Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Division of GeoEngineering Road and Traffic Research Group CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 Gothenburg, Sweden 2016 Road design analysis of Lindholmsallén in Gothenburg An evaluation with an in depth simulation using the software program VISSIM Master’s Thesis in the Master’s Programme Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering MATILDA BERG MÅRTENSSON JOHANNA FRIDH MASTER’S THESIS BOMX02-16-16 Road design analysis of Lindholmsallén in Gothenburg An evaluation with an in depth simulation using the software program VISSIM Master’s Thesis in the Master’s Programme Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering MATILDA BERG MÅRTENSSON JOHANNA FRIDH Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Division of GeoEngineering Road and Traffic Research Group CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Göteborg, Sweden 2016 I Road design analysis of Lindholmsallén in Gothenburg An evaluation with an in depth simulation using the software program VISSIM Master’s Thesis in the Master’s Programme Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering MATILDA BERG MÅRTENSSON JOHANNA FRIDH © MATILDA BERG MÅRTENSSON, JOHANNA FRIDH, 2016 Examensarbete BOMX02-16-16/ Institutionen för bygg- och miljöteknik, Chalmers tekniska högskola 2016 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Division of GeoEngineering Road and Traffic Research Group Chalmers University of Technology SE-412 96 Göteborg Sweden Telephone: + 46 (0)31-772 1000 Cover: Photograph of Lindholmsallén taken at the bus stop Pumpgatan by the authors of the report. Chalmers Reproservice Göteborg, Sweden, 2016 I Road design analysis of Lindholmsallén in Gothenburg An evaluation with an in depth simulation using the software program VISSIM Master’s thesis in the Master’s Programme Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering MATILDA BERG MÅRTENSSON JOHANNA FRIDH Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Division of GeoEngineering Road and Traffic Research Group Chalmers University of Technology ABSTRACT The city of Gothenburg is growing and it is important to develop a sustainable transport system in order for the city to improve further. This includes evaluating existing roads and their design. The aim for this report is to analyse the road design for the existing road Lindholmsallén and to see if it fulfils the goals that were set for the road during the planning stage. The analysis is divided into several parts to get a wide evaluation of the road. The first is interviews and an initial literature study to learn which goals that were set on the road and its design. A site investigation is also carried out and the last part is to perform a simulation, focusing on bus stop Regnbågsgatan, using the software program PTV VISSIM. From interviews it was found that the main goals were good accessibility for the public transport, safe crossings for the pedestrians and improved orientation in the area. The results from the different evaluations shows that there are no larger problems at Lindholmsallén. From the design evaluation it is found that the road in general is well designed with respect to the parameters traffic safety, accessibility, orientation and security. Comparing the results with the goals that were set, it is seen that the areas around bus stops Regnbågsgatan and Lindholmen fulfils the goals better than the areas around bus stop Pumpgatan. This mainly has to do with the simpler design of the latter. From the evaluation it is found that the high frequency of buses combined with the public transport priority are causing interruptions for the road traffic, which leads to longer queues and delays. The pedestrian crossings in the area are mostly fulfilling the goal regarding traffic safety. The exception is at bus stop Pumpgatan, where the pedestrians need to cross two car lanes. Furthermore, not all of the crossings at the street are combined with traffic calming measures. The orientation in the area have been improved compared to the old design. But the unusual design of Lindholmsallén can be confusing for road users who are unfamiliar to the road. Therefore, better information about the structure of the area should be provided by for example signs. Some simplifications and assumptions are made in the simulation that might have affected the result. Traffic violations such as pedestrians crossing the street when it is red light, is not included. The geometry of the road is also simplified, which might have affected the formation of queues and the amount of conflicts. Key words: Road design analysis, PTV VISSIM, Traffic simulation, Boulevard, Lindholmsallén. II Analys av vägdesign för Lindholmsallén i Göteborg En utvärdering med en fördjupande simulering med hjälp av mjukvaruprogrammet VISSIM Examensarbete inom masterprogrammet Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering MATILDA BERG MÅRTENSSON JOHANNA FRIDH Institutionen för bygg- och miljöteknik Avdelningen för Geologi och geoteknik Väg och trafik Chalmers tekniska högskola SAMMANFATTNING Göteborgs stad växer och det är viktigt att sträva mot ett hållbart trafiksystem för att fortsätta utveckla staden. Detta inkluderar utveckling av befintliga vägar och dess utformning. Syftet med rapporten är att analysera vägdesignen för den befintliga vägen Lindholmsallén för att utreda huruvida den uppfyller målen som ställdes när den planerades. Analysen är uppdelad i flera delar för att få en bred utvärdering av vägen. Den första delen består av intervjuer och en litteraturstudie för att undersöka vägens utformning samt vilka mål som sattes vid planeringen. Även en fältundersökning utfördes och som en sista del också en simulering med fokus på busshållplatsen Regnbågsgatan, med hjälp av programmet PTV VISSIM. Från intervjuer framgick att huvudmålen vid utformning av vägen var att prioritera framkomligheten för kollektivtrafiken, ha hög trafiksäkerhet för fotgängare som ska korsa vägen samt öka orienterbarheten. Resultaten från utvärderingarna tyder på att det inte finns några större problem på Lindholmsallén. Genom utvärderingen av gatans utformning framgår det att den är bra utformad med avseende på parametrarna trafiksäkerhet, framkomlighet, orienterbarhet och trygghet. När resultaten jämförs med målen som sattes observerades att delarna kring Regnbågsgatans och Lindholmens busshållplats uppfyller målen bättre än delarna kring Pumpgatans hållplats. Detta beror till största del på den lägre standarden på den senare. Utvärderingen visar att bussarnas höga turtäthet i kombination med prioriteringen av kollektivtrafik orsakar störningar i biltrafiken, vilket leder till längre köer och förseningar. Övergångsställena i området uppfyller till största del målen om trafiksäkerhet för fotgängare. Ett undantag är vid busshållplatsen Pumpgatan där gående behöver korsa två körfält. Dessutom är inte alla övergångsställen på vägen försedda med hastighetsdämpande åtgärder. Orienterbarheten i området har förbättrats jämfört med den tidigare utformningen av vägen. Den annorlunda utformningen av Lindholmsallén kan dock vara svår att förstå för trafikanter som är ovana till området. Därför behövs bättre information om områdets struktur genom till exempel skyltar. Ett antal antaganden och förenklingar har gjorts i simuleringen som kan ha påverkat resultatet. Vissa trafikförseelser som fotgängare som går mot rött har inte inkluderats i modellen. Vägens geometri har också förenklats, vilket kan ha påverkat köbildningen och antalet konflikter. Nyckelord: Analys av vägdesign, PTV VISSIM, Trafiksimulering, Boulevard, Lindholmsallén CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 III Contents ABSTRACT I SAMMANFATTNING II CONTENTS III PREFACE VII 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Aim 2 1.3 Hypothesis 2 1.4 Limitations 2 1.5 Method 3 1.5.1 Interviews 3 1.5.2 Traffic safety statistics 4 1.5.3 Design evaluation 4 1.5.4 Simulation 5 2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION 6 2.1 The history of Lindholmen 6 2.2 The creation of Lindholmsallén 7 2.2.1 Goals 8 2.2.2 Future 10 2.3 The design of Lindholmsallén 11 2.4 Bus stops 12 2.4.1 Pumpgatan 12 2.4.2 Regnbågsgatan 12 2.4.3 Lindholmen 13 2.5 Traffic safety statistics 14 3 EVALUATION OF LINDHOLMSALLÉN 16 3.1 Design parameters 16 3.1.1 Traffic safety 16 3.1.2 Accessibility 18 3.1.3 Orientation 20 3.1.4 Security 21 3.2 Design criteria 24 3.3 Design evaluation 26 3.3.1 Pumpgatan 26 3.3.2 Regnbågsgatan 28 3.3.3 Lindholmen 29 CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 IV 3.3.4 Visualisation of evaluation result 31 4 SIMULATION 33 4.1 Method and work process 33 4.1.1 Data collection 33 4.1.2 Building the base model 35 4.1.3 Verification, Calibration and Validation 36 4.1.4 Simulation 37 4.2 Assumptions and simplifications in the simulation 37 4.2.1 Geometry 38 4.2.2 Traffic characteristics 38 4.2.3 Routes 39 4.3 Collected data 41 4.3.1 Pedestrians 42 4.3.2 Cyclists 43 4.3.3 Public transport 44 4.3.4 Road traffic 44 4.4 Model design 45 4.4.1 Geometry 46 4.4.2 Route distribution 50 4.5 Simulation result 51 4.5.1 Pedestrian result 51 4.5.2 Cyclists result 53 4.5.3 Public transport result 54 4.5.4 