Journal of Engineering Science 03(1), 2012 25-31 PEDESTRIAN FLOW CHARACTERISTICS IN KHULNA METROPOLITAN CITY, BANGLADESH Md. Imran Nazir * , Sajal Kumar Adhikary, Quazi Sazzad Hossain and Syed Ashik Ali Department of Civil Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Khulna-9203, Bangladesh Received 01 September 2012; Accepted 18 October 2012 ABSTRACT This paper deals with the findings of pedestrian flow characteristics on walkways in Khulna Metropolitan City, Bangladesh. Data were collected from three locations by using a digital camera and were analyzed by using the statistical software SPSSv11.5. The mean walking speed of the pedestrian in Khulna city is 51.67 m/min (2.83 ft/sec.). This speed is slower than that of Asian and American counterpart. The collected data were used to develop the speed-flow-density relationship of pedestrian. The free-flow speed of pedestrians was observed to be 64.14 m/min., which is lower than that of Singapore, Britain and United States. Moreover, pedestrian characteristics from various cities in the world were compared. The results of this study can be used in the field of research and considered as a resource for those developing pedestrian models in practice. It is expected that the results will be highly useful in the planning and design of pedestrian networks for efficient, adequate and safer movement of the pedestrians. Keywords: Density, Flow, Pedestrian, Speed, Walkways 1. INTRODUCTION Walking is the most efficient and effective mode of transportation to reach a short destination directly or after using other modes. The walking speed of pedestrians is prime importance in a study of function, design and provision of pedestrian facilities. Walking speeds are governed not only by the width of the facility but also by age and gender. The age was judged from the face value of the pedestrian (Laxman et al., 2010). Therefore, the importance of pedestrian movements is globally understood and cannot be neglected. Large proportion of sidewalk users’ needs the provision of walk facilities such as exclusive walkways or footpaths on the road for their safe movement. Pedestrians walk differently on different types of walking facilities. The research works on pedestrians flow characteristics were started from about four decades ago. Available literatures suggest that numerous studies on pedestrians flow characteristics have been carried out based on different existing consitions in different cities in Asia and other parts of the world (Oeding, 1963; Hoel, 1968; Older, 1968; Navin and Wheeler, 1969; Polus et al., 1983; Tanboriboon et al., 1986; Koushki, 1988; Koushki and Ali, 1993; Victor, 1989; Morrel et al., 1991; Tanaboriboon and Guyano, 1991; Thompson and Heydon, 1991; Arasan et al., 1994; Tanaboriboon and Jing, 1994; Gerilla, 1995; Lam et al., 1995; Poei et al., 1995; Thambiah et al., 2004; Rastogi et al., 2008; Laxman et al., 2010). Oeding (1963) indicated that the speed-flow relationships for different types of pedestrians are different. However, Fruin (1971) reported that different speed- flow relationships were established for different types of pedestrian facilities. A comprehensive review of Asian pedestrian characteristics can be found in the study conducted by Morrall et al. (1991), in which a comparison of the pedestrian characteristics in Canadian and Asian cities was made. The study suggested that for Asian countries, such as India, Sri Lanka, and China, the pedestrian planning should be based on local pedestrian characteristics rather than those from cities with dissimilar cultures. The pedestrian flow characteristics in Hong Kong were carried out in another research work by Lam et al. (1995). In that study, the walking speed-pedestrian flow relationships for indoor and outdoor walkways were investigated. The speed-density-flow models developed for Hong Kong are similar to those developed for Singapore. A comprehensive review of different models for pedestrian facilities around the world has been conducted. Almost all of them conclude that there is a fundamental requirement for studying the characteristics of pedestrians and developing a pedestrian model for road network improvement purposes in any developing city. Since Khulna Metropolitan City (KMC) is rapidly developing due to its geographical importance in Bangladesh, advanced research on pedestrian flow characteristics is an urgent requirement for improving its transportation and road network facilities. However, in order to develop pedestrian planning standards for Khulna city, it is required to conduct study on local pedestrian characteristics. The main objectives of this study are to analyse the * Corresponding author : imran.nazir06@gmail.com KUET @ JES, ISSN 2075-4914 / 03(1), 2012 JES an International Journal