Urban Transport
shahabeddin Kermanshahi; Mohsen Sadeghi; Hamid Shamanian; Maryam Momeni
Abstract
Highlights- Iran's "Urban Master Plan" and "Transportation Master Plan" have been developed independently, typically across different time frames.- Semi-structured interviews and context analysis were used to get expert knowledge to address the contradiction in the two development plans.- This inconsistency ...
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Highlights- Iran's "Urban Master Plan" and "Transportation Master Plan" have been developed independently, typically across different time frames.- Semi-structured interviews and context analysis were used to get expert knowledge to address the contradiction in the two development plans.- This inconsistency of two development plans was revealed through discussions with the experts.- Combining two separate blueprints into one may seem simple, but interviews reveal organizational obstacles make it challenging to implement.IntroductionLand use and transportation are dynamic processes that are interrelated. How land is used has an impact on transportation, and vice versa. The development of new highways and access to metropolitan areas may have an effect on the structure of urban areas. The growth that has occurred around ring roads is an example of how the expansion of transportation networks may guide urban growth. Therefore, urban planning must take into account this connection. However, Iran's "Urban Master Plan" and "Transportation Master Plan" have been developed independently, typically across different time frames, and with approval coming from two separate sources. This has led to inconsistency between the two plans, which can have negative consequences for urban development.Theoretical FrameworkThe Transit Oriented Development (TOD) approach places an emphasis on the integration of land use and transportation. Through taking this strategy, accessibility is improved by providing passengers with a variety of transportation options. Private cars have the advantages of being quick, adaptable, and having a low capacity. The public transportation system is characterized by a large capacity, acceptable speed, and a minimal degree of flexibility. The non-motorized systems have a wide range of possibilities but are quite slow. The fundamental idea of development based on public transportation is that in order to create an alternative to the use of private automobiles, the benefits of public transportation and non-motorized modes of transportation should be combined, and accessibility should be taken into consideration. Therefore, non-motorized options compensate for the inflexibility of public transportation, while public transportation compensates for the slowness of these alternatives. This combination and replacement only work when the population, building density, and distance to services are suitable for walking.MethodologySemi-structured interviews were employed for this study. The focus of a semi-structured interview has been set in advance, and all respondents are asked the same questions; yet, they are free to react according to their own unique perspective. In order to address the issue of inconsistency that arose during the process of drafting the two primary development plans, we acquired the knowledge of subject matter experts through semi-structured interviews and contextual analysis.Results and DiscussionThe first category that has been derived from the interviews is titled "The Urgent Need to Coordinate Comprehensive Plans for Urban Development and Transportation." This type of coordination is essential for the development of broad policies, comprehensive urban planning, and in-depth transportation studies. This inconsistency was revealed through discussions with experts. It is interesting to note that both transportation and urban planning organizations have emphasized the irregularities in plan design. For example, there is a lack of coordination between land use and the construction of new railway lines, traditional car-oriented development continues, and parking restrictions in city centers are inconsistent. Combining two separate blueprints into one may seem like a simple solution. However, expert interviews show that this solution does not directly solve the lack of coordination due to organizational challenges and the interests of specialized consultants in each sector. It is not a high priority for the set of actions to be taken. However, separating the information collection and modeling processes can lighten the burden of developing comprehensive plans, especially in the transportation sector, and provide a framework for the eventual integration of the planning preparation section in urban planning and transportation. This is especially true in the case of the former. It would seem that carrying out two different plans at the same time would be an efficient way to reduce inconsistency. This strategy is operationally preferable to combining two programs and has fewer obstacles. However, it has been shown to be impractical due to bureaucratic, technological, and, most importantly, institutional inequalities in previous experiences. Finding solutions to the earlier problems in the medium term before combining the two strategies could be successful.ConclusionAltering current trends was recommended as a short-term strategy. These ideas highlight the need to use the expertise of experts from multiple fields when developing comprehensive plans. Other suggestions for the short term include having urban planners and transportation experts collaborate to review and regulate overall urban plans. These measures could improve coordination between transportation and land use development. Finally, establishing specialized training and skill development programs, as well as using tools that are both easy and practical for integrated land use and transportation planning, can help to develop human resources and facilitate future process reforms.