Road traffic result 55 5 EVALUATION RESULT 59 5.1 Good accessibility for public transport 59 5.2 Safe crossings for pedestrians 60 5.3 Improved orientation 63 5.4 Traffic prognosis 63 6 DISCUSSION 64 6.1 Method 64 6.1.1 Design evaluation 64 6.1.2 Simulation 64 6.2 The simulation program, VISSIM 66 6.3 Further studies 68 7 CONCLUSION 69 REFERENCES 70 CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 V APPENDIX 1 – LOCAL PLAN FOR LINDHOLMSALLÉN 73 APPENDIX 2 – EVALUATION RESULT 74 APPENDIX 3 – DATA COLLECTION 77 APPENDIX 4 – SIGNAL CONTROL 86 APPENDIX 5 – MODEL SETTINGS IN VISSIM 90 APPENDIX 6 – ROUTE DISTRIBUTION 93 CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 VI CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 VII Preface In this report, the road design of Lindholmsallén in Gothenburg have been analysed, with an in depth evaluation using the microscopic traffic simulation software PTV VISSIM. This Master Thesis is conducted at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, at Chalmers University of Technology, in collaboration with Norconsult AB. The study has been carried out by the authors Matilda Berg Mårtensson and Johanna Fridh between January and June 2016, with the support from the supervisor Claes Johansson at the Road and Traffic Research Group at Chalmers University of Technology. Valuable support has also been received from Anders Markstedt and Gunnar Lannér, from the same research group. We would like to thank the people working at the divisions Trafik and Väg- & Järnvägsteknik at Norconsult AB for supporting us and contributing to a good workplace. A special thanks to our supervisor Johan Hultman, your guidance and experience have been very helpful throughout the project. Finally, we would like to thank interviewed Jöran Bellman and Lars Hansson for their valuable information. We also want to thank our opponents Camilla Gustafsson and Annamaria Haag for their input and for a good opposition. Gothenburg, June 2016 Matilda Berg Mårtensson & Johanna Fridh CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 1 1 Introduction Traffic and transport systems has become a large and important part of the society. Thus, it is of interest to design and plan the traffic in a smart and sustainable way. Today there exists good and developed analytical methods that are quick and reliable to use in order to evaluate the traffic situation, by determining for example the capacity and accessibility for different traffic solutions (Trafikverket, 2014a). One specific tool that can be used when evaluating traffic sites is traffic simulations. The benefit with using simulations is that you can, using a computer, implement controlled experiments for different cases. Simulation models are effective for analysing the dynamics of how traffic situations evolve and also to see how different parts of the traffic network are affected by each other during congestion. It is also a good tool for visualising different traffic situations. 1.1 Background Gothenburg is a growing city with more and more people transporting themselves in and out of the city every day (Göteborgs Stad, 2015a). Today, several initiatives are made to improve the traffic situation in Gothenburg to make it possible to face the future in a sustainable way. One of the important parts in this is to further develop the public transport. It is therefore of interest to look at existing roads and to see if they fit a more sustainable approach. One road that is located on Hisingen in Gothenburg is Lindholmsallén, its position shown in Figure 1. This road is important for the traffic on Hisingen since it belong to the public transport core network (Västra Götaland Region, u.d.). Lindholmsallén is designed as a boulevard with the public transport situated in the middle of the road, with lanes for the remaining modes of traffic on either side. Along the boulevard there are three bus stops named Pumpgatan, Regnbågsgatan and Lindholmen. Figure 1 The location of Lindholmsallén in Gothenburg, marked in blue (OpenStreetMap contributors, 2016). CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 2 Lindholmsallén has a design which differs from others by having U-turns for crossing traffic instead of normal intersections. Together with the placement of the public transport in the centre of the road, it is of interest to see how well this design works. An evaluation of the road Lindholmsallén and all the transport modes operating here is therefore performed. This will be done to investigate whether the goals that were set on the road when planning it are fulfilled today. The investigation will also include an in depth evaluation of a selected area around bus stop Regnbågsgatan, where a simulation of the site will be made. Today, some problem areas have been identified on Lindholmsallén and it is relevant to see how severe these problems actually are. This will include investigating how much it affects the traffic in the area and if the design of the road is the underlying cause of these problems. There are many people travelling to and from the areas around Lindholmsallén every day, especially using public transport. This means that there are large flows of pedestrians coming from the busses, which causes interruptions for the other traffic modes when they cross the bus, car and bicycle lanes. Hence, there are many interactions and interruptions among all the different traffic modes in the area, which could affect both the safety and efficiency for the travellers. 1.2 Aim The aim of the report is to investigate the road design of Lindholmsallén in order to see if it fulfils the goals that were set for when planning the project. This includes evaluating the traffic safety, accessibility, orientation and security of the road. The investigation will be focusing primarily on the pedestrians but the other modes of transport will also be considered. An in depth investigation using the simulation software VISSIM will also be carried out, focusing on the area around the bus stop Regnbågsgatan. 1.3 Hypothesis In order to describe and elaborate the aim of the report further, a number of questions have been developed. These will be answered during the work process and will also contribute to the analysis. The questions are the following: - Which were the goals and objectives for the road design of Lindholmsallén? - How is the traffic site structured and designed? - How large quantity of every mode of transport are operating in the area? - How do the road users behave in this traffic site? - Are the goals that were set fulfilled? 1.4 Limitations The investigation will primarily be focused on the pedestrians and secondarily on the public transport since these traffic modes stands for the largest modal share of the traffic on this road. All the transport modes operating on the road will be taken into account, but not with the same grade of detail. No categorisation of the CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 3 transport modes has been done. The road traffic does for example include cars, trucks and motorcycles. Further on, the project will evaluate the full extent of Lindholmsallén. A part of the project will focus on the bus stop Regnbågsgatan and it is only on this specific part that the simulation will be performed. This is because it would be too complex and time consuming to look at the whole Lindholmsallén in detail. Also, focusing on one of the three bus stops will give results that are representative for the full extent of Lindholmsallén, since all parts of the road have a similar design. The investigation will also be limited to the current traffic situation. Therefore, it will not include future projects and also not take past traffic flows on the road into consideration. The study will focus on the peak hour of the traffic in the morning, due to that the problems are believed to be worst during this time of the day. It is also assumed that the peak hour during the afternoon essentially has the same volume of traffic as the morning and that it is only of interest to look at one of the peaks. The peak hour is assumed to be at the weekdays, thus the weekends will not be taken into account. In the process of building the model and performing the simulation of the selected area there are a number of assumptions and simplifications done. These are essential to limit the extent of the project. But it was also because some information was not possible to obtain. The assumptions and simplifications that are connected to the simulation is presented in detail in Chapter 4. 1.5 Method Several procedures were used in this report to be able to reach the aim of this project. These methods are presented below in this chapter, in the order that they were conducted. First, to get a background and better understanding of the location being evaluated, two interviews and an initial literature study was made. This was followed by a site investigation to get a better understanding of the traffic situation on the road and also to check if the information that was received corresponds with the reality. The last part was a simulation on one of the three evaluated parts of the road. This was done to get an in depth look at the traffic situation and a detailed visualisation of the eventual problems on the road. The results from these different parts of the analysis was combined and evaluated in Chapter 5. There the different goals that where set for Lindholmsallén when planning it are presented. With the help of the result from the different part of this report these goals was analysed to see if they are fulfilled today. 