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ZACATECAS, MEXICO SIMULATION
By
Michael Scott Shea
Jeremy Searle
Devin Moore
CEEn 594R Transportation Simulation
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
BrighamYoungUniversity
Provo, UT84602
Winter Semester 2009
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
Problem Statement
Scope
Outline of Report
2. Background
Overview
Methodology
Summary
3. Project Procedures
Overview
Tasks
Schedule
Roadway Characterization
Simulation Testing
Current Conditions
Optimization and System Changes
Statistical Analyses
Summary
4. Results
5. Conclusion
Recommendations, Summary, and Findings
1. Introduction
1.1 Problem Statement
In the heart of Mexico is the city of Zacatecas which is the capital of the state of Zacatecas. Populated with more than 120,000 people in an area of 444 km2, Zacatecas is a bustling city with a demand for improved transportation. Narrow crooked streets with buildings as close as possible provide little room for internal growth and prevent the city from expanding the road system. Transportation engineers have the responsibility to transport people and goods safely and efficiently across Zacatecas, which at times becomes a parking lot during peak hours. Continually growing in population and transportation demand, the city of Zacatecaswas once an effective bicycle and pedestrian system but is now bogged down by vehicle traffic.
The focus of this research is to simulate the existing street system in downtown Zacatecas in order to provide suggestions or minor road improvements which will help improve traffic flow in downtown Zacatecas. Of particular note is a fountain called the Fuente en Zacatecas surrounded by a triangle of roadways. The triangle system causes considerate reduction in capacity as cars line up and block vehicles from passing through. Unavailable to the traffic engineers in Zacatecas is Synchro or other simulation software which would allow the engineer the ability to simulate and analyze changes to a roadway system without going through the trouble of implementing such changes. Depending on the effectiveness of the project, future simulations beyond the original scope can come forth, as well as a more in-depth analysis of the system.
1.2 Scope
Downtown Zacatecas was chosen as the design area for the simulation due to the extremes in traffic condition. At the longest spot,the area is approximately 2 kilometers long and at the widest spot 1.5 kilometers wide. Data collection will be done by students attending ZacatecasUniversity. Availability and time of those students involved with the simulation will be a major constraint for this project. Students will be available to count vehicle movements at only major intersections throughout the designated areas. Due to the population density of the area, only major arterial and some minor arterial streets will be considered; the time required for counting and modeling will not permit complete analysis. However, counting at the major intersections will account for all vehicles turning into and from side streets. It is anticipated that traffic counts will be performed prior to the trip to Zacatecas, allowing the time spent at the University to teach and overview the simulation. Simulation of the downtown area will show pockets of traffic congestion which may be able to be improved and changed; these concepts will be brought before government officials for final decision on implementation of changes.
1.3 Outline of Report
Chapter one of the report is the introduction, providing an overview, and scope for the project. Chapter two will be a background into the project, including a background of the city and traffic engineering efforts. An overview of the simulation will also be given in chapter two. Chapter three will be the procedures of the simulation, including decisions on roadways to count, what information will be gathered and decisions on which different simulations will be run. Chapter four will focus on the results of the simulation. Chapter five is the conclusion and will provide any recommendations for improvement.
2. Background
2.1 Overview
Synchro is a software program designed to simulate traffic conditions which would normally be too complex to derive analytically. Using virtual vehicles, the software runs vehicles through transportation system and can identify bottlenecks or other traffic areas which cause problems to the network. Changes can be made to the system and then the simulation is rerun in order to assess the effect on traffic, either positively or negatively. Altering the roadway through computers allows the most effective change to be implemented rather than guessing and causing the loss of the governmental budget.
