Analysis of road urban transport network capacity through a dynamic assignment model: Validation of different measurement methods

Abstract

Network capacity in a transportation system becomes an important measurement for transport planning and management because it addresses its capability to satisfy an efficient network traffic flow reducing the inefficiency of congestion phenomena. This work provides a discussion of road urban transport network capacity including existing definitions in literature and the validation of new measurement methods. The study explores some of the properties of network-wide traffic flow relationships in a large-scale complex urban street network using real-time simulated results obtained from a dynamic traffic assignment model, periodically updated by data from radar sensors through rolling horizon technics. The basic variables used in the methodology, such as network flows and speeds, are characterized using a network model calibrated in the urban area of Catania (Italy). For a comprehensive yet simple analysis, equations and graphs are utilized to resume the obtained results related to different days and several time intervals of the day. This procedure proved to be suitable to investigate the properties of network-level traffic flow relationships and concluding remarks include suggestions for further research in this highly promising area.