Abstract:
Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a need of the modern world. It has the
potential to solve traffic related problems in compliance with sustainability. In this
study the effect of transit station location, in an urban environment, on walking
accessibility has been evaluated. The study has assessed the accessibility using a PedShed/Pedestrian Catchment concept rather the circular buffer concept. The PedShed/Pedestrian Catchment concept utilizes the path followed through the actual road
network, unlike the circular buffer that relies on the radial path. This gives the
accessible area around the station based on the actual road network conditions. The
evaluation is based on two accessibility indicators as: Ideal Station Accessibility Index
(ISAI) and Pedestrian Route Directness (PRD), to get an effect of station location on
walking accessibility. The ISAI shows the accessible road density around the station
while the PRD shows its walk efficiency. As a case study, we have selected the
Rawalpindi-Islamabad bus rapid transit that is located in Pakistan. It is observed that
ISAI and PRD have different values for stations in different environments. These values
were analyzed for the effect of station location and activity types. It is concluded that
accessibility indices have better values in locations having the dense spider-net type of
road network than the grid-iron type network. The paucity of direct pedestrian routes
and the presence of activities like an electricity grid station, army depot, major
interchange, and large premises near the station breaks the continuity in the road
network that badly affects walking accessibility.
