Pedestrian Safety Modelling and Analysis Using GIS in Chennai

International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014
doi: 10.14355/ijrsa.2014.0402.03
http://www.ijrsa.org
Pedestrian Safety Modelling and Analysis

Using GIS in Chennai
Rohith P Poyil**, Anil Kumar Misra**, R Murugasan***
**Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ITM University, HUDA Sector 23 A, Gurgaon 122017, India
***Institute of Remote sensing, Department of Civil Engineering, Anna University, Chennai 600025, India
rohithpoyil@itmindia.edu; anilmishra@itmindia.edu; murugasanr@rediffmail.com
Received 29th March 2014; Revised 31th March 2014; Accepted 16th April 2014; Published 03rd June 2014
2014 Science and Engineering Publishing Company
Abstract
This paper analyzes the various variables affecting
pedestrian road crashes, placing emphasis on the effect of
daily activity patterns and the built environment, including
the land use of the places. Study also develops a level of
safety model in terms of number of pedestrian accidents in
Chennai. First, eleven potential factors influencing
pedestrian level of safety are summarized: width of road,
width of sidewalk, average running speed of vehicles,
vehicular volume, pedestrian volume, percentage of
sidewalk area encroached, presence of crossing facilities,
sight distance, pedestrian refuge and median, lightings and
curb. The selected roads are typical of those prevalent in
urban areas of Chennai. With the survey data, a stepwise
regression analyses are carried out to develop a reliable
pedestrian level of safety model for road segments, suitable
for use in the vast majority of Indian urban areas. The study
reveals that the factors significantly influencing pedestrian
level of safety at road segments including width of sidewalk,
average running speed of vehicles, percentage of sidewalk
area encroached, presence of pedestrian refuge and median,
lightings and curb.
A model to predict the pedestrian safety level in terms of
number of pedestrian accidents is developed in this study
using regression analysis and integrated with GIS to
produce a colour coded maps showing the predicted
number of pedestrian accidents. The validation has been
done by comparing the predicted number of pedestrian
accidents with actual number of pedestrian accidents
occurred.
Keywords
Safety Model; Stepwise Regression Analysis; Pedestrian Level of
Safety; GIS
Introduction
Worldwide pedestrian-vehicle crashes are considered
as one of the major public health concern, but it is a
preventable cause of death and hospitalization.

Approximately 400,000 pedestrians lost their lives in
pedestrian-vehicle crashes annually (Naci et al., 2009)
worldwide. Studies carried out by several researches
revealed that almost half of all pedestrian fatalities in
Europe involved elderly pedestrians (HakamiesBlomqvist, 2003; Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2001). The potential
safety importance of the walking direction along a
road can be done by examining pedestrian accidents
as a function of exposure to risk (Juha et al. 2013).
Research on user behaviour and preferences has been
a helpful tool in improving road safety and accident
prevention in recent years (Mario et al. 2014). A
systemic inquiry and the transformation of the urban
road network should be performed in order to
diminish the areas of vehiclepedestrian conflicts and
to significantly reduce vehicle speeds in areas of
pedestrian presence and activity (Victoria et al. 2012).
Walking is a basic human activity and pedestrians are
a part of every roadway environment. Everybody is a
pedestrian at one point or another. A persons decision
to walk or use other modes of transportation is greatly
influenced by his safety concerns. Pedestrian Level of
Service model for arterials represents a progressive
shift in evaluating the quality of service from a
provider-based measure to a user-based measure
(Theodore et al. 2004). With the full sample of
collisions, binomial logit models estimated the odds of
collision occurrence as related to the road and the
neighbourhood environments and adjusting for
exposure (Anne et al. 2008). Spatial analysis
techniques can be combined with regression models to
understand factors associated with risk (Robert et al.
2004). Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based
approach can be used to compare the average walking
97
accessibility between alternative neighbourhood

designs (Lisa et al. 1997). Present study presents
effective preventive strategies that have been
formulated to improve pedestrian safety and lays a
foundation for the assessment and application for
further advances in the field. The objectives of this
study are given below:
To identify the factors influencing pedestrian

safety level.
To develop a model to predict the pedestrian
safety level in terms of number of pedestrian
accidents for urban roads in India using regression
analysis.
To integrate regression model with GIS and to
develop colour coded maps showing the
pedestrian level of safety.
Gandhi mandapam road, consists mostly of residences

