Dynamic simulation assignment model for pedestrian movements in crowded networks

The planning of crowded pedestrian facilities involves providing adequate capacity for all walkways, as well as designing effective schemes for crowd management. PEDSTREAM is a mesoscopic simulation-based dynamic trip assignment model for large-scale pedestrian networks. The model can represent temporospatial distribution of pedestrians and associated service levels over the network and can predict pedestrian responses to changes in design, operational conditions, and crowd management strategies. The model was used to develop a simulation platform for the Al-Mashaa'er corridor in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, which served about 3 million pilgrims in a peak period that lasted several hours. Use of the platform is illustrated for the evaluation of design alternatives under future pedestrian demand levels and proposed crowd management strategies.