Understanding pedestrian preferences for sidewalk environment in small and large Indian cities

Abstract

Previous studies have not adequately explored how pedestrians’ priorities for sidewalk environments vary between small (population <0.5 million) and large cities (population: 0.5–1 million). Therefore, the present study investigates the priority areas for improving the sidewalk environment, considering pedestrians’ perceptions in Roorkee (small) and Dehradun (large) cities in Uttarakhand, India. Accordingly, using a paper-pen and tablet-based survey instrument, the study randomly collected pedestrians’ perceived importance and satisfaction ratings towards 27 attributes from 637 respondents in Roorkee and 735 respondents in Dehradun, using a 5-point Likert-type ordinal scale. The hybrid model of the Technique of Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution and diagonal line importance satisfaction analysis determined that the attributes, namely ‘surface quality’, ‘continuity’, ‘seating’, ‘public toilet’, and ‘differently abled facilities’ under the ‘sidewalk facilities and amenities’ factor, require priority improvements in both cities. The study findings assist decision-makers in formulating improvement strategies to develop an adequate sidewalk environment.