1.5.1 Interviews To get a better understanding of the ideas behind this traffic solution and to comprehend the goals for this traffic site two qualitative interviews were carried out. The interviewees are former employees at the City Planning Authority of Gothenburg who worked with the planning and design of Lindholmsallén. The interviews were preceded by a literature study concerning Lindholmsallén and the surrounding areas. This was done in order to decide what information that CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 4 would be of interest to get through the interviews. The questions were focused on the reasons behind the design of the boulevard and what goals that was to be achieved. Furthermore, questions regarding the goals of the design of the bus stops along Lindholmsallén were also asked. The information gathered from the interviews were complemented by materials in the form of comprehensible plans and programs for the area. The local plans for different sections of Lindholmsallén were also studied to get an overview of the stages of the construction of the road. 1.5.2 Traffic safety statistics Another method used to get a better understanding of the traffic situation on Lindholmsallén was by studying traffic accident statistics in the area. This study was done using the database STRADA (Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition), which includes statistics consisting of reports of traffic accidents that are collected from the police and hospitals in Sweden (Transportstyrelsen, u.d.). To get a more detailed traffic accident investigation, Lindholmsallén was divided into three areas. These areas cover the surroundings of the three bus stops located on the road. The investigation was limited to the years between 2005 and 2014. This period was chosen because all parts of the road was not finished constructing until 2005 and all traffic accidents for 2015 may not have been reported at the time of writing. 1.5.3 Design evaluation Another aspect that was studied is how the design of Lindholmsallén corresponds with the parameters regarding traffic safety, accessibility, orientation and security. The evaluation was focused on the areas around the three bus stops and was done in order to compare the bus stops to each other. When combined, the three separate areas cover most of Lindholmsallén and thus can be used together to get a good overview of the traffic situation on the road. This contributed to the general understanding of how the street works. The parameters that were used in the evaluation of the design were based on the manual by the Swedish Transport Administration called TRAST (Transport for an Attractive City). It was modified to suit this site and the extent of the investigation. This was followed by a literature study were the parameters were studied further to decide which criteria to be used in the comparisons. The number of criteria for each parameter and mode of transport was limited to five and were not weighted against each other. The evaluation was carried out by investigations on the site where the three areas was separately rated regarded how well the criteria were fulfilled. These ratings were then summarised and presented in two value diagrams. One is showing the total rating of the different parameters to be able to see if some parameter is better or worse than another. The other diagram shows the results but summarised into the different modes of transport. Thus resulting in two evaluations for each area: CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 5 how well it fulfils the chosen parameters and how well the different modes of transport operate in this specific area. 1.5.4 Simulation A traffic microsimulation was carried out to study the traffic situation and to visualise the site in a better way. The simulation software PTV VISSIM 7.00-15 was used together with the additional program VISWALK, which focuses on pedestrians. The area that was simulated is located in the middle of Lindholmsallén, marked in Figure 2. This area was chosen both because it contains elements that are assumed to be representative for the entire road. But also because a large share of the traffic flow connects to the roundabout in this area, from a nearby highway. The simulation area also included the bus stop called Regnbågsgatan, located in the central part of the area, and the surrounding roads, pedestrian and bicycle paths. The simulation was done in order to distinguish what the problems are and their extent. The simulation and investigations required to accomplish this part is a large share of the entire project. Further on, the theories and processes in VISSIM are complex and will need a more detailed description. Thus an in depth presentation of the method and assumptions for this part are presented in Chapter 4. Figure 2 Map showing the locations of the three bus stops and also marks the simulation area (OpenStreetMap contributors, 2016). Pumpgatan Regnbågsgatan Lindholmen CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 6 2 Background information Lindholmen is situated at southern Hisingen, an island located on the north-west side of the river Göta älv in Gothenburg. The area is a part of Norra Älvstranden which, except for Lindholmen, consists of the areas Färjenäs, Eriksberg, Sannegården, Lundbyvass and Frihamnen, located as presented in Figure 3. Placed strategically at the central parts of Gothenburg, Norra Älvstranden is an area that is currently developing from originally being a pronounced industrial area to becoming an area with a mixture of both residential buildings and companies (Göteborgs Stad, 2012). Figure 3 Map showing the areas of Norra Älvstranden (OpenStreetMap contributors, 2016). Today, Lindholmen consists of mostly companies and industries (Älvstranden Utveckling, n.d. a). The large amount of workplaces and schools have led to that around 20 000 people travels to Lindholmen every day (Älvstranden Utveckling, n.d. b). The number of residential buildings are comparably low. In total, there are around 3000 residents in the area and a considerable amount of these are students (Göteborgs Stad, 2015b). 2.1 The history of Lindholmen Historically, Gothenburg have always had a large and successful harbour with three shipyards, located on Norra Älvstranden (Göteborgs Stad Stadsbyggnadskontoret, 1999). Closest to the city the largest of the shipyards, Götaverket, was established in 1867. For 75 years the company was dominant and during their peak they had around 5 900 employees. The two other shipyards in the area, Lindholmen and Eriksberg, started around year 1850. The shipyards were growing and during the 1900s they were three of the largest shipyards in the world (Älvstranden Utveckling AB & Göteborgs Stad Stadsbyggnadskontoret, 2009). During this time Gothenburg also developed into Scandinavia's most important port. Due to several factors and changing circumstances the shipyards CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 7 were closed down in the 1970s and Norra Älvstranden was successively emptied from activities. Following this the two largest landowners in the area, the municipality of Gothenburg and Svenska Varv AB, the state company that took over all assets of the shipyards, started a project where they developed a vision for the redevelopment of the Norra Älvstranden (Älvstranden Utveckling AB & Göteborgs Stad Stadsbyggnadskontoret, 2009). The vision’s first step was to once again have full employment in the area. Gradually the area of Norra Älvstranden was revitalised and a mix of businesses, housing, education, science and culture moved in to the old shipyard buildings. In the late 1990s the focus was on the central parts of the area. A new entrance to the once again established area was needed and the traffic going to the site needed to be managed in a better way. Thus the planning of a large boulevard lined with linden trees was started, called Lindholmsallén. A boulevard with possibility for both road traffic and public transport as well as pedestrian and bicycle paths. The construction was completed in 2002, and in 2003 the entire separated public transport lane going through Norra Älvstranden was opened. 