and sports clubs. It is also the site of education and
research hubs of the city, being adjacent to the IIT
Madras, Patrician College of Arts and Science, KRMM
college of arts and science, Anna University, MGR
Medical University, Madras School of Economics,
Cancer Institute and the renowned Guindy Children's
Park. Anna Centenary Library, India's largest hi-tech
library, is located here. There are plenty of schools in
this area. As a result vehicular traffic is more in this
road. Latitude and longitude of Gandhi mandapam
road are 13o110.56 N and 80o 14 44.88 E. The length
of Gandhi mandapam road is 2.2 km and is as shown
in Fig.2.
Study Area
Velachery main road and Gandhi mandapam road in
Chennai city have been chosen as the study area for
this study. The Velachery main road on the south,
connects the fastest growing suburbs of south Chennai
and Mount Road (Anna Salai) at Guindy via Velachery.
A section of this road connects Guindy and Velachery
and is home to some of the oldest localities. Latitude
and longitude of Velacherry main road are 12o5522 N
and 80o 70 40 E respectively. Total length of
Velachery main road is 4.4 km and is shown in Fig.1.
FIG.2 GANDHI MANDAPAM ROAD
Methodology
This section outlines the methodology proposed for
the pedestrian safety modelling and analysis using
GIS. The pedestrian safety model uses the of number
of pedestrian accidents as a measure to describe level
of safety as a function of variables such as width of
sidewalk, average running speed of vehicles,
percentage of sidewalk area encroached, presence of
pedestrian refuge and median, lightings and curb.
FIG. 1 VELACHERY MAIN ROAD
The Gandhi mandapam road is located on the south

bank of the Adayar river. Kotturpuram lies adjacent to
98
A model to predict the pedestrian safety level in terms

of number of pedestrian accidents has been developed
using regression analysis and integrated with GIS for
the analysis. The GIS output is in the form of colour
coded maps. The flowchart showing the methodology
in a nutshell is given in Fig.3.
GIS environment
Road is divided into
segments based on
the road
Digitization of road
segments and
inputting values for
variables in the
attribute table
Model development
Data collection
1. Pedestrian accident details
2. Width of road
3. Width of sidewalk
4. Average running speed of
vehicles
5. Vehicular volume
6. Pedestrian volume
7. Percentage of sidewalk area
encroached
8. Presence of crossing
facilities
9. Presence of pedestrian
refuge and median
10. Presence of lightings
11. Presence of curb
12. Sight distance
Preparation of raster
layer for each variable
dependent and independent variables entered with

their labels and in the data view, data values of
variables entered. Out of 348 segments, data collected
from 244 segments were utilized for model
development and data from remaining segments were
kept for validation. After entering the variable and
data views, linear stepwise regression analysis was
carried out. The result revealed that the factors
significantly influencing pedestrian level of safety at
road segments included width of sidewalk, average
running speed of vehicles, percentage of sidewalk area
encroached, presence of pedestrian refuge and median,
lightings and curb.
The coefficient of determination value (R2), standard
error of estimate and other coefficients obtained from
analysis are given in Table 1 and Table 2.
Stepwise Regression
analysis using PSPP
Raster calculator
Mathematical equation
TABLE 1 MODEL SUMMARY
R Square
0.90
0.81
Adjusted R
Square
0.79
Standard error of
estimate
0.61
Mathematical Equation
Validation
Colour coded map showing the predicted

number of pedestrian accidents
FIG.3 METHODOLOGY
Model Development
A mathematical model is a simulation of phenomena
using mathematical equations to help forecast the
future trends or to better understand the phenomena.
Integration of this mathematical model with GIS
describes the behaviour of the system spatially in the
form of maps.
The mathematical equation developed out of linear

regression using PSPP software is as:
A = ( 0.09 * S ) - ( 0.06 * SPv ) + ( 0.01 * E ) - ( 0.10 * RM )
+ ( 0.15 * L ) - ( 0.48 * C ) + 2.62
Where,
A = Number of pedestrian accidents
S = Width of sidewalk
SPv = Average running speed of vehicles
E = Percentage of sidewalk area encroached
RM = Presence of pedestrian refuge and
median
L = Presence of lightings
C = Presence of curb
TABLE 2 COEFFICIENTS
Variables Considered
In this study, dependent variable considered is the
number of pedestrian accidents and independent
variables considered are width of road, width of
sidewalk, average running speed of vehicles, vehicular
volume, pedestrian volume, percentage of sidewalk
area encroached, presence of crossing facilities, sight
distance, pedestrian refuge and median, lightings and
curb. Data of variables considered have been collected
for the study stretching from 2006 to 2011.
Stepwise Regression Analysis using PSPP Software
In the variable view of the PSPP software, both
Constant
Width of
sidewalk
Avg. running
speed of
vehicles
Percentage of
sidewalk area
encroached
Pedestrian
refuge and
median
Lightings
Curb
Std.
error
Beta
Significance
2.62
0.09
0.92
0.07
0.00
0.20
2.83
1.26
0.01
0.21
-0.06
0.03
-0.46
-2.39
0.02
0.01
0.01
-0.16
-0.58
0.57
-0.10
0.40
-0.04
-0.24
0.81
0.15
-0.48
0.60
0.54
0.04
-0.24
0.25
-0.89
0.80
0.38
99
Validation of the Model

