\Ryalkway SYSTEM from a USER's PERSPECTWE

$\Ryalkway SYSTEM from a USER's PERSPECTWE$ THE DOWNTOWN PEDSTRIAN ENVIRONMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF WINNIPEG' S \ryEATIIER-PROTECTED \ryALKWAY SYSTEM FROM A USER'S PERSPECTWE by Robert M. Eady A Practict'm Submitted to the Faculry of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of City Planning Department of City Planning University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba (c) September, 1990 Bibliothèque nationale H*E |¡åä"i;:','."" du Canada Canadian Theses Service Service des thèses canadiennes Ottawa Canada Kl A ON4 The author has granted an ¡nevocable non- L'auteur a accordé une licence irrévocable et exclusive licence allowing the National Library non exclusive permettant à la B¡bfþthèque of Canada to reproduce, loan, distibute orsell nationale du Canada-de reproduire, prêter, cop¡es of his/her thesis by any means and in distribuer ou vendre des copies de sa thèse any form or format, making this thesis ar¡ailable de quelque manière et sous quelque forme persons. to interested que ce soit pour mettre des exemplaires de cette thèse à la disposition des personnes intéressées. The author retains ownership of the copyright L auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur his/her in thesis. Neither the thesis nor quiprotège sa thèse. Nila thèse nides extraits substantial extracts from it may be printed or substantiels de celle-ci ne doivent être otherwise reproduced without his/her per- imprimés ou autrement reproduits sans son mission. autorisation- ISBN Ø-315-71779_3 Canadä T H E DOWNTOI,'N P E DESTRIAN ENYIR ONMENT; AN EXAMINA?ION OF I,'/NNIPEGIS WEATHER- PROTECTED WALKWAY SYSTEM FROM A USERIS PERSPECTIVE BY ROBERT M. EADV A pracËicum submicÈed to the FacuLty of GraduaÈe studies of the universiry of Manitoba in parrial fulfiltment of the requirements of che degree of MASTER OF CITY P¿ANNING o ßgo p"rri""ion has been granred co che LTBRARY oF THE uNrvERsrry 0F MANITOBA to lend or sell copies of chis practicum, Èo che NATTONAL LrBRÁRY oF CANADA ro microfilm rhis pracEicurn and to lend or sell copies of che film, and uNrvERsrry MrcRo- FILMS Èo publish an abstracc of this pracÈicum. The author reserves other publicacion righcs, and neicher Ëhe pracÈicum nor excensive excracÈs from it may be princed or oÈherwise reproduced wichout the auËhor's permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My very special thanks to the members of the examining comminee for their advice and assistance in the writing of this practicum: Professors Geoffrey Bargh and Basil Rotoff, Department of City Planning, The University of Manitoba; and Mr. Robert Nicol, District Planning Coordinator, The City of V/innipeg. In addition, f am grateful to my parents for their support thtoughout the last three years and deserve my deepest thanks and appreciation. ¡i ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, weather-protected pedestrian walkway systen$ have become an increasingly popular element of the downtown streetscape of many North American cities. Whether in the form of overhead sþwalks or underground concourses, they are a means of providing the pedesrian with safe, unintemrpted movement in a climate- controlled environment By facilitating access to grades other than at street level, walkways offer pedestrians a ne\ry alternative to downtown movement. With any new system comes change, both in how people perceive their environment and use it. Since grade-separated walkway systems represent a dramatic change in the ability to move about the downtown, a shift can be expected in people's behavioral patterns. The consequences, either beneficial or detrimental, often takes three fomrs: social, economical, and behavioral. The intent of this practicum is to examine the problems and benefits of Winnipeg's Downtown V/alkway System from a user's perspective. The problems and benefits of a system may be real or perceived - this study seeks to investigate the case of Winnipeg by focusing on user perception. The main issues examined cent¡e on socio-economic and behavioral aspects in an attempt to provide an overview of the attitudes, social habits, and usage patterns of the system user. The praclicum concludes with a summary of findings on the state of the Winnipeg system as it exists today. This is expressed in terms of the problems, benefits, social behavior and usage patterns identified through user surveys. Finally, a recommended course of action for improvements to the system is advanced lil CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRA lU CONTENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES vi LIST OF TABLES vll INTRODUCTION: Statement of Purp Problem Statement 1 Objectives 2 Studv Limitations 3 Oreanization of Practicum - Structure and Method 4 Chapter 1: THE DOWNTOWN PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT-8 1.1 The Realmof the Pedestrian 9 1.2 Rationale for