Application of New Pedestrian Level of Service Measures - sacog

Application of New Pedestrian Level of Service Measures
SACOG
Appendix B: PPM Methodology
Excerpt from:
“Bicycle and Pedestrian Level‐of‐Service Performance Measures and Standards for Congestion Management
Systems”
Linda B. Dixon
Transportation Research Record 1538
Pedestrian LOS Performance Measures
Pedestrian Facility Provided
Dominant Facility Type
What are the characteristics of the pedestrian
facility provided in the corridor? The
dominant facility can either be noncontinuous
or nonexistent, continuous on one side, or
continuous on both sides. When a sidewalk
facility has frequent gaps and missing
segments it is noncontinuous. If the dominant
characteristic is a sidewalk but the sidewalk
has one short gap, the facility should be rated
according to its dominant characteristic.
Solitary short gaps in a sidewalk system
should be considered a barrier within the
existing facility. A roadway with a continuous
sidewalk on one side and a few short sidewalk
sections on the opposite side should be rated
as having a continuous sidewalk on one side
of the street only.
Minimum 5 ft Wide and Barrier Free
The sidewalk must be at least 5 ft wide for its
entire length. The 5‐ft clearance must be
maintained around all utility poles, traffic
signal poles, cafe railings, benches, newspaper
boxes, and other fixtures that may encroach
on the sidewalk space. The barrier‐free
measure also takes into account the presence
of intersection curb ramps, which are
required for a sidewalk to be completely
barrier free. The curb ramps must meet the
ADA accessibility guidelines for width and
slope to qualify as barrier free. This criterion
also identifies an otherwise continuous
sidewalk system with one short missing
segment. A roadway segment that does not
score points for pedestrian facility provided
cannot score points for this criterion.
Sidewalk Width Greater than 5 ft
When the sidewalk provided is greater than 5
ft wide, the corridor segment will score points
in this category. When the sidewalk is greater
than 5 ft but has significant barriers that
decrease the useable, clear space to less than
5 ft, the segment will still score points, but will
not score for the criterion of a minimum 5 ft
wide and barrier‐free facility. An example of
this situation is a sidewalk 10 ft wide in a
downtown with outdoor cafes restricting the
clearance width to less than 5 ft. This criterion
is only applied to the basic pedestrian facility,
which cannot score points when the extra
width is on a parallel or alternative facility. A
roadway segment that does not score points
for pedestrian facility provided cannot score
points for this criterion.
Off‐Street Parallel Alternative Facility
This facility must be located within 0.25 mi of
the roadway segment and provide access to
the same primary destination points served by
the roadway network. This facility is typically
located on a separate right of way instead of
within the roadway right of way. Examples of
such facilities may include, but are not limited
to, greenways, rail‐trails, and pedestrian
plazas. The study corridor shall be expected to
provide basic pedestrian access; therefore,
credit for this criterion is not given to parallel
Issue Date: June 2011
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