Resources

Research for this project identified and developed a range of traffic analysis software suitable for New Zealand use to evaluate urban road improvement schemes. Outputs of the models, in the form of traffic performance characteristics, are used to estimate expected economic benefits from alternative options for a road improvement scheme. This is to allow funding agencies to allocate resources rationally to competing projects.

Criteria were defined for evaluating existing traffic analysis software. Overseas and New Zealand software were then appraised, and detailed analysis of the selected software was conducted.

Research results summarise the analysis and evaluation of existing computer-based packages for intersections, arterial networks, motorways, small area networks and city-wide networks. They also summarise the in-depth investigations of existing models such as NETSIM and MULATM. A summary of theoretical work and accompanying references is given, together with an outline of the program MULDEL. This program was developed to estimate delay at a priority intersection based on the user optimal principle for lane choice.

Economic evaluation obtained from traffic models, including intersection, small area network and city-wide network models, as well as directions for future research required for intermeshing economic evaluation and traffic models are summarised.

Keywords:  Benefit:cost analysis, capacity analysis, computer packages, delay analysis, economic evaluation, NETSUM, MULATM, project evaluation, traffic, modelling, urban networks