Simulation of Pedestrian Movement Over Different Facilities in Gangtok Using VISWALK Software

The main objective of the current study was to develop simulation models for the different pedestrian facilities (such as sidewalk, walkway and foot over bridge) in Gangtok near M.G. Marg, and estimate the capacity for such facilities. The data collected from the field was used as input for the development of the simulation models using VISWALK commercial software, and thereafter the models were calibrated and validated accordingly. The developed model was calibrated using VISWALK COM Interface programming in MATLAB. Genetic algorithm (GA) was used to calibrate the sensitive parameters affecting walking speed. The calibrated models were then validated using a new set of field data and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the models was computed. The results showed that male pedestrians moved with higher speed than female pedestrians by 3.5–12 m/min. Similarly, the pedestrians with luggage moved at a speed lower than the ones without luggage (~2–5 m/min). The average walking speed over the sidewalk was found to be more than the walkway. Using sensitivity analysis for the simulation, the reaction time of the pedestrians (tau B), direction-dependent force (B_soc_isotropic) and strength of the speed-dependent social force (A_soc_mean) were found to have a greater impact on the average simulated walking speed and were thus further considered for calibration and validation. It was also observed that the MAPE between observed and simulated speed ranged between 4.06 and 7.57% for the different facilities. Moreover, the correlation between simulated and observed walking speed was found to be between 0.81 and 0.98, and the P-values for both were found to be quite similar. The simulated capacity values for the different facilities were also estimated and it could be seen that the capacity was dependent on the width, location and type of the facility.