Indian Road Congress: Pedestrian Facilities Norms

General Principles:


• Pedestrian facilities should be planned in an integrated manner to ensure continuous flow.
• Reduce conflict between pedestrians and vehicles.
• Convinience is paramount.

Footpath / sidewalk:


• Should be on both sides
• Minimum width 1.5 meters
• There are criteria based on pedestrians per hour and width of footpath may have to be as much as 4 meters
• In shooping areas, width should be increased by 1 meter (to be treated as dead width)
• When adjacent to building, fences - dead width has to be 0.5 meters


Pedestrian Crossings:


• Types - at grade and grade separated

At grade crossings (crosswalks): Covers both - crossings at intersections and mid-block, can be controlled / uncontrolled by signals.


• Zebra width - 2 to 4 meters
• Not within 150 meters from each other
• Median strip should be adequate width (this is the only reference to pedestrian refuges)
• Mid-block crossings should be provided when distance between two consecutive intersections is more than 300 meters
• Controlled crossings - warranted when one or more of following apply - peak pedestrian volume per hour (P) and vehicles are such that PV (V is squared) more or equal to 10 to the power of 8, approach speeds 65kph, wait times for pedestrians are too long (time not specified) and finally accidents records indicate 5 or more pedestrian injuries a year (not deaths, so threshold is low)
• Control measure could be a push button pelican signal when pedestrians are fewer.

Grade separated: subways / foot over bridges - 2.5 meter width and height, but 4-6 meters width is advisable (there are criteria based on capacity considerations)