Urban Transport
Esfandiar Zebardast; elnaz baghernejhad
Abstract
The analysis of the casual relationship between built environments and travel behavior has been a key issue in the literature on transportation and planning. Residential self-selection is an issue that requires greater elaboration in investigations of built environments and travel behavior. It suggests ...
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The analysis of the casual relationship between built environments and travel behavior has been a key issue in the literature on transportation and planning. Residential self-selection is an issue that requires greater elaboration in investigations of built environments and travel behavior. It suggests that people choose their neighborhoods according to their travel attitudes and preferences. In other words, people who prefer to walk more decide to reside in walkable neighborhoods. Therefore, people walk more because they like to walk. Hence, residential self-selection, which refers to people’s propensity to choose where to live, is based on their travel attitudes. It is therefore essential to explore the impacts of built environments on travel behavior given the roles of travel attitudes, neighborhood preferences, and socio-demographic characteristics in explanation of the relationship. In this paper, structural equation modeling was applied to specify the extent to which the observed patterns of travel behavior could be attributed to the residential built environment, through investigation of the relationship between the built environment and the frequency of non-work travel involving walks in three neighborhoods with different land development patterns in Tehran, Iran. With an identification of the direct and indirect impacts of the factors effective on travel behavior, the following hypotheses were made. 1) If a built-environment element affects travel behavior or another factor directly or indirectly, it has a causal relationship with travel behavior. 2) If the travel attitudes or neighborhood preferences affect the built environment, self-selection could be understood as confounding the casual relationship between the built environment and travel behavior. For testing the above hypotheses, data were collected from 273 questionnaires distributed in three neighborhoods: Moniriye (as a traditional neighborhood), Golestan (as an automobile-oriented neighborhood), and Bime (as a conventional neighborhood). Using exploratory factor analysis, the aspects of built environments were extracted as follows: residential environment characteristics, highway accessibility, public transport accessibility, destination diversity and accessibility, density, and residence preferences. The latter refers to residents’ accessibility preferences/priorities if they wish to move to a new neighborhood. Moreover, the factors effective on travel attitudes, as elicited by exploratory factor analysis, were found to include favoring means of transport other than private cars, dependent on private cars, reducing travel, and favoring private cars. After the specification of the domains of built environment, accessibility preferences/priorities, and travel attitudes, structural equation modeling was applied to identify the relative and casual relationships between the built environment and travel behavior in the three neighborhoods. The evidence from the car-oriented and conventional neighborhoods indicated the causality of the relationship between the built environment and travel behavior. In the traditional neighborhood, however, travel attitudes and neighborhood preferences were found to influence travel behavior directly and indirectly. Nevertheless, the overall comparative assessment of the direct/indirect impacts on travel behavior in the three examined neighborhoods demonstrated that the built environment elements had casual effects on the travel behavior involving walks. For instance, destination diversity and accessibility had direct and indirect impacts on travel behavior in all the three neighborhoods. It could be concluded that enhancement of diversity and public transport accessibility and reduction of highway accessibility played more prominent roles in non-motorized travel behavior. If cities adopt land use policies offering more options to utilize non-motorized means of transport, therefore, many residents would tend to welcome the idea.
Urban Transport
Mahdi Allahdadi; Ali Shamaei; Farzaneh sasanpour
Abstract
The issue of transportation is regarded as one of the most important human needs. Two general solutions are applied today to urban traffic problems: demand management and supply management. Demand management is adopted to eliminate or reduce travel, and supply management is aimed at optimal use of the ...
