Implementing innovative traffic simulation models with aerial traffic survey

In many urban areas, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes have been provided to permit carpools and express buses to bypass congestion and offer a significant travel time advantage to commuters willing to share a ride or take transit. In many locations, however, HOV lanes are incomplete because of difficulties in securing right-of-way or funding. In other locations, because existing HOV lanes are underutilized, express buses are undersubscribed, or both, questions about their value arise. In this research it is shown how a PARAMICS microscopic traffic simulation model can be used to analyze proposed HOV lanes and their effects on express bus operation along an urban freeway corridor. A PARAMICS application is developed for Interstate 580 in the San Francisco Bay Area and used to test alternative ways of providing HOV lanes. The performance of the corridor is evaluated under plausible scenarios of traffic growth. Traffic simulation models are usually used for detailed operations management. The case study shows that traffic simulation can be an effective preliminary planning and scenario testing tool for evaluating the likely performance of an infrastructure or operations improvement on express bus service.

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Comparison of VISSIM and CORSIM Traffic Simulation Models on a Congested Network

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/1727-07 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 1727 (1) ◽

pp. 52-60 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

Loren Bloomberg ◽

Jim Dale

Keyword(s):

Sensitivity Analysis ◽

Performance Measures ◽

Traffic Simulation ◽

Simulation Models ◽

Design Decision ◽

Simulation Tools ◽

Critical Design ◽

Complex Program ◽

Comparative Information ◽

Model Approach

Traffic simulation packages like CORSIM and VISSIM are frequently used as tools for the analysis of traffic since they are effective approaches for quantification of the benefits and limitations of different alternatives. The concern of those who are cautious or skeptical about the application of a complex program to making a critical design decision is often appropriate, as many models are unproven or little information about their accuracy is available. As these simulation models become easier to use, it may be practical to use more than one model in some studies. The two-model approach was applied as a means of making the analysis more reliable and the results more defensible. The results proved the consistency and reasonableness of the simulation tools and provided everyone involved with confidence about the analysis. The study also illustrated the value of using a range of performance measures and a sensitivity analysis. More generally, it proved the value of providing as much comparative information as possible before making a design decision. The results were generally consistent, and the end product was a set of clear, defensible, and well-supported conclusions. Although the experience gained through the application of CORSIM and VISSIM was in some ways unique to the study area, this experience can provide insight to other transportation professionals charged with selecting and applying these simulation models to similar networks. To that end, some of the characteristics of both models are contrasted.

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Validation of High-Fidelity Traffic Simulation Models

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/1710-08 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 1710 (1) ◽

pp. 69-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Lei Rao ◽

Larry Owen

Keyword(s):

Traffic Simulation ◽

Statistical Tests ◽

Moving Average ◽

Simulation Models ◽

Output Data ◽

Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average ◽

Simulation Output ◽

Validation Procedure ◽

Arima Modeling ◽

Operational Validation

A multistage validation framework that accounts for the realistic nature of traffic simulation output data is proposed. The framework consists of conceptual validation and operational validation. The operational validation comprises a qualitative approach, which involves static and animated Turing tests, and a quantitative approach, which involves three levels of statistical tests. Particularly in the third-level statistical test, the autocorrelation and nonstationary nature of traffic simulation output data is emphasized, its implications on validation methods are explored, and a univariate nonseasonal autoregressive-integrated-moving-average (ARIMA) modeling approach is proposed. Finally, numerical results for an actual freeway network are presented. The validation results illustrate that the proposed multistage validation procedure can account for the complexity of the validation task and its conclusions.

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W-SPSA in practice: Approximation of weight matrices and calibration of traffic simulation models

Transportation Research Part C Emerging Technologies ◽

10.1016/j.trc.2015.04.030 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 59 ◽

pp. 129-146 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Constantinos Antoniou ◽

Carlos Lima Azevedo ◽

Lu Lu ◽

Francisco Pereira ◽

Moshe Ben-Akiva

Keyword(s):

Traffic Simulation ◽

Simulation Models

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Traffic simulation models calibration using speed–density relationship: An automated procedure based on genetic algorithm

Expert Systems with Applications ◽

10.1016/j.eswa.2015.09.024 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

pp. 147-155 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Sandro Chiappone ◽

Orazio Giuffrè ◽

Anna Granà ◽

Raffaele Mauro ◽

Antonino Sferlazza

Keyword(s):

Genetic Algorithm ◽

Traffic Simulation ◽

Simulation Models ◽

Density Relationship

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Variability of traffic-flow measures across freeway lanes

Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering ◽

10.1139/l98-065 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 270-281 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Mark Carter ◽

Hesham Rakha ◽

Michel Van Aerde

Keyword(s):

Traffic Flow ◽

Traffic Management ◽

Traffic Simulation ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Simulation Models ◽

System Control ◽

Incident Detection ◽

Detection Algorithms ◽

Complementary Techniques ◽

Traffic Management System

On most freeways, a number of factors interact to produce lane-to-lane variations in speed and volume which are both site and volume dependent. The following paper explores and statistically verifies these variations using detector data and a combination of complementary techniques based on data collected for 30 days at 27 detector stations in May 1994 along the Queen Elizabeth Way freeway near Toronto, Ontario. The analysis indicates that considerable volume dependencies exist at each site, and that these dependencies are site specific. In addition to their independent variations, speed and flow are also shown to interact differently across different lanes and result in different underlying speed-flow relationships. The findings are intended to be relevant to the calibration of microscopic traffic simulation models and automatic incident detection algorithms. As such, the paper does not attempt to specifically identify the underlying causes for the variations, but rather attempts to recognize the aggregated effects of these causes in a fashion that would be useful to real-time freeway traffic management system control strategies relying solely on loop detector inputs.Key words: traffic-flow theory, traffic modeling, traffic simulation, incident-detection algorithms.

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