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.