2.2 The creation of Lindholmsallén The idea of having a wide street through Lindholmen where all traffic modes are operating was first described in the outline to the comprehensible plan for Norra Älvstranden made 1987 by the City Planning Authority of Gothenburg (Göteborgs Stad Stadsbyggnadskontoret, 1987). The idea was to make an esplanade with the shape of a boulevard in which trams were placed in the middle, and with lanes for the other traffic modes placed on either side. The outline was followed by the comprehensible plan for Norra Älvstranden, which were released 1989. However, since the recession in the beginning of 1990s stopped the construction and planning of new projects, the suggestions for the street in the comprehensible plan were not realised (Norra Älvstranden Utveckling AB & Göteborgs Stad Stadsbyggnadskontoret, 2001). The plans to make the boulevard were continued when the new municipally owned company Älvstranden Utveckling AB together with the City Planning Authority made a program for the Lindholmen area. The program, created in 1999, describes Lindholmsallén for the first time. Two existing buildings in the area, the old machine workshop M2 and the former office of Götaverken, were used as a base for the width of the boulevard, making the total span for the road 80 meters. The extent of the road and the location of the two buildings are displayed in Figure 4 . According to the local plan for Lindholmsallén, the estimated amount of traffic on the road when Norra Älvstranden was fully built was calculated to be between 8 000 and 12 000 vehicles per day in the south parts. In the north parts of the boulevard they were projected to be 23 000 vehicles per day. CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 8 Figure 4 The extent of Lindholmsallén, the marked buildings is the old machine workshop M2 (bottom) and the office building (top), which were used to decide the width of the road (OpenStreetMap contributors, 2016). The ideas for Lindholmsallén were not definite and an architect competition was held to decide the final design. The chosen entry was similar to the proposal made in the plan and was, according to Jöran Bellman 1, former architect at the City Planning Authority of Gothenburg, a confirmation that the design was suitable for the area. The local plan for Lindholmsallén was approved 2001 and the construction of the main part of the road was finished 2002 (Älvstranden Utveckling AB & Göteborgs Stad Stadsbyggnadskontoret, 2009). The north end of the road was not fully completed at this time. It was not until around 2005, when the new intersection connecting the highway to Lindholmsallén was built, that the road could be finalised. A map showing the stretch of Lindholmsallén from the local plan is presented in Appendix 1. The local plan is also displaying a suggestion for the construction of the final north part of the road. However, the final design does not entirely look like the suggestion. Bus stop Pumpgatan was for example not included from the beginning. The total cost for the first part of the project was 115 million SEK (Norra Älvstranden Utveckling AB & Göteborgs Stad Stadsbyggnadskontoret, 2001). 2.2.1 Goals According to Lars Hansson2, who worked with strategic traffic issues at the City Planning Authority of Gothenburg, Lindholmsallén was designed with two criteria in mind. The first was to prioritise the accessibility for the public transport. Lanes for public transport were placed in the middle of the road to reduce the conflicts with connecting roads and other traffic modes. The other criterion was to have safe passages for pedestrians across the road. This was done by designing the street so that the roundabout and the U-turn intersections create a section where the road traffic are only on one lane, see Figure 5. At these parts the bus stops are placed and thus the pedestrians just have to cross one lane of traffic, which enhances the traffic safety. In the local plan for Lindholmsallén it was stated that 1 Jöran Bellman (Former architect at the City Planning Authority of Gothenburg) interviewed by the authors 4 February 2016. 2 Lars Hansson (Senior adviser, Sweco) interviewed by the authors 5 February 2016. Lilla Karlavagnsgatan CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 9 the crossings along the street would be elevated to limit the speed of the road traffic to 30 km/h (Göteborgs Stad Stadsbyggnadskontoret, 2001). Figure 5 The design of the road and lanes in detail, showing the area around bus stop Regnbågsgatan. The road traffic lanes are drawn with solid lines while the walkways and cycle paths are drawn with dark dashed lines. The squares show where the crossings are located (OpenStreetMap contributors, 2016). It was also of importance that the orientation in the area would be improved. The purpose of Lindholmsallén was to simplify the structure in the area, making it easier for travellers to orientate themselves. According to Bellman3 the reason to why the road was made so wide and big was to make it clearer for people who arrived to the area. Before, the area consisted of many both large and small streets and it was hard to locate yourself and to find your destination. Therefore, Lindholmsallén was designed to increase the simplicity of the area’s structure, with a larger road in the middle and smaller connecting roads that led down to the water. The aim of the road was to distribute the traffic within the area, and it would not be a street with much through traffic. Today, the boulevard is bordered on both sides by decorative orange pillars. According to Hansson4, an idea from the beginning was that these would include street names to simplify the orientation in the area. However, the pillars ended up to have a mostly decorative purpose. Only the pillars placed in connection to larger entrances to the road have the writing Lindholmen on them. Lindholmsallén is designed to allow trams in the public transport section of the road in the future (Göteborgs Stad Trafikkontoret, 2015a). There was no timeframe set when this would be realised. It would instead be decided when the bus traffic had reached its full capacity. Today, one of the longest busses that is operating in Gothenburg, bus line 16, traffics the street. The bus line works much like the bus rapid transit (BRT) concept and it also has one of the highest frequencies in the city. According to public transport company Västtrafik5, the future plan is that this bus line will be made into a tram line instead. 3 Jöran Bellman (Former architect at the City Planning Authority of Gothenburg) interviewed by the authors 4 February 2016. 4 Lars Hansson (Senior adviser, Sweco) interviewed by the authors 5 February 2016 5 Västtrafik. Mail correspondence 9 May 2016 CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 10 According to both Bellman and Hansson the project ended up as planned and both the City Planning Authority and Älvstranden Utveckling were satisfied with the result. 2.2.2 Future The area of Norra Älvstranden is today an established part of Gothenburg, but there are still development opportunities available for the future (Älvstranden Utveckling, n.d. b). According to Älvstranden Utveckling the aim for the area is to have about 1 000 new residences and 2 000 new workplaces before the 400th anniversary of Gothenburg in the year 2021. The old shipyard called Lindholmen has today a new appearance, with a mixture of old shipyard buildings and new modern parts. The area is today called Lindholmshamnen and the plan for this district is to increase the number of residences and businesses in the near future. A vision for this area is showed in Figure 6. Around 450 new homes and 3 000 m2 of business space, together with a new preschool and a restaurant are some of the plans (Älvstranden Utveckling, n.d. a). Figure 6 Vision of the area Lindholmshamnen, also showing the cable cars (Göteborgs Stad Älvstaden, 2015). Another large project in the area that is in the planning phase is Karlavagnsplatsen (Älvstranden Utveckling, n.d. c). This district will have 15 new blocks containing a mixture of residences, offices, service and commercial areas. In total the plan is to build 2 000 new apartments at Karlavagnsplatsen. The plan is also to build the highest building in the Nordic countries in this area, called Karlatornet, with a height of 266 meters. The City´s upcoming 400th anniversary has resulted in many suggestions and ideas for the celebrations. One interesting plan is a cable car system across the river Göta älv (Göteborgs Stad, n.d.). This would act as a supplement to the public transport and a new comfortable way of crossing the river. It is a project that needs little space and with a relatively low operation cost. The first route of the CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 11 cable car is planned to be ready to the anniversary and would go between Järntorget on the south side of the river to Lindholmen in the north. This vision is also displayed in Figure 6 above. A consequence is that with the continuous development of Norra Älvstranden, with new residences and jobs, there is a risk that the amount of car traffic will increase significantly (Göteborgs Stad Trafikkontoret, 2013). Even if the public transport would be increased as well it could be difficult to get the necessary capacity. This is because the amount of new houses and workplaces is planned to be high and since the capacity today is already almost at its limit, it could result in a large increase in car travel compared to today. 