Walking for Transportation and Perceived Neighborhood Environment: A Case Study of MRT Pink Line Stations, Bangkok
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Abstract
Walking is a fundamental mode of daily mobility and a critical first- and last-mile connection to public transit, which is central to sustainable urban development. To promote walking, it requires creating pedestrian-oriented environments. This study examined pedestrian infrastructure, walking behavior, and environmental perceptions of commuters in Pink Line station catchment areas in Bangkok. The mixed-methods design applied in this study included qualitative pedestrian surveys and observation with quantitative questionnaires on walking behavior and environmental perception among 400 residents within 1 km of 20 Pink Line stations. The data were analyzed, using descriptive statistics (frequencies, means and standard deviations) and chi-square tests, with significance set at p < 0.05. It was found that most pedestrian routes lack dedicated sidewalks (59.60%), with overall path quality ranging from low to moderate. Among respondents, (62.58%) walked to Pink Line stations to commute to their workplaces or to their educational institutions, with a mean residence to station distance of 575 m. Their attitudes toward the monorail were highly positive due to convenience, safety, and time efficiency. The pedestrians significantly revealed more perceptions than their counterparts, the non-pedestrians, on account of road safety, neighborhood safety, aesthetics, and building density. Neighborhood safety received the highest perception score (x̄ = 4.61), whereas pedestrian facilities (x̄ = 3.07) and aesthetics (x̄ = 3.48) were perceived only at moderate levels. To improve access to the Pink Line on foot requires upgrading pedestrian infrastructure in terms of continuity, surface quality, shaded areas, lighting, and amenities as well as enhancing safety and mixed land use. These interventions can support sustainable walking to public transit in response to the on-going expansion of monorail networks in Bangkok.
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