Pedestrian Zones: From Vision to Action Evaluation of Pedestrian Zone in Tehran Bazzar

Wide movements against motor vehicles have been occurred all over the world in recent decades because of increasing city problems such as environmental pollutions, traffic congestion, unsafe transportation, demolition of historical places and quality reduction of public spaces. Regarding to these issues, pedestrian zones, as a component of sustainable transportation systems, have been considered by urban planners and designers, especially in European countries which have some valuable experiences about developing pedestrian-friendly places. In Iran, and especially in Tehran, pedestrian zones are going to become the prominent transportation systems in the city center. It is necessary to aware that sustainability of transportation systems is not limited to their establishment, but effective usage of these spaces is important. It could be determined by evaluating effectiveness of these systems which provide mobility and accessibility for people. In this paper the establishment and usage of pedestrian zone in Tehran bazaar in 15-Khordad Street has been evaluated. Locating of this pedestrian zone near Tehran bazaar together with valuable historical places attract so many citizens to the mentioned region and this subject needs special attention to provide facilities based on volume of users. Evaluation has been done in four dimensions: socio – economical; functional; accessibility and transportation and urban design. In socio-economical dimension criteria such as safety, existence of historical places, cultural and interesting activities, 24-hours activities and participation have been evaluated. In functional dimension criteria such as mixed land use, diversity of activities and volume of pedestrians have been noted. In accessibility and transportation, integrated transportation, traffic flow, accessibility for service and urgent vehicles have been mentioned. In the category of urban design, criteria such as suitable design of the path, urban furniture, Preserving from environmental hazards, diversity of the path and human scale have been noted. In this research, first of all the definition and history of establishment pedestrian zones in the world and in Iran have been considered and the necessity and importance of them have been mentioned. Then, indicators for evaluating the pedestrian zones have been defined in four dimensions. After that, the result of evaluating Bazaar pedestrian zone has been presented by tables, graphs and pictures. Finally, based on the results of the evaluation, some recommendations have been introduced for improving the function of the mentioned zone. The observation method has been used for evaluating and 100 questionnaires by pedestrians and 50 questionnaires by tradesmen have been completed, also 10 deep interviews have been done with authorities. The results show that establishment of the pedestrian zone has caused satisfaction of users (pedestrians and tradesmen) as general. But it is necessary to pay more attention to issues such as public security by installation facilities of visual supervision, paying attention to the historical places, providing and management of urban furniture based on number of users by emphasizing on public Hygiene and Clarity, management of vendors, Wheelbarrows and motorcycles, Retrofitting and renovation of buildings, encouraging night life, increasing quality and frequency of public transportation, Continuity of the path and attracting participation of tradesmen and residents.