01139029

Component

Traffic congestion continues to increase at an alarming rate, adding more strain on the transportation system and adversely impacting people’s quality of life. Transportation agencies addressing the traffic congestion problem are having to utilize operational and management strategies as opposed to traditional infrastructure expansions. Transportation planning agencies have traditionally held the role of forecasting future demand for transportation and estimating the associated system performance. They also are in charge of developing transportation improvement programs to address deficiencies in system performance. Regional Travel Models are at the heart of these transportation planning functions. These models use socio-economic input and transportation network performance to estimate demand and resulting traffic levels. The majority of transportation planning agencies in the U.S relies on conventional 4-step models originally developed in the 1960s. These models typically have a static structure which aggregates demand both spatially and temporarily. Conventional models lack the analytical basis to support and respond to the increasing emphasis on transportation system management and traffic operations. Microscopic simulation models have proven unpractical for real-world applications, especially for the small to medium size communities. Therefore, the focus of this study was to introduce an alternative approach for improving the conventional four-step transportation planning model in order to address traffic operations needs. Specifically, we used a mesoscopic simulation model, DYNASMART-P, in conjunction with a traditional 4-step travel model. The merit of this approach lies in enhancing traditional 4-step models’ ability to capture traffic dynamics and driver behavior under different traffic conditions on the network. A case study was developed using the Fargo-Moorhead Council of Government’s regional travel model, which represents a medium size network. This model is implemented in Citilabs’ Cube software, a popular transportation planning modeling system. An interface was developed to achieve an efficient and consistent exchange of data and output between Cube and DYNASMART-P. Using the Hybrid model developed in this study, we were able to improve the models’ ability to replicate real-world conditions and expand its ability to address operational level analyses. The hybrid model produced better results under normal conditions compared to the standard 4-step model. This comparison showed that the hybrid approach developed in this paper offered a feasible alternative for planning agencies that could be implemented with modest resources and using existing data sources.

01138544

English

9p

2008

11th National Conference on Transportation Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities

CD-ROM

Figures (1) ; References (10) ; Tables (5)

Construction projects; Infrastructure; Quality of life; Regional transportation; Traffic congestion; Traffic models; Traffic simulation; Transportation planning; Travel demand

DYNASMART-P (Computer program)

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

TRIS, TRB

Aug 21 2009 3:06PM