VISSIM:
1st UK USER Group Meeting (January 31st 2001)
Summary of papers and biographies of presenters:
Applications of VISSIM for motorway
simulation
Dr. Brian Vaughan - Oscar Faber
Celtic connections: VISSIM in
Scotland and Ireland
The use of VISSIM to assess the
environmental impact of traffic calming schemes
Sergio Grosso - PTV Newcastle / TORG
Assessment of Light Rapid Transit
with VISSIM
Dr. Jessica Anderson and Caroline Shield – JMP
Roundabouts, signals and dynamic
assignment
Biography:
Dr Brian Vaughan is Director of Transport Planning Research with Oscar Faber and has almost 20 years experience of major transportation studies both in the UK and overseas. He is an expert in the development and application of transport models, particularly their use for the assessment of road and public transport infrastructure investment. He has been responsible for the introduction and development of micro-simulation within Oscar Faber and has almost three years experience in the application of micro-simulation on a wide range of projects. He has experience in the use of VISSIM and Paramics. He is currently Project Director for the development of simulation models for the M60 in Manchester and the A1(M) in Gateshead and is advising on the development of a range of other simulation models. Brian provides specialist experience in the development of strategic transport policies and inter-alia the development and application of multi-modal models. Brian has recently been acting as advisor to the Land Transport Authority for Singapore on the development of their national transport strategy. This has included the development of an integrated strategy taking into account alternative land use development scenarios. The results of this work have recently been encapsulated in a Strategic Rail Plan, a Demand Management Strategy and a Roads Programme Review. Brian has unrivalled world-wide experience in the specification and development of modelling structures that are tailored to the needs of individual studies. He has been involved in Trans Pennine Road and Rail Studies, development of the PLANET model, West Midlands Strategic Transport Model development, multi-modal models for the Rotherham Integrated Transport Study and Barnsley-Doncaster Corridor study, and in numerous large scale studies in Asia Pacific.
Paper Summary:
The paper will concentrate on the application of micro-simulation techniques for the assessment of motorway operations under differing conditions. Techniques for using VISSIM to model UK motorways and the particular operating parameters that exist in the UK will be described. The importance of correct calibration of model parameters such as speed distribution, gap acceptance, and minimum braking distance on the simulation will be discussed and examples of the effect of alternative parameters provided. The paper will use the M60 Corridor model, which is in the final stages of development, as a basis to demonstrate how micro-simulation provides a powerful tool for the development and assessment of management strategies. The model will also be used to show the capability of micro-simulation to replicate many of the frequently observed phenomena that occur on motorways such as ‘shockwaves’, rolling queues, and rubber necking.
Biography:
Graeme Dodds is an Engineer in the Transport Strategy Division of Babtie Group. He graduated in 1996 from the University of Strathclyde with First Class Honours in Civil Engineering with European Studies including a spell at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany. After graduating, he continued at Strathclyde undertaking a year of full-time research into the area of driver behaviour, motorway access control and microscopic modelling. He studied the effects of a motorway access control and route diversion scheme in Glasgow, introduced as part of the European TABASCO project, and presented a paper on the initial results of his studies at the Universities Transport Study Group annual conference. Graeme joined Babtie Group in 1997 and is based at the company headquarters in Glasgow. He is continuing his research at the University of Strathclyde on a part-time basis, working towards a PhD. Within the Transport Strategy Division, Graeme has been responsible for developing Babtie’s in-house microscopic modelling capability using VISSIM, leading to projects in as diverse places as Glasgow and Guernsey. As well as supervising microscopic modelling projects, Graeme’s experience extends to other areas of transport engineering. He has undertaken transport assessments for major developments and is currently responsible for the transport assessment of a major new retail development in the west of Scotland.
Paper Summary:
Since equipping its Transport Strategy Division with VISSIM in 1999, Babtie Group has been involved in a number of microscopic modelling projects for both public and private sectors. This presentation will examine the differences between microscopic modelling and more traditional macroscopic methods, compare the strengths and weaknesses of each technique and give guidance on when microscopic modelling is an appropriate tool. The presentation will explore the use of VISSIM in developing engineering solutions to real projects, and will explain why and how microscopic modelling was used. The projects discussed in the presentation will include:
· M80/A80 Crowwood Roundabout, Glasgow
· A90 Garthdee Roundabout, Aberdeen
· M1 Dunmurry Slip Roads Public Inquiry, Belfast
These will cover areas including: congested network analysis, bus priority, validation, pedestrians, managed solutions, auditing, partial signal control, combined motorway/surface street modelling, visual presentation, traffic signal options.
Biography:
Sergio Grosso graduated in Electronic Engineering in 1992 at the Department of Communications, Computer, and Systems Science (Genoa - Italy). Shortly afterwards, he started work at the same department doing analysis, modelling, identification and simulation of motorway traffic. This experience was combined with system administration, mainly under Unix platforms, and support to teaching activities. In 1996 he joined the Transport Operations Research Group (TORG) to work on the 2 European projects CLEOPATRA and COSMOS. His main task was the development and application on/off-line of the Path Flow Estimator (PFE), a program based on a model developed at TORG by a group led by Prof. Mike Bell, to estimate path and link flows, path and link travel times as well as OD matrices in pseudo-dynamic conditions. As a result, the program was tested in the city laboratories of Lyon, Piraeus, Stockholm (only off-line) Toulouse, and Turin in combination with other Urban Traffic Management systems. In ’99 he joined PTV on a part-time basis to contribute to the development of VISUM-online and distribute/support PTV Vision software in the UK. His research activities at TORG have continued since ‘99 by further developing the PFE and working on the EPSRC Project 'Assessing the Benefits of Trunk Road Traffic Calming Schemes' where an environmental program was created to estimate pollution and noise from results of the VISSIM microscopic simulator.
