Urban footpath analysis and simulation – a case study in Sari – Iran

Urban footpath quality and pedestrian level of service is a popular subject for modelling and simulation in transport engineering. This paper reports an investigation into the capacity of footpaths alongside a city street in Sari, Iran to determine whether the current provision can meet the present and forecast pedestrian demand, or whether improvements are required. To assess the capacity of the footpaths, a database including the location and time, speed and number of pedestrians, as well as determining and identifying points of footpaths with relatively high crowding, was prepared. Finally, the level of service (LOS) was obtained using a US code and proprietary modelling tool. The results indicated that some sections of the route were currently below an acceptable LOS and needed improvement to provide an adequate provision for pedestrians. When factoring in forecast growth, the LOS in these substandard sections was predicted to reduce even further and, without improvement, could undermine future economic growth.