Improving Traffic Conditions on a Set of Three Intersections Using Microscopic Simulation Models

This paper presents a method for defining and improving the traffic conditions in a set of cross section in the city of Cluj-Napoca, using microsimulation software for the traffic. Simulation models are designed to mimic the behavior of traffic in a time and space transport system in order to predict the system's performance. A simulation model studies a real world system, considering mathematical and logical concepts associated with the system operation and analyzes them using complex computer programming. Each simulation model presents a set of advantages such as: it can be more accurate than an analytical approach, it is able to test new conditions, it can improve the perspective concerning the significance of variables and of the way these variables interact. A case study is presented, using a set of three street intersections. In these intersections measurements of traffic during morning peak hours were performed. The measurements were acquired both manually and automatically, using time slots of 15 minutes each. The collected data was also used for model calibration. With the help of microsimulation software and a well-balanced model, information regarding traffic conditions can be found, resulting in analyses of the traffic evolutions. Some traffic conditions issues are identified and a set of improvement suggestions are presented. The measures proposed in this paper need to be tested and further optimized also by means of microsimulation, before being implemented, in order to obtain satisfactory results. The area under investigation exhibits quite large delays in traffic, in present-day conditions. This means smaller displacement speed, and, implicitly, more toxic emissions, that make the system be farther from the idea of sustainable transportation.