The Paradox of Pedestrian Comfort and Service Quality in a Tourism Corridor

The Effect of Events on Pedestrian Behavior and its Comparison with Normal Walking Behavior in CBD Area in Indian Context

To enable and encourage walking, understanding of the characteristics of pedestrian movements is vital. The restrictions on vehicular movement, and scarcity of parking lots had changed the whole traffic movement to the unserviceable condition. Therefore, walking is considered as the most efficient mode of transportation at Erbil CBD area. In developing countries like Iraq, however, the recognition of the importance of pedestrian walking studies is still infancy; the published data is scarce on this important mode of travel. The knowledge of pedestrian characteristics could effectively assist in the optimization of policies concerning urban land use and the locational distribution of pedestrian facilities in Erbil. In this paper, the pedestrians and their walking characteristics in two specific locations at Erbil CBD were studied. The continuous video capturing technique was implemented, the variations in walking speed of pedestrians among pedestrian characteristics such as gender, age group, and clothing traditions have been detected. The level of service was calculated for each sidewalk location. It has been found that the local pedestrians walk slower than other pedestrians in the developed countries or in the region. The mean free flow walking speed of Erbil pedestrians that has been observed is 51.31 m/min and is comparatively slower than that of others countries. On contrary, elder Pedestrians (50 years or older) were the slowest among others, with an average walking speed of nearly 20 m/min. The walking speed, pedestrian density, and flow rate of pedestrian were modeled. Mathematical models were obtained and compared with those of other countries. It was concluded that male pedestrian wearing Kurdish style are faster by about 2 m/min when compared to pedestrian wearing western style (trousers). When female pedestrian are considered, the variation of walking speed among using different clothing style was not significant. Knowing the local pedestrian characteristics and its variation from the international standards is essential in the design of pedestrian facilities.

Pedestrian walking speed is an important reflection of pedestrian characteristics. From the perspective of statistics analysis, this paper aims to investigate the statistical distribution models of pedestrian walking speed and the impacts of pedestrian gender and age on their walking speed. Based on the data of the pedestrian walking speed in port shopping centers, the relationship between pedestrian walking speed and pedestrian density is analyzed using the VISSIM simulation platform. Also, the relationship model of pedestrian walking speed and pedestrian density is provided in this paper. The results show that pedestrian walking speed is affected and shown as a log-normal distribution model when the pedestrian density is high. Moreover, pedestrian gender and age are also major contributing factors. Finally, a linear negative correlation coefficient is calculated between pedestrian density and walking speed under certain pedestrian flows.

This study aims to analyze the walking speed of the pedestrian on carriageway and sidewalk. In order to support the objective, a busy urban street in the CBD area of Vadodara city, Gujarat, India was considered. Selected study stretch is characterized by odd–even date on-street parking scheme; hence, sidewalk and carriageway on the either side were considered for the investigation of walking speed of pedestrians. Investigation revealed that 25% pedestrian are compelled to move on carriageway due to inadequate space. Empirical observation revealed that the pedestrian flow on no-parking carriageway face (NPCF) is greater than that of parking carriageway face (PCF). The analysis revealed that male pedestrian dominated movement on carriage, while female pedestrian dominated movement on sidewalk. Female pedestrians were observed to be slower by 4–6% than male pedestrians. The study results revealed that the walking speed of male pedestrian was 7–12% lower in evening compared to female for parking sidewalk face (PSF). This reduction in speed can be due to larger share of female pedestrians on sidewalk. Speed reduction on PSF ranged 27–32% with respect to the non-parking sidewalk face (NPSF), while the same for (PCF) observed in the range 10–15% with respect to face (NPCF), which can be attributed to friction owing to parking. The study results showed a reduction of 5–25% in walking speed of pedestrian on carriageway compared to sidewalk, which may be attributed to safety against vehicular movement. Walking speed of pedestrian on carriageway was analyzed further with respect to the direction of vehicular movement. Observation revealed that male pedestrian against vehicular traffic moved with higher speed as compared to male along the direction of vehicles. However, an opposite trend was observed in females walking on the carriageway.

