Quantative evaluation of effect by arrangement of parking spaces within a right line on the traffic efficiency

Abstract

Rapid growth of motorization resulted in the excess demand for parking spaces over their quantity. Such a situation is typical for the majority of Ukrainian cities and towns. In the context of shortage of parking spaces, their arrangement within a right line has become quite popular. The measure factors into the decreased capacity of road network as well as the worsened traffic safety conditions. Thus, the paper has analyzed effect of arrangement of such parking places on the traffic efficiency in the city of Dnipro. Ya. Mudry-Voskresenska crossroad has been selected as the test object. Intensity of traffic flows within the crossroad was obtained using a method of field studies for a morning rush hour from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. Two simulation traffic models of the crossroad (i.e. without a parking lane and with it) have been developed in PTV VISSIM software environment. The modeling results support the idea that arrangement of parking spaces within a right line decreases traffic efficiency by 26-62% in terms of each selected index. The authors have proposed the complex efficiency index. It is 1.00 for road without parking places; and 0.54 for road where parking lanes have been arranged. It has been proved that the total efficiency of such a solution for the selected test object decreased traffic management by 46%. Expert evaluation has been performed to calculate weight coefficients for the selected indices. The obtained distribution of the weight coefficients is characterized by a minor discrepancy. The abovementioned means that the indices, selected by the authors, are quite important while making final decisions as for the substantiation of measures improving traffic efficiency.