2.2 Methodology
Using a screen shot map of the downtown area as a background, the roadways and system can be drawn to scale into Synchro. Depending on the clarity of the satellite shot, the direction and size of the roadway will be determined and entered into Synchro, if the satellite is unavailable then visual confirmation from the students in Zacatecas will be required. As traffic counts become available they too will be placed according to turning and through movements at major intersections. Other considerations for data input will be pedestrians, bicycles, parking maneuvers and buses. At the accumulation of all the information available, the simulation will be run at current conditions in order to assess if the model is actually simulating the current conditions viewed or perceived by the people of Zacatecas. After confirmation of the current conditions, changes may be introduced which will change the simulation and ultimately reduce congestion in and around the downtown area. At minimum, however, is the anticipation that lost time will be reduced by the ability to increase flow by reducing driver error due to confusion or impatience.
2.3 Summary
SimTraffic will be an effective tool, made available to the traffic engineers, through a joint cooperation between BrighamYoungUniversity and ZacatecasUniversity. Simulation of the downtown area will allow the students to evaluate the effect of potential improvements to traffic flow in downtown Zacatecas.
3. Project Procedures
3.1 Overview
Outlined in the procedures will be the tasks and schedule in order to complete the simulations and project before the March trip to Zacatecas.
3.2 Tasks
Division of the tasks will be according to experience as well as location. All the involved students at ZacatecasUniversity will be assigned to data collection. There are three students involved at BrighamYoungUniversity. One student will be in charge of outlining the system and entering it into Synchro, as well as teaching the other two students the methodology of the system. The second student will be largely the Spanish translator, who will be in charge of communication between the two schools and ensuring that expectations are portrayed correctly. The third student will be in charge of scheduling as well as taking care of details such as physical transportation to and from the airport, transportation around Zacatecas, becoming aware of the culture and current conditions of the roadway and the historical development of the city of Zacatecas, as well as being a schedule manager to keep the project on time.
3.3 Schedule
The following are deadline dates which will be followed in order to complete the simulation before the trip:
February 2: Background images and maps pulled from the web and placed into Synchro
February 9: Simulation drawn to scale with dummy inputs into the system
February 23: Data collection completed and put into the system
March 2: Current condition simulation run with confirmation the simulation is working
March 9: Simulations run and improvement options being made to the system
March 16: Changes finalized, analysis and project report pulled together
March 20: Leave for Zacatecas
3.4 Roadway Characterization
Deciding which roadway will be used for the simulation will be done through a joint effort from all three groups involved; the government officials, the students of ZacatecasUniversity, and students at BrighamYoungUniversity. Decisions will be based on road size, traffic volume, capacity, and geographical consideration.
3.5 Simulation Testing
3.5.1Current Conditions
Current conditions are traffic conditions existing on a daily basis. Sporting events or holidays may create larger or more congestion, but will not be considered during this simulation. Conditions will be considered for the peak hours such that the daily traffic may be improved.
3.5.2 Improvements and System Changes
Depending on the characteristics of the road network, optimization of timing may be possible if such a large enough system exists. Controlled signal timing optimization may beused as well as the use of signage and other traffic control measures. Changes to the system may include the implementation of roundabouts or traffic circles, lane channelization, implementation of one way roads, or other driver behavior changes
3.6 Statistical Analyses
A statistical analysis can be run to show the effectiveness of improvements to the system. For any given simulation it is possible to see remarkable changes through the implementation of two different ideas; however, only one alternative is possible to implement. A statistical analysis will show which alternative is most beneficial for implementation considering MOE’s, cost of improvement, and overall improvement to the system.
3.7 Summary
Following the schedule closely will ensure proper completion of the project before meeting the government officials in Zacatecas. The current conditions will show areas which will be most improved by implementation of changes, and a statistical analysis will show the effectiveness of those changes.
4. Results
Included in the project report will be the results of current and optimized conditions.
5. Conclusion
5.1 Summary andFindings
A summary of the most effective actions for implementation will be provided, as well as the final decision of the government officials. If possible, a follow up will be done to show the effectiveness of the suggested improvements.
5.2 Recommendations
Recommendations will be forthcoming as the analysis becomes complete.