Journal of Advanced Transportation, Vol. 28, No. 2 pp. 127 - 128.

Special Issue on Pedestrians Editorial

Regardless of where we live, work, shop or recreate, and irrespec- tive of the mode we use to travel between these activities, it is almost impossible to avoid using a pedestrian facility of one form or another, at one stage or another of the trip. The level of usage of some of these facilities such as subway tunnels, sidewalks, crosswalks etc., far exceed the traffic volumes seen on some of the busier highways. At the same time there are many facilities that are barely used and serve no purpose. This wide variation in the usage and capacity of facilities is a strong indication of the inconsistency of the past planning and design efforts.

Even today, planners and engineers speak of goals to enhance “safety” and “comfort” of pedestrian facilities. But, we are uncertain about the true meaning of these terms and know little about how to achieve these goals. Quite often, actions taken in conjunction with these goals are surface treatments, pedestrian corridor widening, and improved aesthetics. But, it has been demonstrated by several research- ers that the above actions only satisfy the needs of a very small group of users. The rest demand qualities such as more direct links and fewer conflicts with vehicles, which are difficult, if not impossible, to meet in the short-term. Thus, pedestrian plans should to be based on solid information on travel patterns and user characteristics. They should also be coordinated with land-use and overall transportation plans to ensure that the majority needs are met.

This special issue sheds some new light on a few key issues that have major implications on how pedestrian needs will be addressed in the future. The articles focus on issues of both safety and comfort in pedestrian facilities. Safety is a major issue, particularly when a small subset of the total users are exposed to a higher risk, as in the case of children and the elderly. In the United States, the 5-15 year and the over 70 year age group are twice as much at risk as those in other age groups. Two articles dedicated to this issue explain the accident causation processes and suggest measures for changing the contributing param- eters.

The comfort level or level of service in facilities can be enhanced in several ways. First by making the movement as unconstrained as possible, and secondly through land-use planning that would make the connections less circuitous and challenging. One article suggests changes to the convectional space standards used in the estimation of facility size. The authors discuss a simple analytical technique for sizing pedestrian facilities in relation to costs. The contribution to comfort through proper network planning is discussed in another. Last,

128 P . N . Seneviratne

but not of least importance are the pedestrian facilities in less developed countries. Policies and practices that govern the provision and upkeep of pedestrian facilities in each nation are very different. But, it will be seen in the final article that the fundamental needs and travel patterns of the pedestrian are very similar in every comer of the globe.

I hope that this special issue will help rejuvenate interest in pedestrian related research. I also hope that more analytical tools and planning guidelines will emerge before the end of this decade and that they will help all those responsible for pedestrian facility planning to meet the needs of every pedestrian.

P. N. Seneviratne Special Issue Editor