It was our honour to be part of the TAC Conference 2021!
Our team that is currently working on the New Mobility Interventions pilot study presented at the Health and Transportation session for #TACconf on September 23, 2021. Our presentation is titled: Evaluating the Curbside Pedestrian Zone on Pedestrian Physical Distancing Using a Microsimulation Analysis.
A Synopsis of our Pilot Study
Our global connectivity in terms of the movement of people and goods has cultivated ideal
conditions for COVID-19 to spread rapidly from person to person. This has had a major impact on cities worldwide with many cities implementing mobility interventions to reduce virus transmission in transit systems, on sidewalks, etc. In Toronto, the CurbTO program has been a key mobility intervention. The program aims to encourage pedestrians to maintain physical distancing on urban sidewalks. Curb Lane Pedestrian Zones, for instance, provide additional space for customers queuing at stores and businesses, but the zones’ quantitative effect on pedestrian physical distancing remains undetermined. This study analyzes the effect of the Queen Street Curb Lane Pedestrian Zone on physical distancing for pedestrians using the sidewalk and additional curb lane space.
The objective is to measure the quality of physical distancing maintained by pedestrians with and without a Curb Lane Pedestrian Zone in order to evaluate the program’s impact on reducing the risk associated with virus transmission between pedestrians. The Queen
Street study area was simulated using two micro-simulation tools, PTV Vissim and PTV Viswalk, to mimic vehicular traffic and pedestrian behaviour. The findings should help government bodies and health agencies understand how curb lane pedestrian zones contribute to limiting the spread of the current and possible future viruses.
Other Useful Links
TAC presentation: link here
More about our pilot study:
Developing levels of pedestrian physical distancing during a pandemic https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S092575352030463X