Dynamic Traffic Assignment Simulation-Based Method to Evaluate Potential Polices to Alleviate Urban Traffic

Explosive population growth in urban areas increases traffic on already congested highways, particularly during rush hours. To tackle this type of issue, transportation agencies need to evaluate various countermeasures preferably with a tool designed to evaluate the impact of each potential policy. This work describes the design of a dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) simulation-based model to evaluate different polices for alleviating urban congestion. The DTA model was based on data extracted from an already existing static regional traffic demand model. The static model provided travel demand data and the network geometry. The Austin metropolitan area was used to test the traffic impact of two polices: (1) removing the tolls from nearby alternate highways to hopefully attract travelers using the overburdened main urban highway corridor; and (2) adding capacity to the existing main urban highway corridor. Results, including systemwide, corridor, and link levels, show that removing the tolls from the selected highway can reduce the total system travel time, but it is not an ideal solution for the urban traffic because the toll roads are too far away from the urban area to be a justified alternative for the urban travelers, supported by the results from the corridor and link levels. On the other hand, adding extra capacity on existing congested highway does attract more users and ultimately negates the benefit of the additional capacity. In addition, passenger cars and trucks behave differently under different polices.