2.3 The design of Lindholmsallén Lindholmsallén extends from the street Lundby Hamngata in the north-east to central Lindholmen in the south-west. Several smaller roads connect to the street, most of them leading to offices and schools in the area. The largest share of traffic connects to Lindholmsallén through a roundabout located near the bus stop Regnbågsgatan. This traffic is connecting from the highway Lundbyleden, which is passing close by. The speed regulation is 50km/h for the whole street but there are traffic calming measures in the form of level differences in connection to some of the crossings. Lindholmsallén is designed as a boulevard with the public transport placed in the middle and with lanes for the remaining modes of traffic on either side, see Figure 7. In this figure, the total width of 80 meters can be seen. The street has one-way road traffic that is separated from the public transport lanes by two rows of trees. Similarly, the separation between the car lanes and the cycle and pedestrian paths consists of one line of trees. The road traffic is distributed on two lanes, with the exception for the parts that lies between the U-turn intersections and roundabouts. In these sections it is only one lane. The paths for pedestrians and cyclists are located furthest away from the middle, with walkways and two-way cycle paths on both sides. The two traffic modes are separated with different types of surface material. The walkways are made of concrete tiles and the cycle paths are made of asphalt. The cycle paths are also marked with symbols in the ground. Figure 7 Cross section of Lindholmsallén (Göteborgs Stad Stadsbyggnadskontoret, 2001). CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 12 The cycle paths on Lindholmsallén are connected to the larger cycle path along the more trafficked road Hjalmar Brantingsgatan via the street Lundby Hamngata. From there it is possible to reach the city center of Gothenburg. The street is also a part of the public transport core network in Gothenburg and one of the core buses traffics the street (Västra Götaland Region, u.d.). 2.4 Bus stops There are three bus stops along the street of Lindholmsallén, shown earlier in Figure 2. They are placed at even intervals and they are all positioned in the bus file in the centre of the road. 2.4.1 Pumpgatan Bus stop Pumpgatan is located in the north parts of the street and is the smallest, as it is the stop that has fewest travellers among the three. The design of the stop is shown in Figure 8 and is simpler than the other two since it only has one place where the bus can stop in either direction. It also lacks signalised and marked crossings for the pedestrians. Figure 8 The design of the bus stop Pumpgatan (Photo by authors). 2.4.2 Regnbågsgatan Regnbågsgatan bus stop is placed in the middle of the stretch and its design is presented in Figure 9. It has more travellers than Pumpgatan bus stop and is consequently also designed for higher pedestrian flows. The stop has two places where the busses can stop in either direction. The place at the front is reserved for bus line 16, the line with the highest frequency in the area. Even though there are two places for the bus to stop, it is only one lane. This leads to that it is not possible for the bus behind to pass an eventual bus in the front. It is one signalised crossing on either side of the stop, leading to four possible entrances/exits. This bus stop and the area around it are also what is to be simulated in this report. CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 13 Figure 9 The design of the bus stop Regnbågsgatan (Photo by authors). 2.4.3 Lindholmen Placed at the south parts of the street, Lindholmen bus stop is the main stop in the area. It has a similar design to the Regnbågsgatan bus stop, with two places for the bus to stop on both sides. Due to the high number of schools and work places in the area, this stop has the highest pedestrian flows of the three bus stops at the street. When planning the area, the ambition was, according to Hansson6, to make Lindholmen bus stop even bigger and clearer since there are so many that are using the stop. There were for example plans to have a bigger roof on the bus shelters or to make a bigger built-in public transport hub. The plans were however not realised and the design were instead made similar to Regnbågsgatan, as seen in Figure 10. Figure 10 The design of the bus stop Lindholmen (Photo by authors). 6 Lars Hansson (Senior adviser, Sweco) interviewed by the authors 5 February 2016. CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 14 2.5 Traffic safety statistics In order to get an understanding of how the traffic safety situation is on Lindholmsallén, traffic accident statistics from STRADA have been studied. The timeframe was selected to be between 2005 and 2014, since the road was fully completed by 2005. The three areas that Lindholmsallén is divided into for this investigation is shown in Figure 11. As can be seen, these areas cover the surroundings of the three bus stops. The amount of traffic accidents during the studied period are too few to make it possible to draw any conclusions. However, some observations have been made from the material. The reports show that none of the accidents have been serious or fatal. The few amount of accidents gives an indication that the site is not prone to accidents. The statistics shows that some accidents happened on this road. Some of the accidents is more general, which means that this kind if accident can happen in other places. An example of this is an accident reported where a car drove into the rear of another car. But there are also accidents reported that are distinguished and linked to the design of the road. The first area, around the bus stop Pumpgatan, has few accidents reported during this timeframe. The small amount of reported accidents is not possible to associate with the design of the road. The third area is around the bus stop Lindholmen and Figure 11 Map showing the selected areas of Lindholmsallén used for the traffic safety analysis and evaluation of the design (OpenStreetMap contributors, 2016). CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 15 this part however has slightly more accidents and it is possible to distinguish a particular accident type that stands out. The bus stop Lindholmen in this area is larger than Pumpgatan and thus more people are moving on and around the bus stop. The type of accident that is distinguished here is collisions between motor vehicles and vulnerable road users. The area with the most conflicts reported is the second area, the one surrounding bus stop Regnbågsgatan. This site has just like area three accidents between vulnerable road users and motor vehicles reported, but also another type of accident is distinguished. Along the road Lindholmsallén there are crossing traffic, with several intersections between the bus lane in the middle of the road and the roundabout and U-turns with road traffic. In the intersections located in the area around Regnbågsgatan especially there are accidents reported between these crossing transport modes. Something noteworthy is that the reported accidents are only coming from the police and hospitals. This means that minor accidents, other conflicts and averted accidents does not exist in the statistics. Further on, accidents between vulnerable road users, for example cyclists and pedestrians, are much unrepresented in the statistics (SKL, 2009). Some of the single accidents for vulnerable road users may also be caused by that cyclists have to swerve for pedestrians or vice versa (SKL, 2010). Thus there could exist conflict-zones in these areas that are not detectable with the help of accident statistics. CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 16 3 Evaluation of Lindholmsallén Another way to describe the traffic situation on this specific site is by doing an evaluation on how well it fulfils several criteria. These criteria are guidelines on how a site should be designed and this evaluation is limited to four parameters: traffic safety, accessibility, orientation and security. The goal of the evaluation is to see how well the design of Lindholmsallén fulfils these parameters. In order to assess the full extent of the road it is divided into three parts, the same as the ones shown in Figure 11. In this way it will be possible to evaluate the three bus stops located on the road separately to see if any of them is better designed than another. It is also of interest to look at the different modes of transport that operate in the area. Thus the evaluation is divided into pedestrians, cyclists, public transport and road traffic. Therefore, the different transport modes are evaluated in different areas within the divided parts. For pedestrians and cyclists, the area evaluated are the pedestrian and cyclist paths respectively. For public transport not only the bus stop is assessed, but also the way to and from the bus stop that the travellers take. For road traffic, the streets and parking lots are evaluated. 3.1 Design parameters The parameters used in the evaluation are described in this chapter. Consideration was taken to the site and therefore only content relevant to Lindholmsallén in these parameters was included. For example, in traffic safety, to have a pedestrian and bicycle tunnel under the road are considered a safer option. But it is not relevant in this case because the evaluation is only for the existing road and is not considering alternative solutions. 