Apples and oranges: Exploring the effects of composition on pedestrian flow

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in understanding traveller behaviour of pedestrians who form the largest single road-user group. Most individual trips whatever the primary mode used, begin and/or finish with a walk section, so that walking is a fundamental component of all travel. Walking behaviour and pedestrian flow characteristics lay the foundation for the planning and design of pedestrian facilities. This paper explores the effects of pedestrian composition on flow. With major demographic changes facing Australia and most developed countries, established pedestrian evaluation criteria might need revisiting to reflect the current population. Future population demographic is explored based on present trends in population based on the aforementioned changes. A micro-simulation approach is employed in order to investigate the potential effects of increased elderly proportion in pedestrian flow and on the level-of-service (LOS) criteria used in planning and design of pedestrian-dominated facilities. Simulation results show that increased proportion of elderly in pedestrian flow has the potential to shift LOS to a lower level. A shift from LOS B to C, C to D, and D to E are notable for the high elderly proportions