

The weather and to find the way easily are important

Give lowest mean comfort score

Found in Norway and Switzerland.


Main factors influencing comfort feeling

Individual Environment

ComfortAssessing

weather

Safe & secureAppealing

surroundings

Traffic conditions

Pavement conditions


The Pleased Pedestrian

enjoys walking

is not in a hurry

is going for a walk, walking a dog or bringing children

in residential areas

Minor differences between age groups gender countries

Highest mean comfort score given in Parco in L’Aquila, Italy.


Pedestrian feeling lower degree of comfort enjoys walking,

but find it bothersome

uses cane, rullator or wheelchair

is not familiar with the area

is in a hurry

is on a trip to or from work or work-related trip

Lowest mean comfort score given in Uptown Central Square, Eupen, Belgium.All factors affecting comfort were

regarded as more important among elderly people


Safe and secure most important !

highest correlation with comfort

street lighting is important

Gender: Men are

less worried about walking when dark

less confident in getting help when needed

Pedestrian streets streets with car traffic

presence of others more important in pedestrian streets

when dark, pedestrians feel safer in streets with car traffic


Conclusion

When planning for pedestrians we need to take into consideration

the different pedestrian types

by providing

universal design

parallel solutions and pedestrian routes

But above all:

A pleased pedestrian is a pedestrian feeling

safe and secure !


Dimensions describing the pedestrian environment Safety and security

Feeling safe when walking at the site, confident in walking alone at the site both in daylight and darkness, not afraid of whom to meet

Attractiveness Not too easy to get an overview, appealing surroundings, not unpleasant odours

Traffic conditions Pleasant sound level, pleasant and exiting sounds, no bothersome car traffic, fresh air

Social meeting places and pleasantness Easy to meet requirements for rest, food and toilet, enough places to sit down, protected from weather, smooth and nice pavement surface

Move efficiently Minimal differences in altitude, not too windy, feel free to choose your own speed, not too much presence of vegetation, nature and water

Physiological factors Not too high temperatures, not too hard/exhausting trip, not too dry air, not being blended of light

Dressing Not too little clothing, not too thin shoes

Space and light Not too narrow surroundings, not too dark

Comfort Comfortable weather for walking, comfort feeling


The importance of comfort factorsScale 1 – 3 (not important – very important)

Belgium Finland France Italy Norway SwitzerlandSafety/securityAirPlaces to sitMeet requirementsComfortLightOrientationPavement surfaceTraffic

Safety/securityAir

Safety/securityAirOrientationTrafficLightPlaces to sitMeet requirementsComfortPavement surface

Safety/securityComfortAirLightPavement surfaceOrientationMeet requirements

Safety/securityComfortAir

Safety/securityAir

Narrow/openSounds Weather Other people

ComfortOrientationNarrow/openLightSoundPavement surfaceMeet requirementsWeatherTraffic

Narrow/openWeatherSoundsOther people

TrafficPlaces to sitWeatherNarrow/openSoundsOther people

OrientationTrafficWeatherPavement surfaceMeet requirementsPlaces to sitSoundsLight

TrafficLightOrientationComfortWeatherMeet requirementsPlaces to sitSoundsPavement surface

Places to sitOther people

Narrow/openOther people

Narrow/openOther people

2,50

- 2

,92

2,00

- 2

,49

1,76

– 1

,99


What is comfort?

Comfort is a positive emotional reaction to external surroundings, both physiological, physical, social and psychological

Comfort is a cognitive comparison between actual objects or incidents and some point of reference

The feeling and degree of comfort is dependent of the surroundings, the situations and the individual

The feeling and degree of comfort is affected by the present emotional state, the expectations based on previous experience and the object of comparison


Children say (6 and 11 years)

This makes a walk pleasant

other people

no bothersome traffic

nice smooth and dry surface

nice weather

and the benefits of fresh air and exercise when walking.

They prefer

none or little car traffic, wide sidewalks and walkways, safe pedestrian crossings

sufficient street lighting

Some children say that: Not having to look out for cars make them comfortable when walking

Civil and Environmental Engineering 1 Who is the Most Pleased Pedestrian ? Liv Øvstedal SINTEF Civil and Environmental Engineering Roads and Transport.

Documents

security slide

pedestrian traffic

norwegian pedestrian

important comfort air

pleased pedestrian

important factors

comfort interviews

important presence