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The issue of transportation is regarded as one of the most important human needs. Two general solutions are applied today to urban traffic problems: demand management and supply management. Demand management is adopted to eliminate or reduce travel, and supply management is aimed at optimal use of the available transportation facilities. Establishment and employment of public transportation is another major strategy adopted in supply management. The bus is considered as the main means of public transportation in the city of Esfahan, Iran, where it has been found to meet twenty percent of people’s transportation needs in recent years. In order for the bus services to appeal to more citizens, measures should be taken to resolve its problems and enhance its favorability. It has been found that the major problems from passengers’ point of view include long waiting times at stations, delayed and imprecise arrival times, crowdedness, and inappropriate air conditioning and cooling and heating systems in the ordinary bus services. From the perspective of urban management, there are again obvious problems, such as the worn-out fleet, noise and environment pollution, and low performance of the ordinary bus services, utilized less than allowed by the capacity. All this calls for modification and optimization in the current services. The most important problems with the fleet include uncertainty in and violation of the service schedule, long travel times due to low speed, limited activity and service duration, crowdedness, and long time headways. Many of these problems can be resolved via special routes, i.e. conversion of ordinary bus services into express ones. It will then be important to evaluate the bus rapid transit (BRT) services, so that the quality can be upgraded to a high level. The main purpose of this research was to specify the status of the BRT services in Esfahan in accordance with ITDP’s 2016 BRT Standard, the scores of different bus lines, and surveyed passengers’ satisfaction and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the services from the above two aspects. The results demonstrated that the average score of the BRT services in Esfahan was below the bronze level of quality. The separate examinations of the scores obtained on the individual criteria demonstrated that the criteria pertaining to the stations achieved 80% their maximum values, and those concerning the communication equipment achieved only 20%, indicating a lack of communication equipment in Esfahan BRT services. Moreover, points were deduced on the access and integration criterion due to the lack of integration between the BRT services and the network of cycle facilities, and all the bus lines lost five more points as the horizontal distance between the bus floor and the station platform was more than twenty centimeters, without which the services would achieve the bronze level. According to the survey results, in fact specifying the status of the services from the passengers’ perspective, the average score obtained on the different criteria was 74%, indicating a high level of satisfaction, on which basis it could be stated that Esfahan BRT services were of the silver level of quality. Furthermore, all the bus lines had attracted 21% and 13% of car and taxi passengers, respectively, amounting to 16 and 11for Line 1 alone, according to similar studies. The most important reasons stated by passengers for using BRT services included high speed, discipline, and convenience, in that order. The evaluation and survey results were highly correlated, suggesting a failure to employ smart equipment widely and fully in Esfahan BRT services.
Urban Transport
masoud kadkhodaei; rouzbeh shad
Abstract
With the ever-increasing production of private cars, there has been far heavier traffic flowing through the streets of large cities, causing problems such as increased air pollution and increased travel time and latency in urban trips. Congestion pricing provides a way of managing traffic congestion ...
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With the ever-increasing production of private cars, there has been far heavier traffic flowing through the streets of large cities, causing problems such as increased air pollution and increased travel time and latency in urban trips. Congestion pricing provides a way of managing traffic congestion and the consequent problems in large cities. In the implementation of the congestion pricing policy in large cities, it is of great significance how toll rate varies by time, affecting the efficiency of the plan and citizens’ tendency to use private cars. Therefore, adoption of the most appropriate method of scheduling in congestion pricing plans requires a precise analysis of different scheduling methods and their evaluation given the traffic and social characteristics of the city. Due to the presence of tourists in large tourist destinations, there are larger numbers of trips taken for entertainment and shopping purposes than in other cities. Furthermore, many drivers are not familiar with the directions, which makes urban travel patterns different in such cities, making it more important to adopt the appropriate congestion pricing plan scheduling. In this research, three methods, including fixed tolls, scheduled tolls, and smart tolls, were adopted for scheduling congestion pricing plans in large tourist destinations and ranked using the Analytic Network Process (ANP) method, where decision elements, including evaluation criteria and options, are weighted using pairwise comparison as well as their interdependence In the pairwise comparisons, the importance of or preference for each decision element is determined by experts opinions. Each option is scored with respect to each criterion through multiplication of the option weight by the criterion value, and the final score of the option is obtained through calculation of the sum of the above scores, on which basis the evaluation options are ranked. Since the final weights thus obtained by the ANP method are not normal, more accurate comparison could be made after their normalization. Based on the results, the method of scheduled tolls for congestion pricing plans were ranked first with a normalized weight of 0.49, and the methods of fixed tolls and smart tolls were ranked second and third with normalized weights of 0.26 and 0.25, respectively. The most effective indicators in the assessment included reduction of travel time, increase in the use of public transportation, reduction of the number of drivers traveling alone, increase in operating speed, and reduction of accidents with pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists, in that order. Use of the results of this research in urban management policy-making will optimize congestion pricing policies adopted in large tourist destinations such as the city of Mashhad, Iran and increase their effectiveness in reduction of traffic congestion and the consequent problems.
