A Multi-index Evaluation for the Level of Service of Sidewalks Based on the Clustering Method

The existing methods of evaluating pedestrian level of service for sidewalks were often based on the pedestrian questionnaire survey which could reflect pedestrians' impression on the actual sidewalks, and then a model for pedestrian level of service for sidewalks was developed. The authors selected 17 factors affecting the level of service of sidewalks from the angle of planners and pedestrians at 35 different sidewalks,which included the sidewalks' facilities,safety,comfort and convenience. Then,the authors classified the sidewalks according to the fuzzy Clustering Method,and eliminated the mutual influence between the 17 factors by using the method of Factor Analysis,finally developed a method of assessing pedestrian level of service for sidewalks based on the correlation analysis. This method of evaluating pedestrian level of service for sidewalks was practical for the planning sidewalks,and could reduce the workload as it didn't need the pedestrian questionnaire survey. Meanwhile,pedestrian questionnaire surveys were also carried out. The result shows that the evalluation results from the suggested method are consistent with the result from the pedestrian questionnaire survey.