Exploring Walkability Index: The Pallimukku Study Insights

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 13 Issue: 02 | Feb 2026 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Exploring Walkability Index: The Pallimukku Study Insights

Niranjini Shibu1, Sameena A2, Raji R3

1,2Assistant professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Younus College of Engineering and Technology

3Head of the Department, Department of Civil Engineering, Younus College of Engineering and Technology

Abstract – There is a recent urge in the transportation sector during the past ten years. In the pursuit of Higher standard of living and to make travelling easier to their destinations, people started shifting from Non-motorized to Motorized Transport amenities. The ability to walk has been reduced in our cities even in remote areas, which has been a setback to our economy on the basis of healthy living and development. The study primarily details the walkability index values of specific midblock portions where there are greater pedestrian issues and also establishes the sufficiency of the walkway and its HCM 2000-based Level of Service (LOS). The hamlet of Kollam city, Pallimukkku, study stretch was chosen because it provides a vivid picture of the severe traffic situation. Inadequate and incorrect pedestrian planning will result in numerous detrimental effects, such as needless deaths and injuries. Walkability is a crucial issue in growing cities, giving local authorities motivation to solve challenges related to walkability, assisting municipal planners in comprehending the breadth and depth of local pedestrian circumstances.

Key Words: Walkability Index, Motorized, Midblock Section, HCM, Level of Service.

1. INTRODUCTION

An area's walkability is a measure of its level of safety. Walkability, or the capacity to walk, has steadily declined inAsiancitiesasa resultof the risein motorizedcars. An international analysis of the World Health "Our roads are particularly unsafe for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists who, without the protective shell of a car around them, are more vulnerable," the organization said after analyzing the causes of accidents and pertinent legislation.Althoughtherearesomeincentivesforthemto do so, the majority of developing nations do not require pedestrian planning. Assisting municipal planners in comprehending the extent and degree of local pedestrian circumstances in comparison to other cities would be a good first step since it would enable them to pinpoint specific countermeasures and expenses related to enhancingpedestrianconditions.

1.1 Location Analysis

Pallimukku,ahamlet,intheoutskirtsofkollam districtis subjected to intense congestion issues during the peak hours. Since a railway crossing area is nearby and an intersectionis beingcreatedtherethusresultinginChaos in the nearby area. Seevral Congestion pricing strategies

has been adopted there but the process ended up in vain. The Ministry of Urban Development (MOUD) method states that the walkability index depends on the accessibility of pedestrian facilities and walkways rating. The MOUD equation is used to determine the walkability index. Every zone will have a field walkability survey conducted. In each of the designated areas, pedestrians will be asked to rate the design elements on a 10-point scale,with1 representing thelowestand10representing the highest. Rashid (1) in his study focusses on determines that in order to compute. We require scores for pedestrian facilities and a walkability index. Survey of pedestrian facilities for collecting pedestrian ratings that take into account the area's pedestrian amenities' usefulness and design. The city plan, a tape measure, or Googlemapsareusedtodeterminethelengthofthecity's mainroadwaysandpathways.

1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Minhas (2) showedthatAccordingtotheresults,Jinja Central Business District's Walkability Index (WI), which takes into account the busiest eight chosen roads, is neutral at 51 on a scale of 100. This indicates that while there are certain places in Jinja City's central business district that are walkable, the majority of everyday excursions still call for a vehicle, bicycle, or public transportation. Large cars parked on both sides of the road, cyclists and sellers who utilize the sidewalks for parking and waiting spaces were also recognized by the surveyassignificant roadblocksinJinja City.Afewkiosks havebeenplacedalongthemarketareaandthewalkways ofcertainmainroadways,suchNizamRoad. Sungmin Lee (3) showed that the audit-based school walkability index (WI)showedapositivecorrelationwithchildren'sbeforeschoolMVPAinboththesubsampleandtheentiresample, as well as with active commuting to school among those who lived within 1.5 km of their schools. Children's before-school MVPA was significantly correlated with the GIS-based school WI, but there were no correlations with activeschooltravelbetweenthesubsampleandtheentire sample.

2. STUDY OBJECTIVES

Thestudyobjectivesarementionedasbelow:

(1) ToformulatethepedestrianwalkabilityIndex (2) Tochecktheadequacyoffootpathinthestudy LocationsbasedonIRC

Volume: 13 Issue: 02 | Feb 2026 www.irjet.net

(3) TocalculatetheLevelofserviceforthefootpaths inthestudyareasbasedonHCM

3. STUDY LOCATIONS

Areas with higher rate of pedestrian fatalities were chosen and studied. The study was focused on the Pallimukku main intersection area where the traffic from KollamtoKottiyamandviceversa,kollamtotempleroad, kollam to gopalassery road etc were taken into consideration. A field walkability survey and the pedestrianinteractionsurveywascarriedoutforthedata collection. Many respondents were really worried about thepresentsituationexistingintheplace.

4. STUDY METHODOLOGY

Theabovestepcanbedoneindifferentstages

(a) PedestrianWalkabilityIndex

(b) AdequacyofFootpath

(c) PedestrianLevelofService(LOS)

(a) Pedestrian Walkability Index

-ISSN: 2395-0072

The walkability survey that was conducted includes a pedestrianinterviewsurveyandafieldwalkabilitysurvey for facility evaluation. The travel and social features are recorded in a brief questionnaire. During busy hours, the interview was held at the chosen venue. For the pedestrian preferences survey, a sufficient sample size of thirty people was selected. In order to rate pedestrian facilities, a proforma form for pedestrian interviews was created.Thisishowtheratingisdone

Table -1 Pedestrian Facility Rating

TheMinistryofUrbanDevelopmenttechnique(MOUD)can be used to determine the PWI by knowing the pedestrian facilityrating,lengthofthestretch,andpedestrianvolume. Theequationis:

Walkability Index = [(W1 x Footpath Availability) + (W2 x Pedestrian facility ratings)]

whereW1andW2areweights,eachofwhichistakentobe 50%.

5. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

5.1 Calculation of Pedestrian Walkability Index

The Ministry of Urban Development Method is the source of the methodology used to determine the walkability index. The stretch's length and the number of pedestrianscountedfor.Thewalkabilityindexiscomputed ineachofthechosensegmentsatintervalsofroughlyfive minutesforanhour

Table 2 Data Collected and Analysis of Pedestrian walkability Index (Pallimukku Gopalassery Road).

SI NO Parameters Considered Average Facility Ratings PWI = [(W1 x Availability of footpath) + (W2 x Pedestrian Facility rating)] PWI value for study area

Volume: 13 Issue: 02 | Feb 2026 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

3 Pedestrian Count 543

4 Lengthof stretch(Km) 0.65

Table 3 Calculations for Speed, Flow and Density

8:45

8:459:00

AsperHCM2010,thefootpathhas

LOS B (Based on Flow)

LOS C (Based on Pedestrian walkability Index)

6. CONCLUSIONS

The above study shows that the pedestrians are at a greater risk and the Existing infrastructure needs to be redefined and more the transport planners have to open the gateway to further development thus reducing pedestrianfatalityrates. LOS B AND C areindicatorsofthe presentstudyandthecorrectionneedstobeincorporated here.

REFERENCES

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[2] M. Young, The Technical Writer’s Handbook. Mill Valley,CA:UniversityScience,1989.

[3] R. Nicole, “Title of paper with only first word capitalized,”J.NameStand.Abbrev.,inpress.