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Pedestrian Level Of Service Calculator

Work out pedestrian level of service instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Pedestrian Level Of Service Calculator

Pedestrian level of service is judged on space per person, derived from unit flow rate divided by walking speed. Effective width matters because pedestrians keep clear of walls, kerbs, street furniture and shop frontages, so a three metre footway may offer only 2.4 metres of usable width.

Formulas

Unit flow rate

People per minute per metre = flow / effective width

Space per pedestrian

Space = walking speed / unit flow rate, with speed about 75 m/min

Worked example

With the default values below, Pedestrian Level Of Service Calculator returns Unit flow rate of 500.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Pedestrian flowminimum 1 people/min
1,200 people/min
Walkway widthminimum 0.5 m
3 m
Width lost to obstructions and edgesminimum 0 m
0.6 m

Results

Unit flow rate
500.00 people/min/m
Pedestrian level of service
F — breakdown, movement forced
Effective walkway width
2.40 m
Space per pedestrian
0.150 m²

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Unit flow rate
  3. 3Space per pedestrian
  4. 4Unit flow rate= 500.00 people/min/m
  5. 5Pedestrian level of service= F — breakdown, movement forced
  6. 6Effective walkway width= 2.40 m
  7. 7Space per pedestrian= 0.150 m²

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Pedestrian Level Of Service figure worked out?

People per minute per metre = flow / effective width. Pedestrian level of service is judged on space per person, derived from unit flow rate divided by walking speed.

How much width do obstructions really consume?

A shopfront takes about 0.6 m for window shopping, a kerb 0.45 m, street furniture 1.0 m or more. On a busy high street half the nominal width can be unusable.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 3 inputs: Pedestrian flow, Walkway width, Width lost to obstructions and edges. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic worked example — replace them with your own site or project figures.

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