Urban Transport
sayyed mohammad reza davoodi; masood ataee gharacheh; masoud mokhtari karchegani; Farhad javanmard
Abstract
An increase in the use of public transport offers one of the most convenient strategies for alleviation of the problems resulting from the excessive use of the private car (congestion, pollution, noise, etc.) in most urban areas. Rail transport systems provide a sustainable transport model in cities, ...
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An increase in the use of public transport offers one of the most convenient strategies for alleviation of the problems resulting from the excessive use of the private car (congestion, pollution, noise, etc.) in most urban areas. Rail transport systems provide a sustainable transport model in cities, with advantages including very high safety, passenger convenience and comfort, absence of traffic congestion, low energy consumption, proper speed, absence of fossil fuels, and low passenger transport costs. For improvement of public transport, it is necessary to develop appropriate tools for measuring and monitoring the quality of service. From among the variety of methods that are there for measurement of transport service quality, one based on customer perspective was adopted in the present research, aimed at segmentation and analysis of citizen expectation from urban railway in the city of Isfahan, Iran using the Kano, FAHP, and FTOPSIS models. For data collection in this applied descriptive-analytical study, a mixture of library and field investigation was conducted. Based on the library study, the theoretical framework of the research was formulated, and fifteen of the most important citizen expectations were identified. These included 1. proper waiting time for passengers to receive service, 2. Internet (WiFi) and mobile network access on the train, 3. use of other public transport systems next to the stations, 4. provision of information on the train, 5. attractive environmental graphics, 6. adaptation of the stations for the disabled, the blind, and cyclists, 7. convenient train spaces in terms of cleaning, cooling and heating, and air conditioning, 8. provision of transport service to passengers on holidays and during off-hours, 9. security at the stations, 10. appropriate location of the stations, 11. proper appearance and suitability of the staff, 12. availability of elevators and escalators at the stations, 13. train arrivals matching the timetable 14. availability of parking spaces at the stations, and 15. enhancement of passenger transport capacity. Based on the field method, the required data were collected using three questionnaires: Kano, paired comparison, and significance assessment. The research population was divided to two groups. The first group, answering the Kano questionnaire, included all the citizens taking Isfahan urban train. Morgan’s table was utilized for specification of sample size for the first group, based on which, sample size was set to 380, and the simple random sampling method was used. The second group, who answered the questionnaire for paired comparison between the items and that for significance assessment of the indicators, included experts engaged in the field of urban trains. Finally, the results of item ranking indicated that the item titled proper waiting time for passengers to receive service had priority over the other items. In urban public transport systems, it is very important to determine waiting time for passengers at the stations to benefit from the provided services. Proper scheduling that results in reduced waiting times can greatly affect user satisfaction, and can be essential for system management. Availability of a credible schedule allows passengers to adjust their arrival times at the stations, thereby experiencing shorter waiting times.
Urban Transport
shahrzad moghadam; zohre fani; mohamad taghi razaviyan
Abstract
Nowadays, the cities are rapidly transforming due to such reasons as the spatial structure, economic and social relations. Therefore, they need new approaches in urban management. Urban spaces are physical manifestation of citizens’ social needs and provide the necessary groundwork for access and ...
