Evaluation of the Selected Sustainable Indicators for Urban Roads Network: Al-Kufa City as a Case Study

Abstract

One of the major concerns of the modern world is sustainable development. Sustainable transportation development is crucial in light of the increasing congestion and pollution in urban areas. Al-Kufa City is one of the most significant cities in Iraq. This study focuses on specific criteria such as public transportation, pedestrian facilities, pavement markings, noise level, and population density on the number of existing roads. The collected data showed that the average percentage of public transportation at selected locations is 4% for buses and 24.6% for minibuses with unplanned routes. Furthermore, pavement markings cover only about 0.48% of the whole network. Regarding the noise level, it was high and exceeded the standard limitations, reaches to 93.48 dBA. At the same time, the indicator of pedestrian facilities showed a significant lack of footbridges. Finally, the density of roads per population is 60.32km/100000 which is less than the expected value. Therefore, actions and improvements are necessary for the short and long term to develop a sustainable city living environment.