Abstract
Traffic microsimulation is an essential tool in urban transportation and road planning. Its calibration is essential to attain representative results validated with real-world conditions. VISSIM (Verkehr in Stadten—SIMulationsmodell) operates with the Wiedemann’s psycho-physical car-following model for freeway travel that considers safety distances (standstill and movement) during simulation. Calibration in this paper was achieved by using two different approaches: a) manual and b) genetic algorithm (with the GEH statistic formula) calibration techniques. Calibration and validation of this model were performed at the Periferico de la Juventud expressway in Chihuahua City, in northern Mexico. The Periferico de la Juventud (PDJ) has a N-S orientation and a length of ca. 20 km, with its northern section being its most congested portion. Its highest vehicle volume occurs at noon, with 3700 vehicles per hour, with 95% being passenger cars and the other 5% heavy goods vehicles. PDJ’s speed limit is 70 km·h-1, but the driver’s behavior has a tendency towards the aggressive performance. A total of 82 standstill and 82 look-ahead distances were obtained from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) images, with values ranging from 0.8 to 4.7 m and from 0.2 to 28 m, respectively. VISSIM calibrated parameter values were calculated for this expressway, being slightly above than the VISSIM default ones; and was validated with travel times and look-ahead distances. Results contribute information for the city’s future installment of public transportation systems, and should help decision makers deal with future urban planning.
Highlights
Traffic microsimulation is the main traffic analysis method used to solve transportation issues
VISSIM (Verkehr in Städten—SIMulationsmodell developed by the German company Planung Transport Verkehr, PTV) is one of the most popular traffic flow microsimulation softwares due to its modelling based on the interactions among pedestrians, vehicles, heavy goods vehicles (HGV) and any other type of transportation [2] [3], which analyses and optimizes traffic flow in detail [4]
Periferico de la Juventud (PDJ) is a congested road, with vehicles usually exceeding speed limits; pneumatic tubes were difficult to install since the expressway is made of concrete in certain sections, during operation, several tubes came off the pavement; making data collected unreliable
Summary
Traffic microsimulation is the main traffic analysis method used to solve transportation issues. Calibration of certain parameters is needed to evaluate traffic and planning operations and applications, being critical for obtaining realistic microsimulation results [9]. The simulated traffic outcome does not coincide with real-world settings, and microsimulation models cannot help analysts to solve any traffic issue [1]. Chihuahua City is considered a metropolitan zone, and its road infrastructure occupies about the 42% of urban area, and includes a dozen main roads, with traffic jam issues during peak hours [19]. PDJ is considered as the most important expressway in the city, while dealing with problems such as traffic jams, flooding, becoming the focus of this study
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