The utilization rates of pedestrian bridges in Malaysia

Pedestrian bridge is part of grade-separated crossing that offer free flowing movement of vehicles and pedestrians. This facility is one of the safety approaches to overcome accident by minimizing conflicts and separate traffic flow between pedestrians and vehicles. Even though the pedestrian bridge may seem to offer greater protection; excessive added travel distance will discourage pedestrians who want to take a direct route. The stated inconvenience creates a situation whereby pedestrians are at risk when they attempt to cross the road using neither sidewalks nor crosswalks. Pedestrians often avoid using these facilities due to substantial differences in elevation and implying many steps to climb. This study applied linear regression analysis to analyse the factors of low utilization rates of pedestrian bridges in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Data on the pedestrian behaviour were obtained using video recordings at 16 study locations representing school, amenities, residential and business areas. The information related to the pedestrian perceptions was obtained through the questionnaire survey. Findings indicate that the utilization rates at school and residential are high as compared to the business and amenity areas. Several factors such as fence installation, directional flow, existing of median, vehicle volume and the distance of this facility that have found significant affecting the utilization of the crossing bridges. The distance of this facility from interested place or to save time was the most influential factors for pedestrian to decide on utilizing the crossing bridge. Signalized crossing is chosen as the most favourable type of crossing facility by a majority of the respondents.