3.1.1 Traffic safety It is important to strive for as good traffic safety as possible. Sweden has a zero vision which intends to increase the traffic safety so that no one should be killed or seriously injured in the traffic (Trafikverket, 2014b). One of the most important aspect of traffic safety is the speed (Trafikverket, 2015b). It is therefore of importance to make sure that the speed regulations are followed and to reduce the speed to 30-40 km/h at places where vulnerable road users are interacting with road traffic. Improvements in traffic safety will often increase the security, accessibility and health for all road users (Trafikverket, 2015a). 3.1.1.1 Pedestrians and cyclists The road users who often gets severe injuries in accidents are pedestrians and cyclists (Trafikverket, 2015b). The majority of these accidents are single accidents and out of these the most common for pedestrians are those caused by falling. It is therefore important that the roads are well maintained and that there are no obstacles in the way. Obstacles such as curb stones and obscuring bushes and other plants can increase the risk of accidents since they are blocking the view and the road users can collide or stumble on them (SKL, 2010). CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 17 For the traffic safety, the collision speed is the determining factor when it comes to how severe the accident will be (Trafikverket, 2015b). It is therefore important that the speed limits are followed. This is especially important where vulnerable road users and motor vehicles are interacting, such as crossings. In these zones it is recommended that the collision speed should be max 40 km/h, but preferably below 30 km/h. In areas where there are large flows of pedestrians and cyclists, the modes should be separated in a clear way (Trafikverket, 2015b). An example showing one way of separating pedestrians, cyclists and road traffic can be seen in Figure 12. It is also important that the areas that are used by vulnerable road users are well lit. Figure 12 A road design with separated traffic modes (Illustration by authors). 3.1.1.2 Public transport Bus stops are used by both pedestrians and cyclists. It is therefore important that the connecting roads and the stop itself are well maintained (SKL, 2010). The stop should be designed so that the traffic safety is prioritised (Trafikverket, 2015b) and so that the passing traffic have a speed below 30 km/h. This is also the case with traffic surrounding the bus stop. When people are moving to and from the stop it is important that the traffic that is crossed have low speed (SKL, 2009). A method to ensure this is to have traffic calming measures that will reduce the speed of the traffic and thus increase the traffic safety. One element of danger is when the traffic is passing a bus at the stop. The bus is then obstructing the view of the surrounding traffic and people coming from the bus is exposed to a risk. The bus stop itself should be designed to manage the amount of people that will accumulate at the stop (SKL, 2009). If there is not enough room on the platform there is a risk that people coming to and from the bus might be injured. It is also important that the lighting is good at the bus stop and surrounding areas so that the people waiting on the bus is seen by the busses and the traffic. According to SKL (2009), studies performed in Gothenburg have shown that it occurs four times more accidents in the areas where public transport operates compared to other CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 18 areas. It has also been shown that most pedestrian accidents take place close to bus stops. 3.1.1.3 Road traffic The design of the road is important for the traffic safety for the users of motor vehicles. In general, intersections with roundabouts have a higher traffic safety than those without (Trafikverket, 2015b). It is also better with only one lane in the roundabout. Furthermore, the risk for accidents is decreased if the intersection is regulated with traffic lights. Fixed obstacles such as trees and lamp posts can increase the severity of the accidents. Since the severity of the accident depends on the collision speed, it is essential that the speed regulations are followed (Trafikverket, 2015b). In areas where it is desirable to have low speeds, the through traffic should be steered away. Another way to decrease the speed is to have speed bumps in the road (SKL, 2009). This will mainly decrease the speed for those who drive fastest, which will reduce the speed distribution and thus also increase the traffic safety. Lighting is important, not only on the cars but the street lighting as well. This will help to detect other road users, pedestrians, cyclists and obstacles that might be on or close to the road (SKL & Trafikverket, 2013). 3.1.2 Accessibility A simple definition for an accessible transport structure is that the traffic system is designed so that the basic transport needs for citizens and businesses are satisfied (Trafikverket, 2015a). The accessibility should be equal for everyone and not take into account gender, age and different social groups. The individual road user’s capacity should also be taken into consideration. This means that children, elderly and people with disabilities need additional consideration. There are two important parts of accessibility: usability and mobility (Trafikverket, 2015b). Usability is a measure of the efficiency and satisfaction, based on the user's perspective. The concept of mobility is linked to the traffic capacity of the system. It describes the consumption of time, regarding the movement in the transport network for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users and car drivers, in relation to the expected time in the system. 3.1.2.1 Pedestrians and cyclists There are several criteria that affect the accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists in the traffic system. One thing that reduces the accessibility is different types of barriers (Trafikverket, 2015b). Examples of these are highly trafficked roads and railways that pedestrians and cyclists need to cross. This could contribute to multiple and long stops during one trip, which is not only disturbing but also time consuming for the travellers. This is connected to the next part of an accessible transport system – it should have continuity. The pedestrian and bicycle routes should run continuously through almost every part of the city. This could be done by having crosswalks and marked bicycle crossings, seen in Figure 13. CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 19 Furthermore, related to the accessibility for cyclists is the possibility for parking throughout the city. Figure 13 Crosswalk and marked bicycle crossing (Photo by authors). The pedestrian and bicycle roads should also have good standard to facilitate for all who travels on them, especially for elderly and people with reduced mobility (Trafikverket, 2015b). This means that maintenance and reparations of the roads is of importance. Particularly during the winter period, the accessibility could be lowered because of bad snow clearing and gritting of the roads. 3.1.2.2 Public transport The accessibility for public transport is mainly defined by the variations and number of routes and stops and by the frequency (Trafikverket, 2015b). It is also important to have good connections to the pedestrian and bicycle paths to support interchanges between transport modes. The maintenance of the bus stop and the connected paths is also important, especially during the winter period, to help both the bus and the travellers to reach and leave the bus stop. In the design of the transport system in the city it is important to consider the accessibility for people with reduced mobility and people in wheelchairs or similar (Trafikverket, 2015b). This is significant in public transport design, where the stops and vehicles should be designed to be accessible and handicap-friendly. This means that the curb stones at the stops should be high enough so that there are no height differences between the bus stop area and the bus floor (SKL, 2009). The vehicles and stops should be designed so that people in wheelchairs, or similar, easily can move on and off (Västtrafik, u.d.). This could mean ramps on the buses and space for these to be used at the stops. CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 20 3.1.2.3 Road traffic There are several aspects in the design of the roads that affect the accessibility for the road traffic (Trafikverket, 2015b). The capacity the road is designed for and the speed regulations influence the accessibility for the road users. Too low capacity can lead to congestions and thus lower accessibility. Measures like road tolls also adds a barrier in the trip. A continuous road network is, as well as for the rest of the transport modes, important and one should be able to easily move around to the different parts of the city (Trafikverket, 2015b). Furthermore, it is essential with parking possibilities for road traffic similarly as for cyclists. If a destination is absent of parking spaces one might not do the trip. Not only can the existence of the parking, but also the design itself affect the accessibility. A restriction of the allowed parking time and if there are fees for parking at specific places will influence the accessibility to this certain location. 