Comparative modeling of pedestrian traffic stream in the CBD area

Abstract

The travel in the high congested central business district (CBD) by foot is the most efficient mode of transportation for short trips. Nature and flow characteristics of pedestrian in four major cities in Iraq (Mosul, Erbil, Baghdad, and Nasiriya) was investigated and presented in this assessment. The ability of the pedestrians to select a proper walking speed and avoid conflicts with others is related to pedestrian density and volume. The fundamental relationship between speed and density of the pedestrian’s flow on sidewalks have been determined and compared using Greenshields mathematical modeling. The sidewalk width and the clothing traditions style of pedestrians exhibited a significant influence on the pedestrians walking speed. The Arabic clothing style exhibits the lowest walking free flow speed of 59.6 m/ minutes while the western clothing and the kordish clothing styles exhibit (88.1 and 67.3) m/ minutes respectively. The sidewalk width shows a negative influence on jam density regardless of the clothing style. It was noticed that in general, Iraqi pedestrian walk slower than the pedestrian of the surrounding or western countries regardless of the walkway geometry or the clothing style. The developed Greenshield macroscopic models may be implemented in planning and design for safer pedestrian facilities in Iraq. The influence of pedestrian characteristics on the degree of exposure of pedestrians to risk in this vulnerable travel mode should be considered.