Pedestrian Behavioral Pattern and Preferences in Different Road Crossing Systems of Dhaka City

Abstract

As the population of Dhaka City is growing very fast, the sustainable transport policy for Dhaka should strive to retain and expand the modal share of walking trips, which share the majority of all short trips made. But unfortunately, pedestrian facilities may be the most neglected and unattended ones in transport planning of Dhaka city. This paper aims to analyze the effect of demographic factor which shape the behavioral pattern of the pedestrian towards following traffic rule in crossing a road. The paper also illustrates the pedestrian’s preferences among different road crossing systems and the underlying factors of preferences through a conduction of 300 questionnaire survey. This paper also focuses on assessing the relative significance of different problems in different types of pedestrian road crossing systems in Dhaka city by Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)by means of an expert opinion survey. Finally it presents specific recommendations to ensure safe and efficient pedestrian movement in Dhaka city.

Journal of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Vol. 6, Dec 2013, pp. 149-160