3.1.3 Orientation In order for a city to be easily oriented some criteria should be fulfilled. Firstly, the city structure should be comprehensible and self-explanatory (Trafikverket, 2015b). Furthermore, the streets should have continuous guidance and easily understandable directions at major and important connection points. When planning an area, the road structure should also make use of natural landmarks to make it easier for the road users to orientate themselves. 3.1.3.1 Pedestrians and cyclists To simplify the orientation for visually impaired persons it is of importance that the boundaries between the walkways, cycle paths and the road are clearly perceptible and visible (Trafikverket, 2015c). For people who are blind, tactile tiles or other guide paths can make the orientation easier. The design of the light sources along the road is also of importance. The field of vision should not be disturbed by the light and the light sources should be designed so that the directions and entrances into surrounding streets are clarified. Furthermore, they should be used in a way to increase the understanding of the surrounding for people with reduced mobility or orientation capacity. It is also of importance that there are clear directions to where to park your bicycle (Göteborgs Stad Trafikkontoret, 2006). 3.1.3.2 Public transport It is of importance that the public transport stops provide the travellers with necessary information about the trip. At the stops there should be details about schedules and bus routes. It should also be possible to access the information for both those who are standing, sitting in a wheelchair and for people with impaired vision (Vägverket, 2004). Additional information that makes the trips more comprehensible are guidance for exchanges, real-time data for the following buses and information about eventual delays or disturbances. Further on, it is important that blind and visually impaired people also can orient themselves to, from and at CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 21 the bus stops. It is therefore important to have tactile tiles or other guide paths here as well (Trafikverket, 2015c). An example of a bus stop with tactile tiles can be seen in Figure 14. Figure 14 Tactile tiles at a bus stop. The white stones at the edge are in contrast to the darker stones and pavement (Photo by authors). 3.1.3.3 Road traffic For the motor vehicle drivers it is of importance that the main road network is logical and that is has a simple structure (Trafikverket, 2015b). There should be good lighting on the roads and signs so that it is easy to orient yourself also during the dark hours of the day. The distance from the signs to the intersection should be long enough for the driver to comprehend the information and locate themselves. It should also be easy to find information about where to park. Moreover, information about control measures and allowed time and fees should be clearly described on signs in the parking area. It is important that the parking meters are easy to detect and not concealed or hidden. There should also not be any difficulties with reaching the parking meters, so they have to be placed close to the parking spaces (Göteborgs Stad Trafikkontoret, 2015b). 3.1.4 Security City planning plays an important role when it comes to the security as we move around in the city (Trafikverket, 2015b). A well planned city can help to prevent crime and increase the security. How secure a place is perceived depends on which day of the week and what time of the day the site is visited, but also the lighting and how much people that are in motion there. The insecurity is also different between men and women, with three times more women than men that feel insecure when they go out late at night. There is also a difference in the perceived security depending on which mode of transport that are used (Boverket, 2010). CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 22 The road traffic is often more secure compared to walking, cycling and using public transport, where situations that seems insecure more often appear. Several modes of transport are often used during one trip, which means that it is important to look at the whole extent of the trip, from door to door (Boverket, 2010). All parts of the trip should feel safe, e.g. pedestrian and bicycle paths, vehicles, parking lots and bus stops. Thus there are some criteria for a good security that applies more generally. It is important to have a good overview of the area. By removing obscure bushes and use transparent material it is possible to make a location feel more open and with a better view you feel safer (Trafikverket, 2015b). Another important measure is to have good lighting on the roads, bus stops and parking lots. This way it is possible to get a good overview also during the dark hours of the day. The lighting should be designed to help and guide and not be positioned so that they are blinding the road users. It is also important with a maintenance and management of the site that works well. For instance, garbage and graffiti makes a location feel less secure. Further on, it is also possible to get a higher security by increasing the amount of people moving outdoors during all hours of the day (Trafikverket, 2015b). This could be done by having a high development density and by enhancing the mix of activities, businesses and residential areas. Another way is by gathering the various modes of traffic together and not place them far from buildings. Pedestrian and cycle paths next to roads are perceived as more secure at night as it is often movement on the roads. 3.1.4.1 Pedestrians and cyclists In order to make the pedestrians and cyclists feel secure it is important that it should be possible to choose more than one road option to reach the destination (Boverket, 2010). This is especially important when it is dark outside and some places feel more secure than others. The cycle paths and walkways should be placed in connection to buildings and other roads since it makes the road feel less desolate. It also increases the likelihood that the pedestrian and cycle roads are used during a bigger part of the day, which increases the feeling of security. However, while car roads can increase the feeling of security, heavy traffic on the roads can make it feel less secure. Thus, it is important that the speed and the amount of cars on the roads are not too high. Some pedestrians are reluctant to use tunnels, especially during the dark hours. It is therefore of importance that they are designed to be straight and wide and that they are also well lit, as shown in Figure 15 (Trafikverket, 2015b). CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 23 Figure 15 An example of a well designed pedestrian tunnel (Trafikverket, 2015b). The network of bicycle paths and lanes should be coherent and of good quality (Boverket, 2010). It should also be easy for the road users to orientate themselves in the area. Thus, it is important that the signs and information are easy to understand and are placed so that they are easily detected. The bicycle parking should be avoided to be placed at remote locations as it increases the uncertainty of the bike to be vandalised or stolen. A desolate place will feel more insecure and may result in that the cyclists chooses to park somewhere else or not take the bicycle at all. 3.1.4.2 Public transport The bus stops are an important part of a trip as it is inevitable to use them if the traveller choose to go by public transport. It is therefore of importance that they feel secure to use during all parts of the day. The feeling of security is increased with a good design and no obscured or dark corners. One solution is to use transparent material on the bus stop (SKL, 2009). It is important that the area around the stop have a connection to other roads and buildings, since an area that feels desolated and isolated increases the feeling of insecurity. The accessibility to and from the bus stop should also be good. Otherwise, the travellers may feel that they cannot choose another way, which increases the feeling of being trapped. 3.1.4.3 Road traffic When traveling with a car there are rarely situations when you feel unsecure (Boverket, 2010). The insecurity related to road traffic is often connected to the site where you go in and out of the car, the parking spaces. This means that it is important to design the parking in ways that make them feel more secure. This is done by the use of less material like concrete and instead using transparent materials. The parking lots should be well lit and not be placed at desolated locations. Parking garages often feels insecure because you can feel trapped and have less overview of the site. Thus, it is important to have several entrances and exits to the parking houses, together with good lighting and signs that makes it CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 24 easier to find your way. Another measure to increase the feeling of security is to have the possibility of visual surveillance on the parking lots and in the parking houses. 