Microscopic Simulation on High-Class Roads: Enhancement of Environmental Analyses and Driving Dynamics: Practical Applications

Author(s):  
Ville Lehmuskoski ◽  
Jarkko Niittymäki ◽  
Björn Silfverberg

Traffic is a very complex phenomenon. As the calculation power and capacity of computers have rapidly increased, the possibilities for modeling traffic corresponding better to reality have also increased. A noteworthy method for modeling is microscopic simulation of traffic, which can be used for a variety of needs. In general it can be stated that the interest in microsimulation lies in short-term functional studies rather than in the assessment of long-term needs. The design of concepts for traffic management strategies, especially for main transport corridors and urban traffic systems, constitutes a challenge for the user of microscopic simulation tools. In addition to practical project planning, microscopic traffic simulation can also provide a tool for research. Detailed calculation of emissions is of special interest in congested urban areas. Microscopic simulation of traffic provides comprehensive methods for detailed assessment of emissions as each individual vehicle is recorded with respect to its driving conditions and performance both in space and in time (speed, acceleration, deceleration). HUTSIM is a Finnish microscopic simulation software developed by the Helsinki University of Technology. Because it is rule based and object oriented, the operational comprehension of the software can be expanded quite easily. In many Finnish projects, HUTSIM has been expanded to better suit wide-scale applications. Development of emission analysis and lane-change models is described, as are future development outlines concerning modeling human behavior and analyzing the level of service using fuzzy methods.

1997 ◽  
Vol 08 (05) ◽  
pp. 1025-1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Esser ◽  
M. Schreckenberg

Saturated capacities in traffic systems evoke increasing interest in simulations of complex networks serving as laboratory environment for developing management strategies. Especially for urban areas questions concerning overall traffic control have to be considered with regard to their impacts on the whole network. Modeling traffic flow dynamics using cellular automata allows us to run large network traffic simulations with only comparatively low computational efforts. We present a traffic simulation tool for urban road networks which is based on the Nagel–Schreckenberg Model. Arbitrary kinds of roads and crossings are modeled as combinations of only a few basic elements. Furthermore parking capacities are considered as well as circulations of public transports. The vehicles are driven corresponding to route plans or at random depending on the available data. The application of this network simulation covers investigations on the field of traffic planning as well as online simulations based on real-time traffic data as basis for dynamic traffic management systems.


Author(s):  
Tess Shiras ◽  
Oliver Cumming ◽  
Joe Brown ◽  
Becelar Muneme ◽  
Rassul Nala ◽  
...  

Shared sanitation—sanitation facilities shared by multiple households—is increasingly common in rapidly growing urban areas in low-income countries. However, shared sanitation facilities are often poorly maintained, dissuading regular use and potentially increasing disease risk. In a series of focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, we explored the determinants of shared sanitation management within the context of a larger-scale health impact evaluation of an improved, shared sanitation facility in Maputo, Mozambique. We identified a range of formal management practices users developed to maintain shared sanitation facilities, and found that management strategies were associated with perceived latrine quality. However—even within an intervention context—many users reported that there was no formal system for management of sanitation facilities at the compound level. Social capital played a critical role in the success of both formal and informal management strategies, and low social capital was associated with collective action failure. Shared sanitation facilities should consider ways to support social capital within target communities and identify simple, replicable behavior change models that are not dependent on complex social processes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 6326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dadashzadeh ◽  
Ergun

Under many circumstances, when providing full bus priority methods, urban transport officials have to operate buses in mixed traffic based on their road network limitations. In the case of Istanbul's Metrobus lane, for instance, when the route comes to the pre-designed Bosphorus Bridge, it has no choice but to merge with highway mixed traffic until it gets to the other side. Much has been written on the relative success of implementing Ramp Metering (RM), for example ALINEA (‘Asservissement line´ aire d’entre´ e autoroutie’) and Variable Speed Limits (VSL), two of the most widely-used “merging congestion” management strategies, in both a separate and combined manner. However, there has been no detailed study regarding the combination of these systems in the face of high bus volume. This being the case, the ultimate goal of this study is to bridge this gap by developing and proposing a combination of VSL and RM strategies in the presence of high bus volume (VSL+ALINEA/B). The proposed model has been coded using microscopic simulation software—VISSIM—and its vehicle actuated programming (VAP) feature; referred to as VisVAP. For current traffic conditions, the proposed model is able to improve total travel time by 9.0%, lower the number of average delays of mixed traffic and buses by 29.1% and 81.5% respectively, increase average speed by 12.7%, boost bottleneck throughout by 2.8%, and lower fuel consumption, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions by 17.3% compared to the existing “VSL+ALINEA” model. The results of the scenario analysis confirmed that the proposed model is not only able to decrease delay times on the Metrobus system but is also able to improve the adverse effects of high bus volume when subject to adjacent mixed traffic flow along highway sections.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan M. Al-Ahmadi ◽  
Arshad Jamal ◽  
Imran Reza ◽  
Khaled J. Assi ◽  
Syed Anees Ahmed

Sustainable transportation systems play a key role in the socio-economic development of a country. Microscopic simulation models are becoming increasingly useful tools in designing, optimizing, and evaluating the sustainability of transportation systems and concerned management strategies. VISSIM, a microscopic traffic simulation software, has gained rapid recognition in the field of traffic simulation. However, default values for different input parameters used during simulation need to be tested to ensure a realistic replication for local traffic conditions. This paper attempts to model driving behavior parameters using the microscopic simulation software VISSIM through a case study in the Khobar-Dammam metropolitan areas in Saudi Arabia. VISSIM default values for different sensitive parameters such as lane change distances, additive and multiplicative parts of desired safety distances, the number of preceding vehicles spotted, amber signal decisions, and minimum headway were identified to be most sensitive and significant parameters to be calibrated to precisely replicate field conditions. The simulation results using default values produced higher link speed, larger queue length, and shorter travel times than those observed in the field. However, measures of effectiveness (MOEs) obtained from calibrated models over desired simulation runs were comparable to those obtained from field surveys. All compared MOEs used to validate the model matched within a range of 5–10% to the field-observed values.


