Alternative multimodal road planning processes for the developing world : a case study in Cape Town, South Africa

Road planning practice relies almost exclusively on parameters related to traffic factors, such as private vehicle speeds and volumes. In many developing countries the requirements for public transport and non-motorised transport are not explicitly integrated into the planning process, despite the fact that these form the primary mode of transport for the majority of the population. This exclusion of the main modes affects the mobility opportunities for various sectors of the population and contributes to poor road safety, especially with regards to pedestrians. The research outlined in the paper posits that, in order to assess the usage and needs of the road holistically, other factors related to the adjacent land uses, socio-economic characteristics of the population the road serves and the environmental context within which the road is located, factors heavily in how the road is used and should, therefore, be considered within the planning process. The paper outlines the development of a methodology to include these factors in the planning process of roads. The method under development attempts to prioritise amongst the four primary road based modes (bus, car, walking and cycling) based upon a combination of traffic and non-traffic factors. The method employed uses a geographic information system (GIS) based spatial multi-criteria evaluation (SMCE) model with inputs from widely available data sources such as census, household travel surveys, land use and environmental data to arrive at solutions for modal priorities. The paper demonstrates the validity of this alternative planning process through the application of the method for a major arterial route in Cape Town. The results of this analysis are contrasted with results from a multimodal level of service analysis done in accordance with NCHRP guidelines