Traffic Assignment Problem for Footpath Networks with Bidirectional Links

TL;DR

This paper introduces a scalable macroscopic traffic assignment framework for pedestrian networks that accounts for bidirectional flow and stochastic travel times, improving upon microscopic models.

Contribution

It presents a novel UE-pTAP framework with four calibrated pedestrian volume-delay functions, addressing scalability and microscopic property integration.

Findings

Framework applicable to both small and large networks

Four pedestrian volume-delay functions developed and calibrated

Ensures existence and uniqueness of solutions under certain conditions

Abstract

The estimation of pedestrian traffic in urban areas is often performed with computationally intensive microscopic models that usually suffer from scalability issues in large-scale footpath networks. In this study, we present a new macroscopic user equilibrium traffic assignment problem (UE-pTAP) framework for pedestrian networks while taking into account fundamental microscopic properties such as self-organization in bidirectional streams and stochastic walking travel times. We propose four different types of pedestrian volume-delay functions (pVDFs), calibrate them with empirical data, and discuss their implications on the existence and uniqueness of the traffic assignment solution. We demonstrate the applicability of the developed UE-pTAP framework in a small network as well as a large scale network of Sydney footpaths.