Modeling Congestion on Urban Roads and Assessing Level of Service
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 125, Issue 6
Abstract
A unified methodology has been proposed for the quantification of congestion, incorporating the volume and operational characteristics of traffic movement. The level of congestion has been modeled to relate to the causal influences of traffic movement. Modeling congestion has provided a quantitative basis for understanding the contribution of different vehicle types in overall congestion, and it is useful for evolving the policy for congestion mitigation. Quantified congestion level has been used as a logical and improved measure of effectiveness to account for the conceptual definition of level of service in a quantitative manner. Based on the congestion level, 10 levels of service have been proposed, with 9 in a stable flow zone (presently designated as A–E), and 1 representing an unstable operation (presently designated as F). The philosophy has been demonstrated by developing congestion models and assessing the effect of roadway width on congestion levels and service volumes. While it is possible to assess the realized benefits from an increase in roadway width, the required number of traffic lanes for a desired level of service can also be estimated.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 125 • Issue 6 • November 1999
Pages: 508 - 514
History
Received: Nov 17, 1998
Published online: Nov 1, 1999
Published in print: Nov 1999
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