Investigating the potential of route diversion through its application on an Orlando transportation network using PARAMICS simulation model

Keywords

Intelligent transportation systems -- Florida -- Orlando; Toll roads -- Florida -- Computer simulation; Traffic flow -- Computer simulation -- Florida

Abstract

The application of the ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) technologies to facilitate the traffic mobility requires dynamic routing decisions. This thesis focuses on the dynamic routing decisions in response to real-time information. PARAMICS, a microscopic traffic simulation model, that has a link-to-link shortest path algorithm, which considers both updated link travel times and detected incident conditions through different traffic assignment techniques, is used in this thesis. The main objective is to investigate the impact of Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) on route diversion and to evaluate the potential benefits of the dynamic routing decisions in an Orlando transportation network. The Orlando transportation network studied in this thesis consisted of the following limited access highways: I-4, and toll roads SR408, SR528 and SR417. The Interstate-4 recurring congestion spreads out from the tourist attractions area to the Orlando Central Business District. The Orlando network was coded in PARAMICS. The O-D matrix was estimated initially using FSUTMS and was adjusted in an iterative process based on the collected field data sets. P ARAMICS was calibrated and validated for the evening peak period's base conditions. Statistical tests indicated that there is no significant difference at the 95% confidence level between the model output and the collected field data. The experimental design in this study included multi-level factorial design in which there were three qualitative variables and four response quantitative variables.

The qualitative variables were the cost, the traffic volume, and the assignment method. The four response variables included the average queuing delay on the network, overall average speeds, percentages of route diversion, and their associated travel times between specific O/D pairs. The experiment was a 12*2*2 factorial design, which resulted in 48 different scenarios including a hypothetical incident on I-4. There were 4 more base scenarios associated with the volume and assignment methods levels as well. The total number of scenarios was 52 including the base scenarios. The experiment's objective was to investigate different scenarios for the impact of reducing tolls on less congested roads (SR528 and SR4 l 7) and increasing tolls on more congested roads (SR408) to see the influence on travelers' route choice and the overall congestion in the network. The simulation results identified bottlenecks in the highway network. It was shown that using the Dynamic Feedback Assignment (DFB) in P ARAMICS results in reduction in the average queuing delay and average travel time in the network when compared to results of the Stochastic Assignment (SA). DFB significantly affected the percentage of diversion in the network especially at the traffic volume level of 125% and for the incident scenarios. The percentage increase of travel time on the network due to the incident ranged from 10-56% between different OD pairs. Drivers saved 10-16% of travel time when DFB information was provided to them as compared to cases without guidance (using the SA assignment).

Sensitivity to cost levels and variable tolls on the network increased significantly when eliminating tolls on SR417 and SR528, which resulted in a 10% increase in the network average speed. Doubling the tolls on SR408 and at the same time decreasing the tolls on SR417 and SR528 by 50% and 100% respectively demonstrated that travelers have high propensity of diverting towards SR417 and SR528. This thesis provides recommendations to alleviate congestion in the selected Orlando network and to avoid overreaction of travelers during peak period travel. In conclusion, combining the congestion pricing strategies and traffic information caused travelers to divert to less congested roads and this has the potential of reducing the amount of time lost by the travelers during the peak periods.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2003

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Engineering

Format

PDF

Pages

170 p.

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Identifier

DP0029130

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Engineering; Engineering -- Dissertations, Academic

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