This research was conducted to assess the Level Of Service (LOS) pedestrian path around the Tanjung Barat Station area. In addition, to see in terms of comfort and security in reaching a TOD concept area. For this reason, a model of pedestrian design is needed so that track users can enjoy the pedestrian pathway feeling comfortable and safe. The results of this study indicate that the level of pedestrian service on the Tanjung Barat Raya road and on the road in Lenteng Agung raya: For the Tanjung Barat Raya road the LOS index is categorized as "B" while the Lenteng Agung Raya road is in the LOS index in the "C" category. And for the prediction of the next 5 years, LOS is categorized as "B". This indicates the need for improvements in terms of supporting facilities for pedestrians on the two St. Western Cape. This indicates that the pedestrian support facilities need to be improved which will have an impact on the increasing number of pedestrian users around the West Tanjung station for the next 5 years.

Bidirectional pedestrian movement is predominant on undivided stairways. Under a given situation, it is imperative to assess the level of service (LOS) provided to pedestrians on a stairway. Currently, limited guidelines are available for assessing the LOS on undivided stairways in South Asian countries. With this motivation, the current study was conducted to develop LOS criteria for undivided stairways by using the case of a busy suburban railway station at Dadar in Mumbai, India. The LOS can be considered as the classification of different pedestrian flow states on the basis of facility performance. This study is focused on employing the k-means clustering technique to define the LOS thresholds of relevant flow variables. Data on four major variables of pedestrian flow are used: space per pedestrian, flow rate, walking speed, and volume-to-capacity ratio. Derived LOS thresholds are then delineated by using the rate of change in slope for the average walking speed of pedestrians. LOS thresholds are further validated for different percentile values of pedestrian flow data to check whether given data sets fall within the range of established LOS thresholds. Ranges of the flow parameters defined for LOS criteria found in this study are significantly different from those reported in the literature and in manuals in developed countries such as the U.S. Highway Capacity Manual. This difference may be attributed to the demographic and sociocultural characteristics of the pedestrians. The results and approach adopted here can be useful for practitioners to assess the LOS of stairways operating under similar pedestrian flow conditions and to respond appropriately for their improvement. The study results can also be useful for the ongoing project of developing a highway capacity manual for India.

The pedestrian path in the form of a sidewalk is a space for pedestrian activities to carry out activities and to provide services to pedestrians so that they can get smooth security and comfort. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of pedestrian movement including flow, speed, density, space on H.Z.Mustofa Street, Cihideung District, Tasikmalaya Regency. The method used in this study is the pedestrian volume survey method and direct observation of pedestrian characteristics in the field to obtain data which is then analyzed based on the level of service (LOS). The results of the analysis of pedestrian characteristics and levels show that the largest pedestrian flow Pedestrian Flow is 25.09 ped / min / m (West), (29.627 ped / min / m (East)). Pedestrian Speed 27.11 m / min (West), (27.77 m / min (East)). Pedestrian Space 0.45 m² (West), (0.39 m² (East)). Pedestrian Ratio of 0.33 (West), (0.39 (East)). From the characteristic analysis data, the level of sidewalk service on the H.Z Mustofa road section, Cihideung District, Tasikmalaya Regency is category LOS "C". because there is sufficient space available for normal walking and passing other pedestrians, especially in indirect flows where reverse movement or crossing movements and minor conflicts will occur.

The objective of the research described in this paper was to develop the basis for revised operational analysis procedures for transportation facilities with pedestrian users where flow is interrupted by traffic control devices. The paper commences with some background information on pedestrian walking speeds at signalized crossings and on pedestrian noncompliance at these locations. Then both new and revised level-of-service (LOS) tables are provided for analyzing various types of interrupted-flow pedestrian facilities. Results are detailed of a review and synthesis of American and international literature as part of a Federal Highway Administration study of pedestrian and bicycle facilities conducted by North Carolina State University between 1995 and 1998. The year 2000 edition of the U.S. Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) will incorporate, either directly or indirectly, most of the revised and synthesized information described in this paper. The research team recommends that the HCM include some background information that will be helpful for analysts timing signals and performing other operations. The authors of this paper recommend assumed crosswalk walking speeds of 1.2 m/s for most areas and 1.0 m/s for crosswalks serving large numbers of older pedestrians. Another important recommendation was to use delay to pedestrians as the basis for level of service at signalized and unsignalized street crossings. The recommended threshold for LOS F at signalized crossings is 60 s or more of delay per pedestrian, whereas at unsignalized crossings it is 45 s or more of delay per pedestrian.

