01473366

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2393-07

http://scholar.google.com...ombo&publication_year=2013

In the past several decades, planners and policy makers have focused on creating more balanced transportation systems that included better transit service as well as improved options for pedestrians and bicyclists. Pedestrian accessibility is vital to the success of this mode because transit users are likely to walk on at least one end of their trip. As a result, practitioners have focused on improving pedestrian environments in station areas. Pedestrian accessibility studies have focused on formal pedestrian links such as roads, sidewalks, and multiuse trails. However, a small but important body of literature suggests that the informal pedestrian environments play an important but often overlooked role in pedestrian accessibility. Social paths are informal routes that emerge in grassy areas because of footfall. Social paths have formed at numerous suburban transit stops and show deficiencies in the design of formal pedestrian networks. Because current travel behavior studies omit informal pedestrian networks, their results may be inaccurate and result in misguided policy. This study identified social paths at 12 light rail stations in Denver, Colorado, and Dallas, Texas. With two pedestrian accessibility metrics, the formal pedestrian environment was compared with a joint formal–informal pedestrian environment that includes social paths. This study makes the argument that social paths are important components of station-area pedestrian accessibility and should be incorporated into future travel behavior studies and pedestrian improvement projects.

01518276

13-1799

English

pp 59–65

2013

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309287173

Print

Figures (3) ; Maps; References (25) ; Tables (4)

Accessibility; Light rail transit; Pedestrians; Rail transit stations; Travel behavior; Walking; Walkways

Social paths

Design; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 5 2013 12:26PM

• Analysis of Pedestrian Performance in Shared-Space Environments
• Analysis of Pedestrian–Vehicle Traffic Conflicts in Street Designs with Elements of Shared Space
• Application of Computer Vision to Diagnosis of Pedestrian Safety Issues
• Considerations for Integrating Bicycling and Walking Facilities into Urban Infrastructure
• Development of Canadian National Pedestrian Crossing Control Guide
• Do All Roadway Users Want the Same Things? Results from Roadway Design Survey of San Francisco Bay Area Pedestrians, Drivers, Bicyclists, and Transit Users
• Do Complete Streets Cost More Than Incomplete Streets?
• Effect of Advance Yield Markings and Symbolic Signs on Vehicle–Pedestrian Conflicts: Field Evaluation
• Effect of Left-Turn Operational Mode on Pedestrian Safety: Development of Models and Guidelines
• Effectiveness of Audible and Tactile Heading Cues at Complex Intersections for Pedestrians Who Are Blind
• Effects of High-Visibility Enforcement on Driver Compliance with Pedestrian Yield Right-of-Way Laws
• Evaluation of Pedestrian Safety: Pedestrian Crash Hot Spots and Risk Factors for Injury Severity
• Feature Analysis and Operation Evaluation of Pedestrian Weaving Zone
• Improving Cyclist and Pedestrian Environment While Maintaining Vehicle Throughput: Before- and After-Construction Analysis
• Pedestrian Crash Risk on Boundary Roadways: University Campus Case Study
• Sight Distance for Disabled Pedestrians at Crossings: Methodology Comparison with Other Modes
• Study on Pedestrian Red-Time Crossing Behavior: Integrated Field Observation and Questionnaire Data
• Use of Spatiotemporal Parameters of Gait for Automated Classification of Pedestrian Gender and Age
• Using a Smartphone Application to Support Visually Impaired Pedestrians at Signalized Intersection Crossings