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Nowadays, the cities are rapidly transforming due to such reasons as the spatial structure, economic and social relations. Therefore, they need new approaches in urban management. Urban spaces are physical manifestation of citizens’ social needs and provide the necessary groundwork for access and provision of services required by users. They make the conditions for all users (men and women) to fairly use and enjoy the urban space. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the factors influencing women’s travel behavior in Zanjan. The study is an applied research and the methodology is descriptive-analytical. The statistical population includes 15-50 year old women in Zanjan. The sample size was determined using Cochran’s C test (384 questionnaires) and the samples were selected through random sampling method. In the present study, we first aimed at investigating and identifying urban traffic patterns based on theoretical foundations and 9 components. Questions are quantified on the Likert scale and Gutmann spectrum. Then, the patterns of women’s traffic in the city and its significant difference from the various forms of urban transport system are analyzed using these indicators. Data was analyzed in SPSS, using Kruskal-Wallis test, analysis of variance and correlation tests. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to test the reliability of questions. Information obtained from the questionnaires indicated a relationship between car ownership, occupation, family structure and travel behavior. Results show that owning a personal car leads to more mobility among employed women. In addition, women who have children are more dependent on personal cars than men, because they are not satisfied with the performance of urban public transportation. The results of this research indicate that women’s needs are not considered in urban transport planning. With the differentiation of functions in cities, transportation has affected the social and economic dimensions of women’s lives in the city.In addition, couples with children mostly use personal cars for transportation. This is apparent from the great difference in the average personal car usage in the group of women with children owning personal cars (54.56) and women without children with personal car ownership (20.6). Employed women drive more than housewives; they tend to use personal cars. Higher comfort, speed and safety are the reasons for driving personal cars rather than using other urban transportation forms. Women’s dissatisfaction with the public transport system (0.033) can be one of the several factors in increased traffic congestion and dependence on personal cars in the urban transport system of Zanjan. Housewives who own personal cars do not advise the use of public transport system. They will use alternative methods if the condition of public transportation improves.
Urban Transport
Hamid Farhad; Bahador Bazrafshan Moghadam; Toktam Mohtashami
Volume 6, Issue 23 , August 2017, , Pages 87-97
Abstract
Objectives
The rapid increase of motorized transport in cities, especially in metropolises, has caused severe environmental problems such as pollution, traffic congestion, time waste and accidents, and has affected sustainable development of urban transport. Mashhad city, with 3,218,000 inhabitants, ...
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Objectives
The rapid increase of motorized transport in cities, especially in metropolises, has caused severe environmental problems such as pollution, traffic congestion, time waste and accidents, and has affected sustainable development of urban transport. Mashhad city, with 3,218,000 inhabitants, hosts many pilgrims from different parts of Iran over the year. Transportation is one of the most important concerns for this metropolis. One of the solutions to this problem is development of Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) systems in this city to facilitate public transport. Given the importance of BRT projects in developing Mashhad and strategic importance of sustainability of future projects, the question is that what indices measure the economic, social and ecological aspects of BRT projects. This study seeks to answer this question from the perspective of urban transportation experts. The aim of this study is to develop an ex-post evaluation framework for Mashhad BRT system by using assessing methods and weighting effective factors in evaluating transport systems. This framework includes economic, social and environmental performance of the system and therefore involves all aspects of sustainable development that is expected to be considered in the future development of Mashhad transport system.
Method
Study indicators were selected by reviewing the literature on BRT system in recent years and based on sustainable development criteria. After determining effective factors in evaluating the performance of BRT system, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to prioritize criteria based on questionnaires and interviews with experts in the field of transportation and urban management.
Results
After creating a decision tree in EXPERT CHOICE software and entering information collected from the questionnaires, pair comparison of consistency rates was conducted for each matrix in order to ensure the reliability of the questionnaire. The inconsistency rate for all indices was found to be less than 0.1, a value that insures the consistency of selected criteria. Based on the findings, the User Benefits criterion – involving comfort, consumer saving, travel time saving, vehicle operating costs, reduction of social exclusion, and transport diversity indicators – has the highest priority of 0.426. The Externalities and Environmental criterion (weighted 0.377) ranked second. Among various indicators of these criteria, Safety (weighted 0.437) and Air Pollution (weighted 0.305) were determined to have the highest priority in evaluating the performance of BRT system in Mashhad. The sub-criteria of employment, including both direct and indirect employment in the construction process, has the highest relative weight (0.454) among different sub-criteria of the “indirect effects” due to the increasing the demand for stores, restaurants, etc. After determining the relative weights of the criteria and sub-criteria, the final weight of each of the different indices of BRT system assessment was calculated. The inconsistency rate was obtained to be 0.07, suggesting compatibility and reliability of answers. From the experts’ point of view, “cost savings” is the most important sub-criteria in evaluating the performance of BRT system. Accordingly, reduction of vehicle and fuel costs may reorient the related funds to other consumption areas that may contribute to the realization of sustainable urban development in the long term.