Summary:
This paper refers to research carried out in ’99-2000 during the EPSRC Project 'Assessing the Benefits of Trunk Road Traffic Calming Schemes' by the Transport Operations Research Group in collaboration with the Centre for Research in Environmental Appraisal and Management of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. PTV supported the research and provided the microscopic traffic simulator VISSIM, which has proven to have all the characteristics needed to simulate the schemes under study. Data and interviews were collected in 4 rural towns, focusing in particular on Sherburn in Elmet (Yorkshire) where traffic calming measures were planned at the end of ’99. The collaboration TORG-PTV has also produced EnvPro, a ‘C’ program to estimate noise and pollution from step-by-step information on position, speed, and acceleration as generated by the simulator. In terms of pollution, the program estimates CO, CO2, NOx, HC, Fuel consumption and particulate matters using both the MODEM model created at the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) and a model developed during the EU project QUARTET. Furthermore, EnvPro estimates sound pressure levels at user-defined positions in the network, thus assessing the noise impact of the schemes. The costs associated to traffic calming impose to make choices on where and how much to invest. No off-the-shelf solutions exist, though, to tackle speed, accidents and disturbance caused by traffic in residential areas. The research carried out aimed at providing an aid for those involved in the decision process. The approach and results obtained could also be used to extend the current COBA-based economic analysis.
Biography:
Jessica Anderson joined JMP Consultants Ltd in October 1999 after ten years as a Senior Research Associate in the Transport Operations Research Group (TORG) at Newcastle University. She is based in the firm’s Newcastle upon Tyne office working on a variety of transport projects including the Yorkshire Driver Information System, the Almondsbury Area Rapid Transit Study and the Sheffield Supertram Extension. The latter two projects are concerned with the assessment of the impact of proposed light rapid transit schemes on the existing road networks, by micro-simulation techniques.
Caroline Shield joined JMP in May 2000. Prior to this she gained several
years experience of transport telematics (covering road user charging, public
transport, demand management and smartcard technology) and transport modelling
at the Transport Operations Research Group of the University of Newcastle upon
Tyne. Based in JMP’s Newcastle upon Tyne Office, she is working on a range of
telematics and modelling based transport projects. These have included
development of micro-simulation models for the Sheffield Supertram Extension
Feasibility Study and the Almondsbury Area Rapid Transit Study.
Summary:
This paper outlines one current and one recent project in JMP in which VISSIM has been used to assess the impact of Light Rapid Transit (LRT). As part of the ongoing Almondsbury Area Rapid Transit Study for South Gloucestershire Council, JMP is developing and assessing junction designs for a five-arm roundabout. Addition of the LRT through the junction implied a radical redesign of the junction into a signalised junction. A preliminary design was developed with the aid of TRANSYT, using AM and PM peak flows. Comments from the Client revealed some concerns; in particular no allowance being made for the impact of LRT on the capacity of the junction and that the analysis revealed that the critical link would frequently be blocked. A VISSIM model was therefore built of the junction, to demonstrate to the Client how the proposed design might work in practice. VISVAP was used to develop the signal control logic. JMP has used VISSIM to assess two route options for the extension of the Sheffield Supertram system for the South Yorkshire PTE. As part of this study a set of three models were developed to represent the current situation and two future tram extension options. The models encompass two arterial roads, local traffic for hospitals and Sheffield University and include several public transport routes. The tram extension models incorporated additional UTC signalised junctions and changes to the existing signals to allow tram priority. The models each have in the order of 200 links and 300 connectors and represent an area with approximately 12 main junctions.
Biography:
Ken Fox is a senior consultant in the Halcrow Leeds office. He has a PhD and a BSc (First Class Honours) in Applied Mathematics from Queen Mary College, University of London. He joined Halcrow in October 2000. Prior to that, for eight years he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS), University of Leeds. His first job at ITS was partner manager of the EC funded PRIMAVERA project, which developed and assessed integrated traffic management strategies for urban arterial roads. Further EC funded projects followed including the CLAIRE/SAVE (developing an artificial intelligence supervisor for a SCOOT system), CAPTURE (investigating factors that effect modal shift) and SMARTEST (enhancing road traffic micro-simulation models) projects. He was the main researcher on an EPSRC project that studied the influence of flow variability on the benefits achievable with a SCOOT traffic control system. He recently worked on the DETR funded UTMC01 project, where he used the AIMSUN2 micro-simulation model and the SATURN assignment model to help develop and assess a variety of new public transport priority strategies. He has used his software engineering expertise to help with the development of a Windows version of the SATURN suite of programs, using Salford FORTRAN and ClearWin+. Before joining ITS he worked for six years for EASAMS Ltd, a company specialising in systems analysis, mainly in the defence sector. His work included the development of large computer simulation models. Prior to joining EASAMS, he worked for three years as a post-doctoral research assistant studying solar system dynamics, publishing over twenty research papers, including one in Nature. His current areas of expertise include micro-simulation modelling of traffic, public transport priority systems, urban traffic management and control, web site design and mathematical modelling.
Summary
In
this presentation I hope to share my experiences of using VISSIM’s dynamic
assignment facility. The dynamic assignment facility is a fairly new addition
to VISSIM and there are relatively few users with experience of its use. VISSIM
was recently used to study traffic problems in the town of Castle Morpeth in
Northumberland. In common with many towns in the UK, the network studied has a
number of roundabouts, mini-roundabouts and signalised junctions. In carrying
out the study a number of problems were encountered in modelling these features
with VISSIM, particularly when modelled in conjunction with the dynamic
assignment facility. These problems will be presented, along with the attempts
to solve them. A satisfactory solution was eventually discovered and this will
also be presented.