This paper discusses an appropriate method of surveying pedestrian circular trips and analyzes the characteristics of pedestrian behavior in downtown areas of provincial cities in Japan. A GIS-based pedestrian O-D survey method was tested from the points of view of reliability of data collection and difficulty in conducting a behavioral survey. Based on a questionnaire which is handed out at the transportation mode interchange points and returned through the mail, the survey was conducted in four different provincial cities. A comparative analysis was made of the relationship between pedestrian behavior and transportation mode, location of parking zones, location of shopping malls, and shopping store size. It was found that there is a clear difference of walking behavior between pedestrians coming by automobile and by rail and bus. The walking distance and the time spent at a downtown area are shorter in the former, and these tendencies are common in all cities surveyed. The parking zones located at the fringe of the downtown area and the proper location of shopping malls proved to considerably increase the number of trips and the time spent by pedestrians. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E214938.
Samenvatting