Pedesrianization: An Appraisal of Goalç 11 1.2.1 Livability and Related Social Benefitq L2 L.2.2 PeÅestrian Movement 14 1.3 The Pedestian-Vehicle Conflict 17 t.4 A Balanced Approach To Pedestrian Planning 19 1.5 The Separation of Pedesrian & Vehicular Activities 20 1.5.1 Horizontal Separation 21 1.5.2 Vertical Seoaration 23 1.6 Summ¿ry 25 Chapter 2: INTERIOR PEDESTRHN WALKWAY SYSTEMS 27 2.t Interior V/alkwav Svstem Develooment 28 2.1.1 Goals & Objectives of Walkway Plannin-29 2.1.2 Rationale For System Development 30 2.2 User-Related Issues of Walkway System Development_3z 2.2.1 Access & Orientation 32 2.2.2 Comfort& Convenience 36 2.2.3 Safety & Security 33 2.2.4 Social Issues 40 2.2.5 System Usage 4T 2.3 Summary 42 Chapter 3: WINNIPEG'S WEATHER-PROTECTED WALI(WAY SYSTEM 4 4 3.1 Walkwav Svstem Evolution 45 3.2 The V/alkway System Today 4T 3.3 Users of the Walkway System 50 3.3.1 Downtown Employees 50 3.3.2 Downtown Residents 5I 3.3.3 Shoooers 51 lv Page 3.4 Methodology for the Suwey Process 52 3.4.1 Step 1: Developmentof Questionn 52 3.4.2 Step 2:T\e Survey of Userq 54 3.5 Summary 55 Chapter 4: THE SURVEY OF WALKWAY USERS - FTNDTNGS & ANALYSIS_ 5 7 4.1 Survey Respondents 53 4.2 Transportation Considerations 60 4.3 Walkway Usage by Downtown Employees 63 4.4 DASH Usage 6T 4.5 Walkway Usage Under Various Circumstances_6g 4.6 User Orientutiõn 4.7 Personal 4.8 Walkway Tmprovements 77 4.9 Favorite Walkway Featu¡e 81 4.10 Summa¡y 83 Chapter 5: THE WINNIPEG WALKWAY SYSTEM . EVALUATION & RECOMMENDATIONS 84 5.1 Access & Orientation 84 5.1.1 Hours of Operation S4 5.1.2 SisnaseSignage & Street Level AccessibiliwAccessibility -z¡ 86 5.1.3 MobilityMobitity Needs of the Elderly & Handicapped_Handicapped_87 5.2 Comfort & Convenience 88 5.2.1 Weather Protection SS 5.2.2 System Continuity 39 5.2.3 Amenities 90 5.2.4 Transportation Considerations 9l 5.3 Safety & Security 92 5.3.1 Safery 5.3.2 Security 93 5.4 Social Issues 94 5.5 System Usage 96 5.5.1 Effects of Temperature on Walkway Use. 96 5.5.2 Hourly Variation of Use. 97 5.6 Summ¿ry 98 CONCLUSION 99 GLOSSARY OF TERMS IO2 APPENDICES 103 REFERENCES 118 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page I Summa¡y of Practicum Structure T 2 Winnipeg's Downtown Walkway Sysæm 48 3 Characteristics of Respondents 60 4 Daily Usage Patterns of Respondents 70 5 knprovements To Walkway 6 Favorite Walkway Feature 81 VI LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Interview Locations 54 2 Shopper-Intercept Study Resul 58 J Respondent Categories 59 4 Mode of Transportation to Downtown 6l 5 Downtown Parking Preferences 61 6 Distance Between Parking Space & Destinatio 62 7 Distance Between Bus Stop & Destinatio 63 I Employee Destinations During Lunchti 66 9 Destinations of DASH Users 68 10 Walkway Usage According to Temperature Conditions 72 11 Personal Safety/Security T5 vil INTRODUCTION: Statement of Purpose Skyway systems are rapidly becoming second cities n¡nning over and through the existing ones like threads through a loom. Since they are not going to disappear, integrating them into existing cities - socially, economically, and architecnrally - has become a critical planning issue.l - David Dillon The purpose of this practicum is to examine the problems and benefits of grade- separated v¿alkwa] system development on the downtown pedestrian environment. The problems and benefits of such systems may be real or perceived - this study seeks to investigate the case of Winnipeg by focusing on the perceptions of users of the Downtown V/alkway Sysæm.2 The practicum describes and evaluates the system in terms of va¡ious user-related planning and design issues as identified through a survey of users. Problem Statement Over the past two decades, weather-protected pedestrian walkway systems have become an increasingly popular element in the downtown streetscape of many Nonh American cities. The stated reasons vary as to why such off-street systems are being implemented in our downtowns. Firstly, improved pedestrian safety is accommodated with the separation of vehicula¡ from pedestrian traffic. Secondly, by allowing most trips to be made in less time and in more comfo4 they facilitate pedestrian mobility. Finally, they can 'Whether serve as a strategy for downtown redevelopment. in the form of overhead 1 David Dillon, "Conference Looks at the Benefits, And Problems, of Skyways', Architecture , 1985, p. 13. 2 The Downtown Walkway System is the official name of Winnipeg's downtown weather- protected pedestrian system. The system consists of both overhead skywalks and an underground concourse. 2 skywalks or undergtound concourses, they are a means of providing the pedestrian with safe, unintem¡pted movement in a climate-conuolled environmenl Although the reasons may vary, the establishment of internal pedestrian walkway systems is viewed by many as a major contributor to the transformation of downtown space.

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