Influence of demographic and physical ability of the pedestrians on the quality evaluation of sidewalks

• Extends CpM framework to assess inclusivity in sidewalk Quality of Service. • Analyzes 405 pedestrians across age, gender, trip purpose, and specially-abled groups. • Differently-abled users report significantly lower sidewalk satisfaction. • Infrastructure, not demographics, drives inequity in walkability experience. • Framework enables policy benchmarking for inclusive urban mobility. Understanding what different groups of pedestrians consider essential for good sidewalk quality is key to creating walkable, inclusive, and continuous pedestrian movement (CpM). This study investigates whether perceptions of service quality differ according to age, gender, trip purpose, and physical ability, with a focus on Ernakulam (Kochi City), Kerala, India, as a representative urban setting. A structured survey of 405 pedestrians, including 55 participants with disabilities, was conducted along five major streets. The perceived quality of service (QoS) was summarised using a length-weighted average and then, Kendall’s W and Friedman’s ANOVA was applied to compare responses across demographic categories and differently-abled participants. QoS ratings were aggregated using a length-weighted mean and analysed with Kendall’s W and Friedman’s ANOVA to test whether they were similar across demographic groups and differed for differently-abled pedestrians. The findings conclude that age, gender, and trip purpose do not exhibit significant variation in the satisfaction ratings of the sidewalk compared to people with disabilities, who tend to have lower satisfaction levels. The study highlights the need to evaluate the sidewalk for pedestrians with disabilities, along with their demographic characteristics. QoS-CpM evaluation method reveals that it is practical and replicable framework for evaluating sidewalk quality, thereby supporting urban design and policy measures that foster walkability and equitable pedestrian mobility.