Evaluation of the Perceived Pedestrian Level of Service in the post COVID-19 era: The case of Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract

The promotion of active transportation modes in urban areas is a key challenge towards the minimization of motor traffic externalities. After the COVID-19 outbreak, cities around the world started investing heavily in infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists towards the enhancement of social distancing. However, infrastructure adequacy in the post COVID-19 era needs to be evaluated. Level of Service (LOS) as it is proposed by the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) is the most common methodological tool to assess pedestrian facilities. Nonetheless, pedestrians’ perceptions are more than needed especially in the post COVID-19 era. In this paper an online survey is conducted for the assessment of the main pedestrian facilities in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. Respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics, their social distancing perception as well as their travel habits after the COVID-19 outbreak are concerned. The main research goal is to reveal the most significant factors that affect pedestrians’ perceived level of service (PLOS) using regression modeling. The results can shed light on respondents’ perceptions about PLOS in the post COVID-19 era. Last, results can assist in policy making for the promotion of active transport modes in urban areas with respect to the current health recommendations for public spaces.