A summarized infographic regarding the reasons leading to the congestion problem in Hong Kong
Adopting the formula: Q = Max flow in 15mins/ 15 x Effective Width, if we want to achieve a street condition above LOS C, Q would need to be smaller than 23, which is the minimum required level. (i.e. Q < 23)
Therefore, 23 > Max flow in 15mins/15 x Effective Width (Ew), and we have:
345Ew > Max flow in 15mins
Underlying assumptions:
1. Average pedestrian walking speed 1.2ms-1
2. Space per pedestrian is 0.75m2
By using this formula as reference, we can propose suitable smart solutions for improving the current situation in Hong Kong.
Overview in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is congested. From the streets, roads and building environment, the feeling of compactness and congestion is everywhere. At different times throughout the week, shopping areas like Causeway Bay and Mong Kok are crowded with overwhelming number of people. And due to this congested nature, it seems that one would rather take MTR or public transports, instead of walking on the streets to their destinations. In a century which promotes sustainability, this is not acceptable. We hope to create a healthy walking environment for the citizens, and to reduce the incentives of people to take vehicles. Firstly, we would look into the problems relating to pedestrian congestion, then we have to devise a formula for Hong Kong, in order to set up some quantitative tools to ease the problem.
Formula for Hong Kong
In order to achieve this aim, we have conducted a questionnaire* in Sai Wan for setting up a formula of Hong Kong. From the questionnaire, we have obtained the following results:
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49% of participants think that LOS C is the unacceptable level of congestion in Hong Kong, which has the highest percentage of people. Based on this result, we assumed that LOS C is the baseline for which pedestrian congestion would occur. Hence, we adopt LOS C (Pedestrian Space > 2.2-3.7 m2/p; Flow Rate > 23-33 p/min/m) as the point where pedestrian congestion would occur, and streets in Hong Kong should achieve a level above C (i.e. LOS A/B) in order to have a pleasant walking environment.
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A total of 56% participants are either unsatisfied/very unsatisfied with the current street situation in Hong Kong. Top 3 constituting reasons suggested by the unsatisfied participants are: (i). too many obstacles (ii). railings and (iii). narrow pavements.
Degree of Congestion in Hong Kong
To what extent is Hong Kong congested on streets? Actually, congestion can be a subjective/objective concept. However, in order to propose some measurable tools, we cannot purely based on subjective feelings of pedestrians. To obtain the degree of congestion in Hong Kong, we have chosen "Sai Wan" as our district to examine the problem. We have measured the street width over 0.5km2 of the district, so as the pedestrian flow on each of the streets. Here below shows the various street widths on the streets in Sai Wan, and the table shows the respective congestion level on the streets:
Therefore, Hong Kong is having a 22% of congestion problem.
Congestion Situation in Sai Wan
From the above, it shows that in the chosen area, we have a 22% of congestion problem. As Sai Wan is a typical urban district in Hong Kong, we can assume that the figure can be applied to other similar districts as well.
* The questionnaire was conducted in Sai Wan with a sample size of 100 people. Click here to view the "details of the questionnaire" and "questionnaire results"
# Data of the "Maximum pedestrian flow in 15mins" is recorded down at 5-7pm in Sai Wan on weekdays.