Author(s):  
Nathan H. Gartner ◽  
Mohammed Al-Malik

Traffic signals have a significant effect on the choice of routes by motorists in urban areas. They are of primary importance in the development of advanced traffic management strategies that involve dynamic rerouting of traffic flows through signal-controlled street networks. A combined network model that simultaneously accounts for both the route choices made by motorists and the desired signal controls to match these choices is presented. Given origin-destination travel demand information, the model generates signal controls to optimize network performance and calculates the resulting traffic volumes in the network. This optimization model inherently reflects the mutual consistency between traffic flows and signal controls. The model is applicable to both fixed-time and demand-responsive signals. Computational procedures and sample network solutions are presented.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Clemens de Olde ◽  
Stijn Oosterlynck

Contemporary evaluations of urban growth management (UGM) strategies often take the shape of quantitative measurements of land values and housing prices. In this paper, we argue that it is of key importance that these evaluations also analyse the policy formulation and implementation phases of growth management strategies. It is in these phases that the institutions and discourses are (trans)formed in which UGM strategies are embedded. This will enable us to better understand the conditions for growth management policies’ success or failure. We illustrate this point empirically with the case of demarcating urban areas in the region of Flanders, Belgium. Using the Policy Arrangement Approach, the institutional dynamics and discursive meanings in this growth instrument’s formulation and implementation phase are unravelled. More specifically, we explain how the Flemish strategic spatial planning vision of restraining sprawl was transformed into one of accommodating growth in the demarcation of the Antwerp Metropolitan Area, epitomised by two different meanings of the phrase “safeguarding the future.” In conclusion, we argue that, in Antwerp, the demarcation never solidified into a stable policy arrangement, rendering it largely ineffective. We end by formulating three recommendations to contribute to future attempts at managing urban growth in Flanders.


2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 2280-2296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekkehard Christoffels ◽  
Andrea Brunsch ◽  
Jens Wunderlich-Pfeiffer ◽  
Franz Michael Mertens

Micropollutant pathways were studied for the Swist river basin (Western Germany). The aim was to verify the effectiveness of a monitoring approach to detect micropollutants entering the river. In a separate sewer system, water was frequently found to be contaminated with micropollutants. Improper connections of sewage canals to the stormwater network seemed to be the cause of pollution. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) exerted the largest influence on micropollutants for the receiving river. During a flu outbreak, antibiotics in the Swist stemming from WWTPs increased remarkably. Elevated levels of pharmaceuticals were measured in discharges from a combined sewer overflow (CSO). The study showed that the pharmaceutical load of a CSO was significantly reduced by advanced treatment with a retention soil filter. Painkillers, an anticonvulsant and beta blockers were the most often detected pharmaceuticals in the sewage of urban areas. Herbicides, flame retardants and industrial compounds were also observed frequently. On cropland, Chloridazon and Terbuthylazine compounds were often found in landscape runoff. Fungicides and insecticides were the most frequent positive findings in runoff from orchards. The paper shows that a coherent approach to collecting valid information regarding micropollutants and to addressing relevant pathways as a basis for appropriate management strategies could be established.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Yao ◽  
Hongbing Wang ◽  
Jim Uttley ◽  
Xiaobo Zhuang

Big lighting data are required for evaluation of lighting performance and impacts on human beings, environment, and ecology for smart urban lighting. However, traditional approaches of measuring road lighting cannot achieve this aim. We propose a rule-of-thumb model approach based on some feature points to reconstruct road lighting in urban areas. We validated the reconstructed illuminance with both software simulated and real road lighting scenes, and the average error is between 6 and 19%. This precision is acceptable in practical applications. Using this approach, we reconstructed the illuminance of three real road lighting environments in a block and further estimated the mesopic luminance and melanopic illuminance performance. In the future, by virtue of Geographic Information System technology, the approach may provide big lighting data for evaluation and analysis, and help build smarter urban lighting.


2002 ◽  
Author(s):  

In Madagascar, the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is a serious public health problem, particularly among sex workers. A Horizons study conducted in 2000 found approximately two-thirds of female sex workers had an STI, although few were infected with HIV. Since the link between STIs and transmission of HIV has been well established, affordable strategies to manage STIs among sex workers need to be developed. Study investigators also assessed STI management practices in health facilities in two urban areas of Madagascar. Health practitioners were using a syndromic approach, which may be appropriate for managing certain STIs in the general population but is less appropriate for sex workers who may have multiple, often asymptomatic infections. Diagnosing STIs with laboratory tests would make medical visits prohibitively expensive. Researchers developed a risk profile for various STIs based on characteristics of women that present with each STI, such as age, number of partners, symptoms. The investigators hypothesized that a risk assessment tool using these profiles would result in more appropriate and effective STI treatment for sex workers. This summary presents a cost-effectiveness analysis of different strategies to manage STIs among sex workers in Madagascar.


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