Urban Transport
Volume 4, Issue 15 , August 2015, , Pages 83-92
Abstract
Increasing populations in third-world cities of and consequently increasing use of fossil fuels and intense traffic have caused these cities to encounter various problems. Nowadays, transport is one of the most important factors determining the existence and development of cities. Almost all cities are ...
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Increasing populations in third-world cities of and consequently increasing use of fossil fuels and intense traffic have caused these cities to encounter various problems. Nowadays, transport is one of the most important factors determining the existence and development of cities. Almost all cities are under the pressure of traffic congestion. Traffic congestion results in numerous social conflicts, is not in harmony with the natural environment, and is the main source of most transportation problems. Car-based transport has a wide range of negative impacts upon society and the environment, such as air pollution, congestion, noise pollution, road accidents, and extensive land use for roads and parking facilities. Pursuing sustainable mobility, particularly in urban areas, has become a priority objective of national and global policies in the transport and environmental fields. In addition to communication and the development of reliable, comfortable and secure public modes of transport, the optimization of pedestrian and urban paths is one of the main useful tools for achieving sustainable urban mobility. Bicycles with such unique advantages as low cost, absence of fossil fuel consumption, less traffic, and lack of negative impacts on environment, is more and more considered as a complement to other vehicles than the past. One of the most typical alternatives which is provided by experts for permanent development of cities, is the increased usage of bicycles. The purpose of this study is the consideration of the elements which affect citizen's unwillingness for using bicycles for travelling throughout Ardabil. The present study has used library and field methods for data collection. In order to analyze the obtained data, colmogrove – smirnove, Variance, Scheffe, Independent T, and Kruskal–Wallis test were used with SPSS software. Survey findings showed that, insufficient advertisement in the media, lack of a cycling culture, female cycling disproportionate with cultural conditions of the community are the most significant factors, in the order mentioned, which affect citizens lack of interest in using bicyles within the city of Ardabil. Cool climatic conditions and lack of proper infrastructure for cycling in Ardabil are also considered as other barriers to using bicycles. In addition, the survey illustrated that the less educated, low-income and men cycled more compared to the highly educated, high income and women in urban areas. There was not a significant difference in the use of bicycles in urban travels between regions in Ardabil; however, there was a higher usage of bicyles in regions one and two than in regions three and four. Obtained results indicate that according to respondents’ viewpoints, cultural factors had a more prominent role in the unwillingness of citizens to use bicycles in urban trips compared with other factors. This issue indicates that if the relevant authorities encourage citizens to use bicycle in urban travels through advertisements, despite the lack of infrastructure and cold weather, bicycle usage will increase. Therefore, the survey showed importance of the promotion of the cycling culture in all society. Finally, some recommendations are presented for encouraging citizens’ use of bicycles for travelling throughout the city.
Urban Transport
m h; m i; e m
Volume 4, Issue 13 , February 2015, , Pages 17-32
Abstract
Nowadays physical expansion of cities has led to citizens` dependency on private and public vehicles for moving in cities to meet their needs, which is more obvious in larger cities. This issue of major urban areas being seen as specializing in providing goods and services has resulted in land use segregation ...
