Traffic System Design Research Articles

A Review of GIS Technology Applications in Transportation Planning and Management

With the rapid development of the economy, the scale of urban construction is expanding, the corresponding transportation infrastructure is also improving, and the traffic congestion problem is becoming more and more serious. The application of GIS technology to transportation management can effectively alleviate the problem of urban traffic congestion at this stage, thus improving the operation of road traffic. This paper describes the advantages of GIS technology in transportation planning and management from the aspects of accuracy, measurement convenience, visualization, scientific, dynamic, data management, and introduces its application initiatives in road design, traffic prediction, vehicle guidance, traffic system design, traffic analysis. The application of GIS technology in transportation planning is becoming more and more extensive and profound, the technology can provide ideas and technical support for modern transportation planning, but also can combine the construction of road transportation system with information technology, effectively improve the rationality and scientificity of the transportation planning program, and play a positive and significant role in reducing traffic congestion and improving the efficiency of traffic operation.

Analytical round-trip time estimation of a three-dimensional elevator system based on exact stopping position identification

Two-dimensional (2-D) as well three-dimensional (3-D) elevators are expected to become a vital part of the future building transportation systems. In order to carry out an elevator traffic system design for a 3-D system, it is necessary evaluate the round-trip time. A ‘scanning’ approach has been previously developed to find the value of the round trip time in 2-D and 3-D systems. The 3-D path of scanning could be linearized into a 1-D line as in a conventional elevator system. It was later found that the RTT is insensitive to the exact stopping positions in a 1-D system, but extremely sensitive in a 2-D or 3-D system. Furthermore, in the conventional 1-D traffic analysis, the average number of stops is non-integral because stops are repeatable within trips, causing a great trouble in estimating RTT in a 3-D system. In this article, with the help of order statistics, the method to break down a series of repeatable stops in a 3-D system into several series of non-repeatable stops is described in detail. And the number of stops of all these non-repeatable series becomes integral, making it suitable for analytical calculation. Then, the RTT of each “non-repeatable” series is separately estimated analytically, with the overall RTT with repeatable stops given by the weighted sum of all these “non-repeatable” series. Methods to estimate the average RTT of each non-repeatable series, the probability density function of each series, and the final weighted average are discussed. Finally, the results are verified using the Monte Carlo simulation method. The method described in this article can give designers a much clearer understanding of the overall concept of RTT estimation by calculation in a multi-dimensional system.

Rule-based calculation and simulation design of elevator traffic systems for high-rise office buildings

Elevator traffic system design has been traditionally based on rules of thumb and the designer’s judgement and expertise. This is especially true for high-rise buildings. This paper attempts to develop a systematic methodology for the design of high-rise buildings, by the use of rational rules. In order to ensure clarity and consistency, it defines the terms sector, zone and stack. A sector is a group of floors that are served by one or more elevators in a journey and are not necessarily fixed and are not necessarily contiguous. A zone is a group of contiguous floors that are served by a group of elevators and are fixed in hardware. When a number of zones are grouped together they form a stack, which is effectively a building within a larger building that is served by a main lobby or by a sky lobby. The systematic methodology is built around the use of rational rules. Rational rules differ from rules of thumbs in a number of ways, and these are discussed in the paper. Six rational rules are presented and used in the design of high-rise buildings. The rules are triggered by the checking of a number of design parameters such as the waiting time and the transit time, as well as the core area used up and the number of elevators in the group. A simulator for incoming traffic and a single entrance is used in order to obtain the parameters for a design and then to trigger the rational rules. Five case studies on the design of various buildings are presented in order to illustrate the use of the six rules. In addition, feedback from the industry experts is reviewed in a dedicated section. Practical application: This paper presents a set of six rules for the design of elevator traffic systems for high-rise buildings. Armed with calculation and simulation tools, the designer can follow the six rules in a systematic procedure in order to arrive at a compliant elevator traffic design for high-rise buildings.

An integrated framework for elevator traffic design under general traffic conditions using origin destination matrices, virtual interval, and the Monte Carlo simulation method

