It’s noticed that there are many problems related to pedestrians’ movement and traffic and how they affect each other within the study area which extends from “Al-Haj Nimer Mosque” to “Western Public Transport Complex” in the Central Business District (CBD) of Nablus which is considered as a vital zone since it is a part of Faisal Street –one of the most important streets of the city- that connects the east side with the west one and makes an entrance to the CBD area. Therefore, the project aims basically to minimize these problems at the down town of Nablus City by reducing the delay, improving the pedestrians’ safety conditions, and increasing the efficiency of traffic control devices.
In this project, data were collected by cooperation with the municipality of Nablus and got to know the suggestions they have. Questionnaires were distributed to know people’s opinions regarding some of the already proposed alternatives by the municipality. Traffic studies were conducted including the vehicular and pedestrian traffic volume counts, and crash data among others. This information were analyzed to evaluate the existing conditions of the study area based on the AASHTO, Highway Capacity Manual, using a proper traffic analysis software, etc.
Based on analysis, alternative solutions were proposed. One of the issues that were explored is deciding whether it is warranted or not to construct an underpass or an overpass for pedestrians in fron of “Al-Watani Hospital” so it also serves the surrounding area.
There were some floating ideas about this problem and how to solve it, but never turned into a real project. Therefore, this project will be one of a kind that deals with this problem.
The results for the project –mainly constructing the underpass- contributed toachieve the aimed objectives to improve the mobility and accessibility of pedestrians and vehicles as well as geometric elements for the whole area for a long period of time.
Finally, the project recommends the construction of the underpass and the network’s modifications that depend on it.