Factors affecting the Size of a Mass Transit Station’s Pedestrian Shed in Quezon City, Philippines

Abstract

Mass transit systems are planned to alleviate traffic congestion in Metro Manila but only a few were implemented. The Metro Manila Light Rail Transit Line-2 (LRT-2) line is among the few operational mass transit lines. However, it had witnessed multiple delays during the construction process because it plies through a highly urbanized area with challenging physical constraints. This study aimed to characterize and quantify the existing street network and land parcels around a mass transit station in terms of the street pattern, extensiveness of the road infrastructure, road network connectivity, urban blocks, land plots and its land use to explore how these factors affect the size of the 400-m, 5-min walk pedestrian shed. The available road centerline vector data was used as an approximate representation of the pedestrian walk pattern and existing shape and attribute data of land parcels. These data were processed using Quantum Geographic Information System and analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation matrix. The results suggested that even if not all the identified factors or parameters were exceptional, a station area can still achieve a large pedestrian shed as demonstrated by Cubao station area. Furthermore, land fragmentation that is dependent on the existing characteristic sizes of land uses emerged as one of the determining factors affecting the pedestrian sheds’ extent. Urban planners and decision-makers may use this present work to determine the considerations and parameters influencing the access around a mass transit station in terms of maximizing the catchment area for pedestrians.