Development of a micro scale simulation model of traffic flow on a selected section of Pembina Highway in the city of Winnipeg

Abstract

One of the main problems facing transportation planners in large urban centres today is that of coping with the existing road systems. Very few are the instances when a city can afford to destroy the old road system and its immediate environment to clear a path for a new transportation belt in a congested or semi-congested area of the city. Planners must instead find the optimal manner of using the present road system and, if necessary, expanding the road in a manner involving the least cost for the maximum benefits. Due to the financial contraints imposed on city budgets, the planners must only implement changes which have a guaranteed beneficial effect. A simulation model can aid in the planning of these changes by implementing the changes in a computer run and studying the resulting congestion. Whether the changes be ones of varying the existing signal lengths or adding a lane to the road, the model is a more economical manner of studying the effects of change rather than by real life implementation.