Objective of transport planning is to determine the necessary infrastructure required for future transport demand estimations aligned to the policies which are in place to cater to the management of mobility needs of the public. Smooth vehicular flow and pedestrian flow are two key dimensions that are pivotal to ensuring satisfactory mobility [1]. Though several studies have modelled vehicular flow [2], there has been limited study of pedestrian flow [3] internationally. In Sri Lanka, such studies are non-existent. This research aims at understanding the fundamentals of macroscopic pedestrian flow modelling in the Sri Lankan context. Pedestrian flow becomes complex due to the complexity inherent to human behaviour which depends on many personal attributes such as trip purpose, safety concerns, physical capabilities, proximity to other pedestrians, age, attitude, cultural aspects etc. [4]. Analysing and predicting pedestrian behaviour considering each of the above attributes is known as microscopic modelling, whereas considering the pedestrian flow system as a whole is referred to as macroscopic modelling [5]. This research focuses on the latter starting with the possibility of extending a suitable traffic flow model applied for understanding vehicle flow to determine macroscopic pedestrian flow in the Sri Lankan context.

Kandanaarachchi, H.L.T.B., & Kumarage, A.S. (2017). Understanding the fundamentals of macroscopic pedestrian flow modelling in Sri Lanka [Extended Abstract]. In T.L. Gunaruwan (Ed.), Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Research for Transport and Logistics Industry 2017 (pp. 19-24). Sri Lanka Society of Transport and Logistics. https://slstl.lk/r4tli-2017/