Assessing and improving active travel around urban hospitals: A case of Xiangya hospital, China

Abstract

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there has been a growing trend toward active travel. However, many cities have not given sufficient attention to active transportation, resulting in inadequate safety measures for pedestrians and cyclists. This issue becomes particularly critical around hospitals, closely associated with COVID-19 and where traffic can be more intricate and hazardous. Hence, there is a pressing need for a quantitative assessment of the active travel environment surrounding hospitals to obtain a practical evaluation and devise improvement strategies. This study constructs an Extenics evaluation model to assess the safety, accessibility, traffic pressure, convenience, and comfort of the active travel environment near Xiangya Hospital. Subsequently, optimization strategies are proposed based on the evaluation outcomes. The evaluation results show high traffic pressure around the hospital during peak hours while the infrastructure is insufficient. A diversion strategy must be developed based on the evaluation findings to address safety concerns. Furthermore, issues such as inadequate non-motorized lanes and accessibility facilities in the area are identified. Correspondingly, improvement strategies tailored to the specific problems of each street are suggested based on the evaluation results. While this research focuses on urban hospitals, it aims to offer valuable insights into evaluating and enhancing active travel environments around large public buildings.