Different types of pedestrians exhibit different speed characteristics and heterogeneity. In the case of mixed pedestrian flow at signalised intersections, pedestrian traffic flow modelling is important in research of the con-ditions at signalised intersections and the evaluation of services for pedestrians. The characteristics of pedestri-an traffic flow at signalised intersections were investi-gated in this study against the background of pedestrian heterogeneity using videos of pedestrians crossing three signalised intersections in Chongqing recorded in a field survey. The pedestrian walking speeds were manually ex-tracted from the videos and used as the data basis for dis-tinguishing pedestrian heterogeneity. The walking speed data of three types (young, middle-aged, and elderly) of pedestrians at different pedestrian flows were obtained by using a microsimulation software. Based on this, a pe-destrian traffic flow model for mixed-type pedestrians at signalised intersections was established and verified by actual cases. In comparison with the HCM model, the model outperforms the HCM model overall in practical applications, indicating its strong applicability and reli-ability.

The paradigms of service–oriented computing (SOC) and its underlying service–oriented architecture (SOA) have received a lot of attention recently and have changed the way software applications are designed, developed, deployed, and consumed. Due to these paradigms, software engineers can realize applications by service composition, using services offered by third parties. In the competitive market of composite services, the commercial success of composite service providers (CSP) is directly related to their ability to offer services at sharp price/quality ratios. This raises the need to realize desired client perceived Quality of Service (QoS) levels at minimal cost. The problem of controlling QoS in SOC is complex in that the ownership of the services is decentralized, as a composite service makes use of services offered by third parties. Although a plethora of well–known QoS–control mechanisms exists for “atomic” Web services used for the composition, it remains a challenge how to exploit these mechanisms for QoS–control in SOA in a cost–effective way. The great potential for composite service providers to realize dramatic cost savings and/or revenue improvements by optimizing the QoS–control in SOA has not been exploited much so far. To address this issue, proper modelling of the effects of QoS–control parameters is required. Once the models are specified, analysis of these models to derive the optimal settings of the parameters is a natural next step. This thesis contributes models and methods to address these QoS–control issues within SOA. We develop the models of the runtime end–to–end QoS–control mechanisms, that are used to satisfy QoS requirements of an individual composite service request (e.g. response time) while optimizing some long–term goal (e.g. execution cost minimization, expected revenue). These models, based on per–request, per–task service selection, facilitate development (using, among others, dynamic programming approach) of simple, yet effective optimal decision–making policies in order to satisfy specified QoS levels. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed solutions as well as significant revenue improvements by extensive numerical experiments. The derived policies have negligible overhead with respect to the decision–making process and control actions to be taken by the CSP. Besides, the implementation of these policies is relatively simple, e.g. as a lookup table. The control actions may be automated, and allow for fast reactions to the changes in the volatile service execution environment. In our view this thesis presents a significant step forward to envisioned autonomous, economically profitable systems of services and applications of the future. Our approach opens many interesting opportunities for further research in the challenging area of QoS–control of such “system of systems”.

Real-time voice and video streaming applications require a certain Quality of Service (QoS) level for providing user satisfaction. As Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN's) are not designed for such applications, assessing the communication's QoS level is a challenging task. Sudden Onset Disasters (SODs) poses even a greater challenge as the QoS level must be assessed without generating traffic or consuming any other network resources that the response forces needs for communicating among themselves. As such, passive measurement is the only viable approach, but it lacks suitable metrics for doing so. In this paper, we briefly review the main QoS parameters and later, we propose two new possible measurements. These measures are an extension of the retry-ratio measurements such as the Frame Retry Ratio (FRR) which reflects the effort-efficiency to communicate through the ratio of the extra effort (retries) to the overall effort. Data Retry-Ratio (DRR) is the ratio of extra data transmitted to the overall transmitted data in a period of time. Airtime Retry-Ratio (ARR) is the ratio of the extra airtime cost to the overall used airtime cost. For exploring the performances of these measures, we have developed and designed a special portable testbed which among other things includes a stratum-1 NTP time server. We used this testbed to explore the relations between active measurements: such as one-way delay, throughput and jitter to passive measurements: one-way throughput, one-way FRR, DDR and ARR. The results of a large field-test reveal that passive measurements can reflect the QoS parameters such as the average throughput and can indicate an asymmetric link similar to one-way delay.

