Evaluation of Operational Improvement Strategies to Reduce Congestion on Urban Corridors

School of Civil Chemical & Environmental Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Abstract

In recent years, traffic congestion has become a major problem in transport networks particularly in peak periods. The congestion problem has become worse in large cities, particularly in the CBDs over the last few decades and the problem intensifies every year. Traffic congestion results in longer travel times, larger delays, more fuel consumptions and more emission. Australian Bureau of infrastructure, transport and regional economics estimates that the avoidable social costs of congestion will be more than doubled in 2020. This research intends to propose a solution to reduce traffic congestion and consequently traffic delay for a congested corridor in Melbourne metropolitan area. To achieve this, a number of strategies are introduced and their influence in traffic congestion is evaluated. Dedicated bus /tram lane, Bus/tram stop location change, Parking restriction, Bicycle lane restriction, Passenger car movement restriction, Lane configuration Advanced Green Signal and Extended Green signal will be applied to reduce congestion strategies. The site selected for this research is a corridor from inner suburbs of Melbourne.