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Nowadays physical expansion of cities has led to citizens` dependency on private and public vehicles for moving in cities to meet their needs, which is more obvious in larger cities. This issue of major urban areas being seen as specializing in providing goods and services has resulted in land use segregation (zoning) and inevitable of use of automobiles . In addition to causing ecological problems, increasing urban management expenditure and fossil fuel consumption, such a process has a negative effect on citizens` quality of life . With the dominance of vehicles over cities, pedestrian movements will gradually wane which in turn will trigger the physical and social deterioration in urban fabrics. In the last three decades, severe reactions have been shown toward use of automobiles and decline in walking as the result of increasing city problems like pollution, transportation difficulties, road insecurity , deterioration of historic centers, decreasing city space and service accessibility quality, disable people’s mobility problems, emotional pressures, and decrease in visual values . Increasing environmental quality and regenerating historic-cultural characteristics of CBDs are of major concern to urban centers managers and decreasing vehicle use and giving back urban spaces to pedestrians are also of considerable interest. However, different physical, economic, social and other factors lead to a high dependency on automobiles which makes it hard to change the situation. Hence, in pedestrianization it is important to consider each city’s circumstances individually and balance maintained between the shifting of pedestrians and drivers. Amongst modern movements in city transportation which emphasize value of pedestrians and the lowering of automobile supremacy is pedestrianization and pedestrian street construction. This survey has decided to select an appropriate policy for decreasing automobile movement in Hamedan CBD. Hamedan’s central fabric is still operating as a service pole for all citizens despite city growth and suffering from heavy traffic and and socio-economic trades especially because of its radiant and monocentric structure. This survey was carried out using analytic-descriptive method, common library studies and field observation. The main criteria for pedestrian oriented environmental designs and pedestrian street construction were derived from Persian and foreign literature review. After that, these indicators were evaluated in Hamedan CBD. To compare the two policies, (pedestrianization and walkability) AHP (analytical hierarchy process) was used and to weigh the criteria and sub criteria, Delphi method (30 experts opinions were considered upon the topic) was employed. Results show that the most effective criteria in evaluating pedestrianization capacity of an area are, in order, orderly as follows: transportation network structure, traffic and social conditions, land use and activity, physical structure, natural environment, economic considerations and landscape. Analyzing these criteria in Hamedan CBD proves supremacy of pedestrianization over pedestrian street construction. This survey shows that because of the negative effects on the natural environment, economic conditions and physical structure of the city, it is impossible to eliminate automobiles from Hamedan CBD completely. . Hence pedestrianization is feasible by means of lowering dependency on private automobiles as well as transferring traffic to bypasses in the city periphery which can maintain balance between pedestrians and drivers and public opinion gained. Therefore, it is recommended to keep vehicle accessibility to CBD and Imam Square (main historic square with various activities, buildings and major roads surrounding it) while converting the square itself into a walkable place which will disconnect radial streets in the central fabric of the city and shift traffic to peripheral roads.
Urban Transport
Pooya Alaedini; Elham Fayezi
Volume 1, Issue 1 , March 2012, , Pages 77-90
Abstract
With respect to the urban sustainable development ideal, during the last decades, implementation of the bike-sharing projects has attracted the attention of the planners of different cities including Tehran. Since the first bike-sharing projects were not successful, evaluating/assessing new tentative ...
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With respect to the urban sustainable development ideal, during the last decades, implementation of the bike-sharing projects has attracted the attention of the planners of different cities including Tehran. Since the first bike-sharing projects were not successful, evaluating/assessing new tentative preparation at different stages is required. This article examines the short-term achievements and challenges of the bike-sharing pilot project implemented during the last two years in Tehran Municipality’s Region VIII. A set of indicators including access, awareness, safety, commuting effects, beneficiary satisfaction, sustainability, and cultural advocacy were probed through field observations, information obtained from key stakeholders, and a quantitative survey of direct beneficiaries (a sample of 250 among ~8000 registered beneficiaries). Our findings indicated that the project has been successful in attracting and satisfying (male) users. Meanwhile, a number of shortcomings with regard to information dissemination, traffic signals, and maintaining the quality of bicycles and bike paths as well as cultural advocacy (particularly to include women) still need to be addressed. Furthermore, project sustainability hinges upon availability of funds for the maintenance and geographic expansion of facilities as well as periodic renewal of the fleet through secure budget allocations and sales of advertisement rights.
