Identification and Prioritization of Pedestrian Safety Criteria in Inter-City Roads of Hamadan Based on Multi Criteria Decision Making Using the Fuzzy Topsis Method

Abstract

Background and aims: Studying and prioritizing the criteria to improve the safety of pedestrian traffic can help planners and decision makers to create a safe environment for pedestrians. This study was designed and carried out to identify and prioritize the safety criteria of pedestrian’s thoroughfares of Hamadan province based on multi-criteria decision making by the fuzzy TOPSIS method. Methods: In this study, a logical and systematic process was done using the fuzzy TOPSIS method, to develop an optimal model under each of the selected criteria. The study was carried out during 2018-2019. To determine the risk factors related to the modeling, first the indicators were determined by the panel of experts, from an extensive list of functional indicators. Then, SMART criteria of weighting proportion and weighing indicators were used to rank the i indicators among the identified indicators related to the pedestrian safety. Results: A total of 50 people, with a mean and standard age deviation of 42.68 and 8.03 years, participated in this study. The fuzzy analysis showed that the most important key criteria for promoting pedestrian safety according to the opinions of the study participants were creating uneven crossings at intersections, creating safe paths around schools, restricting pedestrian access to highways, creating controlled crossings in high-risk areas and education and promotion of the traffic culture in the community through mass media, respectively. Conclusion: This study revealed that the necessary and important criteria for improving the safety of pedestrians include various aspects of human, environmental, and vehicle factors.