Assessing the quality and service levels of walkways in the state of Kuwait

Walkways are easy, safe, convenient, and healthy routes for pedestrians to walk and participate in other activities such as running, jogging, and aerobic exercise. This paper aims to evaluate different walkways by assessing three comfort levels: physical, psychological, and physiological, represented by a comprehensive environmental walkability index (EWI), which provides a grading system from A to F depending on the quality and service levels of the walkways. The scope of this study was conducted across five different walkways in the state of Kuwait. The evaluation of service level gives values at the macro scale for the condition and infrastructure of the walkway, while the evaluation of quality level looks at the micro-scale of the comfort and quality of walkability for pedestrians. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to estimate the importance weights of each parameter in comfort levels. The air quality index (AQI) was adopted to analyze the overall ambient air quality level and determine the primary responsible pollutant. Different pollutant concentration data were analyzed on an hourly and monthly basis and compared to EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to evaluate the air quality situation in the walkways. The results indicate CO, NO 2 , SO 2, and O 3 compliance with NAAQS standards and showed PM 10 exceeding permitted levels in afternoon hours and summer months. Elevated levels of PM 10 concentration were observed in February 2015 because of the dust storm. AQI analysis results show that PM 10 is the primary responsible pollutant. The EWI model assessed the selected walkways and assigned grades for the year 2019, revealing that Ahmadi Walkway (AW) has the highest grade (B) among the walkways because of the high level of facilities and walkway surface quality, while Ali Subah Al Salem Walkway (ASW) obtained the lowest grade (D) because of the lack of facilities, low-quality surface type, and high air quality index. This study provides an integrated assessment that delivers environmental walkability index outcomes to enable professionals to improve quality and service levels in the walkways.