On the Level of Traffic Stress for Pedestrians

Abstract

Walking is the most basic and sustainable mode of transportation. Nevertheless, fifty percent of pedestrians in Germany feel unsafe in road traffic. Since feelings of low safety are associated with higher stress, fewer people are likely to walk in less comfortable environments. This paper introduces a new rating scheme called "Level of Stress for Pedestrians". This rating scheme defines five different pedestrian stress levels and links them to attributes of road segments such as the sidewalk width or the number of crossing facilities. The rating scheme is not bound to specific locations due to its static nature and can therefore be applied to different cities. With the aid of the pedestrian level of stress, static weak points in the pedestrian network can be identified and eliminated.