Sustainable Planning of Urban Transportation Using PTV VISSIM

Abstract

The steep increase in the number of motor vehicles on the road is primarily due to the occurrence of traffic problems such as accidents, congestion, and delays, especially in the urban areas of developing countries. In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyze the various traffic problems and to suggest sustainable traffic management measures in Kathrikadavu, Ernakulam, India. Direct field surveys were used to collect data on traffic level, land use, and pedestrian movement activities. The collected data showed that poor junction planning, shortage of traffic signals, and lack of proper traffic management are the most significant contributors to traffic congestion. Various remedial measures, based on junction enhancement, alternative service plans, and junction signalization along with sustainable measures are proposed as a feasible solution. The efficiency of the mounted signal can be evaluated using microscopic simulation models, PTV VISSIM and VISTRO. The VISSIM software shows how traffic simulation can be used to assess the efficiency and protection of an unsignalized intersection. The models are also able to produce detailed outputs such as queue length, different types of delay in various traffic inputs and time intervals, etc.