For the purpose of validation, a graph has been drawn
showing actual number of pedestrian accidents on xaxis and predicts the number of pedestrian accidents
on y-axis as shown in Fig.4. The equal spread of points
on either side of diagonal line indicates the robustness
of the model.
trends in your geographic data that help you

understand how the world works, make the best
choice among options, or plan for the future. GIS
technology has the sophistication to go beyond
mapping as simply as a data management tool. GIS
can integrate georeferenced imagery as data layers or
themes and link them to other data sets to produce
geospatial representations of data.
Road Segments
Road is divided into segments based on road
characteristics. A road segment is a stretch of road
having same road characteristics. Road characteristics
considered are width of road, width of sidewalk,
presence of lighting, presence of curb and presence of
pedestrian refuge and median. Road network is
digitized using ArcGIS 9.3 Version. The digitized road
network is shown in Fig.5.
In the attribute table of road network in ArcGIS 9.3,
variables considered in the pedestrian level of safety
modelling are added and values inputted accordingly.
FIG.4 VALIDATION
GIS Analysis
Raster Layers
GIS is great for making maps. Using a computer to

combine layers of detailed information on a single
map so one can see what's in a place is indeed
powerful. But the true power of GIS lies in analysis.
GIS analysis show you patterns, relationships, and
Raster data are used in a GIS to display continuous

information across an area. Raster layers are created
for width of sidewalk, average running speed of
vehicles, percentage of sidewalk area encroached,
presence of pedestrian refuge and median, presence of
lightings and presence of curb.
FIG. 5 DIGITIZED ROAD NETWORK
100
Raster Calculator
All six raster layers are loaded in the raster calculator.
The mathematical equation involving raster layers are
given in raster calculator and evaluated. The final
output is a colour coded map predicting the number of
accidents.
Results and Discussion
Safety planning and speed control is one of the most
important areas of transport safety because of the
observed correlations between speed level and
accident statistics (Lind, 1997; Archer, 2005). The
probability of a collision accident is an indicator and
can be used to evaluate traffic calming measures
(Davis 2000). The integration of mathematical model
with GIS gives output in the form of map which can
explain the behaviour of system spatially.
A model to predict the pedestrian safety level in terms
of number of pedestrian accidents developed using
regression analysis is integrated with GIS to produce a
colour coded map showing the predicted number of

pedestrian accidents. The colour coded maps showing
predicted number of pedestrian accidents for the year
2011 is shown in Fig.6.
It can be seen from the relevent variables and the
model that width of sidewalk, average running speed
of vehicles, percentage of sidewalk area encroached,
presence of pedestrian refuge and median, lightings
and curb do have effect on pedestrians sense of
comfort and safety. Results from stepwise regression
analysis showed that width of road, vehicular volume,
pedestrian volume, presence of crossing facilities and
sight distance were less correlated with the dependent
variables and hence these variables were removed.
The presence of TASMAC shops (local liquor outlets)
along the study stretch and unpredictability of
individual persons and drivers behaviour seem to
cause small variation in the predicted and observed
number of pedestrian accidents.
FIG. 6 PREDICTED NUMBER OF PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS
101
Conclusions and Recommendations
infrastructure measures to improve pedestrian safety in
The study demonstrates followings:
Israel, Accident Analysis and Prevention 44 (2012) 63
Advances in information and telecommunication

technology offer a broader possibility of
influencing speed dynamics by intelligent speed
adaption (ISA).
This study has revealed that width of sidewalk,
average running speed of vehicles, percentage of
sidewalk area encroached, presence of pedestrian
refuge and median, lightings and curb do have
effect on pedestrians sense of comfort and safety.
Thus designers should try their best to incorporate
these factors while designing pavements to best
accommodate pedestrians comfortably and safely.
The roads in this study are typical of those in urban
areas of India.
The model provides a measure to evaluate how
well a particular stretch of road accommodates
pedestrian travel, and it can be used to support the
improvement and construction of pedestrian
facilities.
During this study, it was found that research on
pedestrian level of safety varied greatly in different
countries.
Pedestrian level of safety for inferior roads is also
needed because inferior roads are mainly designed
to serve pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles.
73.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
stated preference survey, Accident Analysis and
I express my deep gratitude to my parents, sister,

teachers, friends and relatives for supporting and
encouraging me throughout my work.
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First Author: Mr. Rohith P. Poyil, Assistant Professor,
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ITM
University, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
Second Author: Dr. Anil Kumar Misra, Assistant Professor,
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ITM
University, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
Third Author: Dr. R. Murugasan, Associate Professor,
Institute of Remote Sensing, Department of Civil
Engineering, Anna University, Chennai, India.

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International Journal of Remote Sensing Applications Volume 4 Issue 2, June 2014