Pedestrians are an important element of the traffic stream especially in a country like Bangladesh. Dhaka is the biggest metropolitan city of Bangladesh and thus people from different parts of the country are relocating to Dhaka. This has rendered Dhaka one of the most densely populated cities in the World. With the resource restraint and crumbling infrastructure, the transportation facilities can't cope up with the ever growing population. A major proportion of the population are the urban slum dwellers and low income people who are left with the only option of walking. Pedestrians are the most vulnerable roadway users. Ironically they are not given due consideration in the design of roadway features. However, the alarming growths of pedestrians, inadequate sidewalks and their haphazard movement have forced them to share the carriageway with the vehicles. This has led to a shocking number of accidents in the past as well as contributed to further increasing the congestion on the carriageway. This study has attempted to present flow characteristics of pedestrians on exclusive sidewalks in three important urban areas of Dhaka namely Farmgate, Shahbag and Shukrabad. Pedestrian flow, density and walking speed are considered as the three primary parameters on which the flow characteristics depend. These are essential tools for determining the sidewalk capacity which will help in sidewalk design improvements required. The relationships between the three parameters were expressed in terms of three equations which makes it easy to comprehend the situations in these three locations. The level of service (LOS) has been determined at each location also. On the basis of flow rate, Farmgate has a LOS C and Shukrabad and Shahbag both have a LOS B. The average free-flow speed from three locations is about 1.18 m/s. This might help create an idea about the rate at which pedestrians might clear out from facilities.

In an adaptive multimedia environment, each of the multimedia sub-streams (i.e. video, audio and data) has its own distinct quality of service (QoS) requirements (e.g. cell loss rate, delay, jitter, etc.). These requirements constitute a certain QoS level. In contrast to the static approach, each substream declares preset range of acceptable QoS levels (e.g., high, medium, low) instead of just a single one. This range of QoS levels is defined in a user-defined profile (UDP). In this paper, we suggest a channel borrowing algorithm based on an adaptive QoS platform. In a channel borrowing algorithm, an acceptor cell that has used all its nominal channels can borrow free channels from its neighboring cells (candidate donors) to accommodate new calls. In our suggested algorithm, an acceptor cell can borrow from any neighboring (donor) cell as long as this donor cell has some channels available after satisfying a minimum QoS (minQ) level defined in the UDP. A donor cell assigning QoS levels (to calls under its coverage) higher than the minQ levels defined in the UDP will declare those channels as available for borrowing by other acceptor cells. When a channel is borrowed, several other cells are prohibited from using it due to channel locking. The proposed channel borrowing algorithm differs in the way a free channel is selected from a donor cell to be borrowed by an acceptor cell. The criteria for choosing the free channel include not only the number of free channels but also the QoS levels in the donor cell. The criteria is also extended to include the effect of channel locking on the number of free channels and the QoS levels on the locked cells.

A multimedia call consists of three main sub‐streams (i.e. video, audio and data) each with its own distinct quality of service (QoS) requirements (e.g. packet loss rate, delay tolerance, and jitter). These requirements constitute a specific fixed QoS level. In contrast to static approaches, we propose an adaptive QoS platform in which each sub‐stream declares a preset range of acceptable QoS levels (e.g. maximum, acceptable, minimum) instead of just a single level. This range of QoS levels is pre‐defined in a user‐defined profile (UDP). In this paper, we propose a channel borrowing algorithm based on such adaptive QoS platform. In our proposed algorithm, an acceptor cell that has used all its channels can borrow from any neighbouring (donor) cell as long as this donor cell has some channels available after satisfying a minimum QoS (minQ) level defined in the UDP. A donor cell that is assigning QoS levels (to calls under its coverage) higher than the minQ levels will declare those channels as available for borrowing by other acceptor cells. The criteria for choosing the free channel include not only the number of free channels, but also the QoS levels in the donor cell. The criteria are also extended to include the effect of channel locking on the number of free channels, and the QoS levels on the locked cells. The algorithm is not triggered unless it does not cause any call dropping in either the donor cell, or the cells affected by call blocking. In the meantime, the call blocking rate is significantly decreased while the offered load increases. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Notification services (NSs) are middleware components providing asynchronous message delivery between publishers and consumers. Multiple interconnected NSs form a distributed NS, with each NS routing notifications between publishers and consumers at different locations, enabling consumers to share subscriptions, reducing the number of messages sent. Consumers can specify quality of service (QoS) levels when subscribing to a NS, using negotiation to find QoS levels acceptable to both parties. However, if consumers specify sufficiently different QoS levels, notifications cannot be shared and new subscriptions must be made. Chained negotiation can be used to negotiate QoS levels through intermediate NSs, enabling the reuse of existing subscriptions for additional consumers. In this paper, we present a chained negotiation engine, evaluating its performance and behaviour, showing that it enables negotiation over QoS while still sharing notifications, and that it provides better results for a consumer by negotiation directly with the publisher.