The experience that you have as a pedestrian as you travel down a street can be rated using a system established by our nation’s transportation authority, the Federal Highway Administra­tion (FHWA). The FHWA uses measures such as speed, travel time, ability to maneuver, comfort, and safety to determine pedestrian level of service (LOS) ratings.

An ‘A’ level of service (similar to a restaurant’s five-star rating) is where you can walk at your own speed, easily pass others, incur few delays, and maneuver without being restricted or crowded by other pedestrians. Level F is a situation where you are forced to walk slowly and stop frequently because the sidewalk is acting as a crowded storage area rather than a travel lane.

Here are some factors used to rate the pedestrian walking experience.

Walking Speed. Pedestri­ans are most satisfied when they can walk as fast as they choose and least satisfied when they cannot. As such, walking speeds are used in almost all LOS calculations. Slow speeds often indicate over-crowding or the need to extend pedestrian green time at intersections.

Walkway Width. The walkable area of your sidewalk may be narrower than you think. Fixed objects such as benches, trees, and sidewalk vendors reduce your effective sidewalk width. When making level of service calculations, your sidewalk width must account for all obstructions that reduce the area within which pedestrians can walk.

Space. A key measure of service is space: how much area each person has within which to maneuver. The higher the area per person, the better the LOS. For example, a walkway with 60 square feet of space per person during rush time would warrant an ‘A’ rating. A sidewalk with an ‘F’ level of service would provide less than eight square feet of space per person. Low ratings may indicate the need to widen a sidewalk.

Signal Delays. Pedestrians are impatient. If they are delayed at a red light for more than 30 seconds, they may ignore the signal and cross against traffic. With this in mind, the FHWA has determined that an ‘A’ rating is where pedestrians are delayed less than ten seconds. For delays more than 60 seconds, the FHWA recommends an ‘F’ rating. These ratings are used to identify if remedial measures, such as longer pedestrian green times, are needed.

Flow Rate. Compare flow rate with your ability to move through a crowded restaurant with narrow aisles. Your perception of service de­creases if you are bumped and spill your drink as you make your way to a table.

If people are similarly limited in their freedom to maneuver within a given width of sidewalk, their satisfaction levels also decrease. The larger the pedestrian unit flow rate (people per minute per foot), the worse the LOS.

Pedestrians travel in many areas: sidewalks, shared bicycle paths, bus platforms, airport terminals, and crosswalks to name a few. As such, the FHWA has different LOS procedures to address these different environments. Make sure you use the correct procedure to identify and correct deficiencies that contribute to a poor walking experience.

For more information on pedestrian traffic, contact Richard Brauer, P.E. at (585) 334-1310, ext. 229 or rbrauer@fisherassoc.com.

Pedestrians Shy Away From Fixed Objects

A tree or newsstand takes up more useable space than you might think. When pedestrians meet fixed objects in the walk area, they need time and space to detour around them. The effective length of an obstruction is actually five times its size!

If there are many obstructions in the walkway, one after another, pedestrians will not zigzag around them. They will stay in the open walk area until they clear the fixed objects.

Be careful as to how and where you locate your landscaping and pedestrian amenities. Although these can add pizzazz to a tired streetscape, they should not be overused or placed where pedestrians will have trouble walking around them.

Calculating Walking Speed

Four feet per second is used as the average walking speed in most level of service calculations. If there are a higher number of elderly or female walkers, the FHWA recommends a lower speed.

Elderly walkers are more likely to hesitate, get confused, or have trouble getting up and down curbs.

Females of all age groups walk at a more relaxed pace than males. Lower walking speeds should also be used if you are evaluating areas with steep hills or where there are young children, such as near an elementary school.