Analysis of Major Benefits and Costs for Pedestrian-Overpass Case Study : Nablus City

Pedestrian-overpasses are appropriate when there is high speed and/or high traffic flow, where there is considerable pedestrian delay or a high pedestrian accident problem. Proper evaluation of these parameters resulted in identifying the most appropriate locations for installing pedestrian—overpasses. An economic analysis was proposed in this study for the purpose of reasonable evaluation of the required parameters that justified the installation of such costly structures. The economic analysis was interpreted in terms of benefit-cost ratio. The later considered the savings of pedestrian accidents and pedestrian delay as the benefits that will be achieved after the installation of overpasses, on the other hand, construction and maintenance costs were considered. Based on this analysis three different guidelines were developed. Accident guideline, pedestrian delay guideline, and combination of guidelines. Cases with different assumptions can be applied, based on the proposed modification process. The developed guidelines are applied for unsignalized urban areas. The comparison with currently used warrants implied that the developed guidelines are more specific and flexible.