Latest references

FURTHER REFERENCES

Actual questionnaires

• No actual questionnaire

Traffic modeling

Most of the traffic related interventions, for example:

• construction of a by-pass road,
• realignment of a street to one-way system or to pedestrian street,
• start of new bus service route,
• reset of a traffic light

do have an effect on the vehicle and passenger traffic flow on the connecting road sections or traffic junctions. This effect extends to traffic characteristics of the adjacent or broader environment, depending on the type of intervention.

• Traffic of by-pass road has an effect on the town center traffic, but in some cases it influences all major roads of the town as well.
• Realignment to one-way traffic reorganizes traffic characteristics of the nearby area.
• Start of a new bus service route has effect on passenger load of other routes, but may decrease car usage level as well.
• Reset of a traffic light can resolve traffic jams at the area.

As a consequence of the facts above, traffic design and appropriately precise estimation of future traffic is one of the most important tasks at minor or major re-organization of traffic networks. On this basis it becomes possible e.g. to define technical parameters of a particular road or define service density of a bus route. Direct and indirect effects of interventions on the traffic network can be so complex, that processing and evaluation can be executed with the most up-to-date software tools only.
For such analysis and evaluation purposes PRO URBE Kft. is using the product of the German PTV company [www.ptv.de], one of the world market leaders, called VISUM-VISSIM.

Software tools working with mathematical algorithms are able to model traffic flows of greater areas – even whole towns or part of a country – or to process complex vehicle motions in a junction. Solution of these two problems, that seem to be very different, is in most cases based on the same feature: the traffic matrix. A traffic matrix is a worksheet where traffic demands of particular points or areas within the examined range are registered.

Beyond the principles the two described model differ only in parameters.

• Traffic modeling of greater areas – with the application of macro simulation model – usually aims at determining traffic flows among traffic areas and cordons with definition of traffic volume and exact flow routes.
• Traffic modeling of junctions, road sections or smaller town areas is executed with micro simulation models, which can handle each vehicle separately with its own, unique parameter system. The considered data extend from technical parameters of cars to their “virtual drivers’” driving habits. All these make it possible to draw a realistic, accurate picture of the processes in the junction.

PRO URBE Kft. has executed several works and preparatory study by using this software. The VISUM software has been applied for recognition of transformed traffic relations after urban developments of towns, suburbs, and also for registering effects of new road network elements.
Another important application area of the software is public transportation. The software can be applied to evaluate the whole public transportation network of a town.

VISSIM software is a product for micro simulation modeling. It can be used for proving operation safety of complex or complicated traffic junctions and system of junctions, thus for optimisation of effects of daily operative actions. Perfectly suitable to test designed junction developments and depending on the results increase its effectivity with further corrections.

The two software tools can be used together, combined. In such cases critical junctions of greater area traffic flows modelled with macro simulation procedure can be further examined with micro simulation. Both software apply dynamic traffic handling, thus suitable to consider waving and changes of traffic in separate time periods.

Both software provide several statistical database after execution of analysis, which are effectively supporting design process, from the global approach of a whole town to the work out of technical details.