Strategies for the reduction of vehicular conflicts in urban areas with great commercial activity through the use of simulation models

Abstract

One of the main problems that occur due to poor planning of the infrastructure in a city is the diversification of the areas destined for commerce. The different activities and overcrowding of users in these areas directly affect the operational behavior of the roads due to the multiple conflicts that are generated between vehicle-vehicle and vehicle-pedestrian, in addition to increasing the probability of accidents. In Peru, the Panamericana highway is an important trunk road that connects various coastal cities in the country, including the district of Lambayeque. Here a great commercial and financial activity is developed that generates conflicts between the users who travel through the Panamericana. Many times these conflicts end in traffic accidents that put the safety of all people at risk. The objective of this research is to evaluate the implementation of strategies for the reduction of vehicular conflicts in a road section of the Panamericana in Lambayeque, through a microsimulation model in the PVT VISSIM program. The results showed that by incorporating actuated pedestrian traffic lights, a 55% reduction in total conflicts present in the study area was achieved. Also, by evaluating the probability of accidents, extreme risk conflicts can be reduced by 82% and high risk conflicts by 49%.