Pedestrian movements and Snap Traffic system in Dhaka City

Abstract

The study was conducted at the Department of Civil Engineering & Architecture, University of the Ryukyus, Japan. Walking is one of the most convenient transport modes in Dhaka city. About 60% of trips are made on foot. However, the facilities providing for pedestrians are inadequate. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the pedestrian behavior against physical obstacle under single walk in their daily life and to propose solutions that might help to reduce traffic jam and pollutions by emitting short distance trips. The data used for this research were collected in 2011 and 2014 respectively. A questionnaire survey was conducted to take face to face interview of pedestrians in five major areas of Dhaka city and their opinion on using pedestrian facilities. About 250 individuals’ samples have been chosen using the purpose sampling technique for this research purpose. The study found that most of the pedestrian are dissatisfied with pedestrian facilities as these are ill occupied by physical obstacle and on- street parking. Some footpaths widths are below the planning standard. Therefore, they feel discomfort and inconvenience. From the outcomes it can be said that, about 85% pedestrian would use walkways if it makes smart footpath. Therefore, the study recommended a pedestrian friendly road network plan for smooth pedestrian movement in Dhaka city.