The impacts of improper curbside parking on traffic flow in semi-urban area, Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction: For many towns in Ethiopia, traffic management is a crucial concern to accommodate the increased number of vehicles per day. Curbside parking is one of the traffic problem experience in Arba Minch town, especially in the midblock commenced at Sikella market to Gamo Square. This area is one of the central business district areas of Arba Minch Town that experience parking problems. Objective: The study was initiated to investigate the impacts of curbside parking on the traffic flow of the semi-urban area. It was aimed at identifying the cause of curb-side parking and evaluating the parking duration of vehicles. Methods: Various methods were used to accomplish the study. The data needed for the study were; Number of parking vehicles, duration, parking attraction, the length of curbside that is used for parking continuously, parking pattern and composition of parking vehicles investigated and the geometry of the road has been done by direct field observation. Interviews were also conducted with the owners of the businesses located beside the selected road. To show the change in the traffic flow which occurred due to the existence of curbside parking, traffic volume, and speed study has been also done. Results: From the collected data, the reason for continuous parking in the study area was identified. These main reasons were the availability of recreational centers and surrounding business activities. The average number of parking vehicles along 120m long curbside which is used for continuous parking was obtained to be 16 vehicles. The parking pattern shown in the area was irregular which leads to accidents and traffic conflicts. The minimum duration of parking was 10 minutes, whereas the maximum was more than 2 hours. Because of the lack of work and climate conditions, most vehicles were parked in the midmorning and midafternoon. Most drivers were volunteered to use off-street parking if it provided. Using the traffic volume and speed study, the capacity of the road is estimated to be 140 vehicles per hour. Finally, the level of service on the road was determined for every 30 minutes.