Perceived pedestrian level of service in an urban central network: The case of a medium size Greek city

Abstract

The assessment of pedestrian facilities largely depends on the Level of Service (LOS) calculation taking into account the effective width and the pedestrians’ flows. This research focuses on the investigation of pedestrians’ sociodemographic attributes (gender, age), qualitative components (perceived comfort) and the pedestrian streets’ characteristics for LOS estimation as perceived by pedestrians. Α questionnaire-based survey (including 200 interviewees) was carried out at the central pedestrianized network in the city of Ioannina, Greece. An ordinal regression model was developed based on the questionnaire’ data. According to the findings females and elderly pedestrians tend to perceive lower LOS than males and younger pedestrians respectively. Furthermore, the level of perceived comfort in the impact area of the urban central network is an important determinant for the estimation of perceived LOS. These findings can be effectively utilized in the design of sustainable mobility policy recommendations and the promotion of active transport in an urban central area.