A Comparative Study Between Morning and Evening Traffic Flow at a Major Arterial Road Section in New Delhi

Abstract

Arterial roads in metropolitan cities are needed to provide flexible movement of traffic even during peak hours. It is very important to understand the realistic traffic flow behaviour on major arterial roads in cities. These help in the operation, planning and management to obtain the desired level of service on these roads. Traffic volume studies are conducted in order to determine the quantity, movements, and classifications of roadway vehicles at a given road section. They play a vital role in determining the existing traffic conditions and to calculate traffic volume capacity of the given road section.

Traffic volume study can be defined as the total number of vehicles passing a given section of road or traffic lane per unit time but expressing traffic volume like that would be extraneous when the traffic stream is heterogeneous or it contains vehicles with different static and dynamic characteristics. This is addressed by converting different types of vehicle into passenger cars equivalent & its volume can be expressed per Passenger Car Unit (PCU) per hour as specified by IRC-106.

The present case study is a comparative study between morning and evening traffic flow streams on a major arterial 6 Lane - 2 way carriageway. This study will help us give insight on morning and evening peak hours and the maximum traffic volume which can be expected on the considered road stretch further we can also determine the directional variation as well as the variation in vehicle composition during morning and evening periods which would aid in deciding a suitable signal system as well as with designing and future planning.