Assessing the Walkability and Pedestrian Facilities at Major Intersections in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh

For more than a half of a century, vehicular-mobility rate is thriving so much that it already has taken all the attentions of sidewalk infrastructure facilities, commonly called “pedestrian”. At present, pedestrian facilities represent one of the essential challenges in terms of traffic safety and sidewalk environment, mainly for the urban dwellers of the Asian cities like in Bangladesh, as the average median walkability rating for the Asian countries is only 58.43. Currently, Rajshahi city has been severely affected regarding the safety and mobility of pedestrians, as there is no maintenance of supporting infrastructures, amenities and services at all. The impetuous and excessive increase of urbanization and motorization combined with limited attention to sidewalk facilities and public-transport opportunities resulted in a decrease in the overall pedestrian mode share. Considering the facts and to maintain the comfortable moving of the citizens, identifying the existing conditions of the walkability and pedestrian facilities of Rajshahi city must be considered as the topmost priority. This study aims to apply the principles of Global Walkability Index (GWI), incorporating a “field walkability survey” together with an ADB study, in four major intersection points of Rajshahi city; namely, zero point (CBD), Uposhohor, Kazla and Railgate. Each area will be assessed based on nine parameters of equal weight, with the average of each parameter transformed into a rating system from 0 to 100. The resulting walkability index will classify the areas into red, yellow and green zones for walking and assess Rajshahi city’s global standing based on safety, security and convenience. Keywords: Walkability, Pedestrian facilities, Asian cities, Walking environment, Walkability indicators, ADB study, Public transport