The conventional design methodology for elevator traffic analysis has been applied to the case of up-peak traffic (or incoming traffic conditions). The only user requirements are usually the expected arrival rate ( AR%) expressed as a percentage of the building population requesting service in the peak 5 min and the target interval. The interval as classically used will be referred to as the physical interval in this paper as it is only relevant for the case of a single entrance and incoming traffic conditions. This paper presents an integrated methodology for the design of elevator traffic systems for the general case of mixed traffic conditions. It presents a fully integrated framework that covers the steps from user requirements to the selection of the number of required elevators. The user requirements describing the traffic conditions can be specified by the user, expressed as the AR%, the mix of incoming traffic, outgoing traffic, and interfloor traffic. This paper derives equations that can be used to combine the mix of traffic, the floor arrival percentages, and the floor population percentages into an origin–destination matrix. The origin–destination matrix is then adjusted and normalized in order to account for rational passenger behavior (i.e., a passenger will not travel to the same floor that he or she is at). A method is presented for the random generation of passenger origin–destination pairs using the origin–destination matrix (which is necessary when using the Monte Carlo Simulation ( MCS) method to calculate the round trip time). A novel equation for evaluating the round trip time under the assumption of equal floor heights and top speed attained in one floor journey is derived and used. The equation is derived using a stepwise derivation and verification process. The verification is carried out against the MCS method for finding the value of the round trip time. The concept of a virtual interval (as opposed to the conventionally used physical interval usually used in elevator traffic system design) is introduced in order to allow the selection of the number of elevators to be carried out. The virtual interval is the average value of the time between the consecutive reversals of the elevators in the group. Practical application The methodology presented in this paper allows the elevator traffic system designer to convert the user requirements specification (in the form of an arrival rate and the percentage floor strengths) into an origin–destination matrix. The origin–destination matrix is a more suitable tool for calculating the expected value of the round trip time and consequently carrying out an elevator traffic design. Thus, this methodology represents a vital step in the design process.

Intelligent Traffic System Design Research of Urban Complex Underground Garage

Reasonable traffic system design and management has vital significance to ensure the safe and smooth traffic operation of urban complex and urban traffic system. Based on the characteristics of urban complex, this paper analyzed intelligent traffic system design of underground garage of urban complex. The paper proposed a reasonable traffic system design method to ensure the smoothness and safety of urban complex traffic. Meanwhile the full-video intelligent parking garage management system with advantages of safe and advanced technology was adopted to realize user-friendly, intelligent and automation traffic management. Through intelligent traffic system design research of urban complex underground garage proposed in this paper, the operation efficiency of the underground garage was improved and the parking function and evacuation capacity of underground garage was brought into full play.

Planning of Slow Traffic System Combining Greenway from Bottom-Up Perspective: A Case Study of Ersha Island (Guangzhou)

Under the situation of rapid development of urban vehicles, worsening traffic congestion and the energy shortage, slow traffic system reflects concept of sustainable development of people-oriented and green environmental protection which is attracting more and more attention and recognition from the citizens. The efficient slow traffic system can not only save energy and alleviate the urban traffic congestion, but also improve the comfort and security of the citizens and guide them to form a new concept of green travel. In recent years, Guangzhou has set up the slow traffic system which based on the development of the Asian Games’ greenway, but on the detail design and user’s experience is questionable. This article will be based on the analysis and summary of the existing domestic and foreign slow system development model and the actual case studies. Then draw lessons from the experience, study the case of Ersha Island and combine with existing design of the greenway in Guangzhou. Use the bottom-up perspective to explore the slow traffic system design in central city of Guangzhou. In the future development, we should optimize for the detailed design in slow traffic system construction as well as the relevant planning and policy, and finally to promote the development of slow traffic system.

Dynamics of traffic networks: From microscopic and macroscopic perspectives

Considering the microscopic characteristics (vehicle speed, road length etc.) of links and macroscopic behaviors of traffic systems, we derive the critical flow generation rate in scale-free networks. And the dynamics of traffic congestion is studied numerically in this paper. It is shown that the queue length increases with microscopic characteristics of links. Additionally, the critical flow generation rate decreases with increase of the network size N , maximum speed v max and parameter τ . The significance of this finding is that, in order to improve the traffic environment, both the local information for the single link and behaviors of the whole network must be analyzed simultaneously in a traffic system design.

ROAD ACCIDENTS IN SWEDEN

This article is the most recent summary of road accidents in Sweden, providing statistics on road deaths by year, type of driver involved, and age of the drivers involved. Sweden, along with the Netherlands, Norway, and Great Britain has one of the lowest crash fatality rates worldwide. Part of this success is due to an 11 point plan implemented in 1999, which prescribes measures regarding the following points- the financing of new roads, voluntary organizations, traffic offenses, road traffic system design, technologies, winter tires, quality assurance, cyclists, road-user responsibility, safety in urban areas, and safety for particularly dangerous areas. The author concludes that, while Sweden has made a marked improvement in traffic fatality trends, it will not meet its goal of 270 or fewer deaths in 2007. The author believes that this could be improved with better speed compliance, which would predict a fifty percent decrease in fatalities.

A review of Australian traffic system design models

The demands for traffic infrastructure are increasing. Yet over the last decade investment in new infrastructure has decreased at all levels. Traffic systems designers are, therefore, being asked to be more accurate in their prediction of the impacts of changes, to analyse ever more complex situations and to extract more from the existing traffic system. This paper reviews developments in techniques for analysing the impacts of changes in the traffic system. It looks at intersection, route, network, parking lot and public transport design models that have been developed in Australia. Particular emphasis is given to the considerable developments in microcomputers and graphics and the impact these are having on the models. Future developments are also discussed.