3.2 Design criteria From the four parameters that are presented earlier, specific criteria for the different modes of transport are developed. There are five criteria for each mode of transport and parameter, these are used to do evaluations on the three bus stops and the roads surrounding them. The different criteria for the transport modes are presented in Table 1 to Table 4. The evaluation is made in order to compare the three bus stops to each other and to see if any of them lack important parts of the parameters. The result will also show if there are some parameters or mode of transport that are better suited for this specific location. The purpose of having the same amount of criteria for each parameter and mode of transport is because this makes the evaluation and comparison of the three areas easier. Important to notice is that the ratings cannot be compared with other sites where a similar evaluation method is used, but with other criteria. Table 1 Showing the different criteria chosen for pedestrians. Pedestrians Traffic safety High standard and well maintained roads Good lighting Maximum speed at crossings 30-40 km/h Clearly separated traffic modes No obstacles that can be tripped on or that restricts the view Accessibility No barriers (highly trafficked roads or railways) Continuity of walkways Good maintenance of the road The roads are connected with crosswalks The road is handicap-friendly Orientation Clear directions on where to walk Good lighting that clarifies the directions and entrances Clearly perceptible and visible boundaries between walkways, bicycle paths and roads Comprehensible directions at (larger) connection points Comprehensible and self-explanatory walkway structure Security Good overview of the area Good maintenance of the area Good lighting Walkways connected to buildings Several walkway options CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 25 Table 2 Showing the different criteria chosen for cyclists. Table 3 Showing the different criteria chosen for public transport. Cyclists Traffic safety High standard and well maintained roads Good lighting Maximum speed at crossings 30-40 km/h Clearly separated traffic modes No obstacles that you can collide with or that restricts the view Accessibility No barriers (highly trafficked roads or railways) Continuity of cycle paths There exist possibilities to park the bike Good maintenance of the road The roads are connected with bicycle crossings Orientation Clear directions on where to bike Good lighting that clarifies the directions and entrances Comprehensible directions at (larger) connection points Comprehensible directions to where to park the bike Comprehensible and self-explanatory cycle path structure Security Good overview of the area Good maintenance of the area Good lighting Cycle paths connected to buildings Bicycle parking placed visible and are easily accessible Public transport Traffic safety High standard and well maintained roads Traffic calming measures in connection to crossings Enough capacity on the platforms No passing traffic when the bus is at the stop Good lighting at the bus stop and its surroundings Accessibility Good frequency of the public transport Good connections and easy access to pedestrian and bicycle paths Maintenance of the bus stop and connecting roads is good No level differences between the stop and the vehicle The design of the bus stop should be handicap-friendly Orientation Comprehensible and self-explanatory road and bus stop structure Good guidance and understandable directions to the bus stops There is necessary information about the trip on the stops (schedule and routes) Good lighting that clarifies directions and visibility at the stop Tactile tiles or other guide paths to assist blind and visually impaired people Security Good overview of the area Good maintenance of the bus stop Good lighting Accessibility to and from the bus so people do not feel trapped Good design where there are no obscured or dark corners CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 26 Table 4 Showing the different criteria chosen for road traffic. 3.3 Design evaluation Lindholmsallén is divided into three parts, representing one bus stop each. These are evaluated separately; the full list of evaluation ratings is found in Appendix 2. When evaluating the location, a rating between 0 and 5 is given for each parameter, depending on how well the five criteria are fulfilled. One individual criterion can get from 0 up to 1 point, with an interval of 0.25 points. This leads to that when summarising all ratings for one parameter, a rating of 5 means that all the criteria are completed, while a rating of 0 means that none of the criteria are accomplished. 3.3.1 Pumpgatan The result from the evaluation of the area named Pumpgatan is presented in Table 5. The parameter that got the highest overall rating for all modes of transport was security. This is explained by that this site has an open design, with good lighting and maintenance. The main reason why pedestrians got a lower rating is because the crossings to the bus stop is poorly designed, as displayed in Figure 16. The pedestrians need to Road traffic Traffic safety High standard and well maintained roads Intersection with roundabout Intersection with traffic lights Speed bumps (or other traffic calming measures) to decrease the speed Good street lighting Accessibility Enough capacity of the road Few or no barriers (road tolls, traffic lights, etc.) A continuous road network Possibilities for parking Not too strict regulations for parking (time and fees) - possibility for commuter parking Orientation Main road network is logical and has a simple structure Good guidance and understandable directions at (large) important connection points Good lighting that clarifies directions and visibility on the roads Enough distance from signs to intersection for the driver to comprehend the information Good information about where to park and restrictions on the parking lot Security Good overview of the area Good maintenance of the area (Mainly parking lots and garages) Good lighting (Mainly parking lots and garages) Parking lots should not be places at desolated locations Parking lots and garages should have several entrances and exits CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 27 cross two lanes with road traffic to reach the bus stop. There are no traffic calming measures in connection to the crossings, which reduces the traffic safety. The design of the crossings leads to that the accessibility is low since there are no marked crosswalks and no tactile tiles. This absence of good possibilities for crossing affect the rating for cyclists in both traffic safety and accessibility. But for cyclists there is also no parking available in the area, something that also impacts the ratings for the accessibility, orientation and safety parameters. Figure 16 The pedestrian crossing at the bus stop Pumpgatan (Photo by authors). For public transport the situation on Pumpgatan is good because the area around the bus stop is open and the design of the bus stop is sufficient for the amount of people traveling to and from it. The reductions in rating here is because there is no safe and easy way for crossing over to the bus stop, affecting both traffic safety and accessibility. Another thing that lowers the rating for traffic safety is that there are passing traffic in the bus lane when the bus is at the stop. Unlike the other bus stops this one lacks signalled crossing if you want to cross the bus traffic. Road traffic is the transport mode with the highest total rating and the parameters is all relatively well achieved. There are however minor issues to mention. One thing that is seen along the entire Lindholmsallén is that the road network not has a good logical and simple structure and that it could be hard to orientate yourself if you are not familiar to the road. With the intersections that are designed as half roundabouts it is a bit difficult to know that you sometimes need to go “too far” and drive back to reach your destination. At Pumpgatan there is not enough signs and directions in connection to these roundabouts to make this traffic situation easy and understandable. CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 28 Table 5 Evaluation ratings for Pumpgatan. Traffic safety Accessibility Orientation Security Total Pedestrians 3.75 3.5 4.25 4.75 16.25 Cyclists 4.25 3 3.25 3.75 14.25 Public transport 3.25 4.25 4.75 4.75 17 Road traffic 4.25 4.75 4.25 4.75 18 Total 15.5 15.5 16.5 18 3.3.2 Regnbågsgatan The results from the evaluation of Regnbågsgatan is presented in Table 6. At Regnbågsgatan almost all of the parameters are well met. Their ratings are about the same, except for traffic safety, which got a rating that is notably lower than the others. This is mostly because of the absence of well-designed traffic calming measures at the crossings. But there are also a few other defects that made this rating lower, for example some of the zebra crossings is in poor condition which lowers the accessibility. This bus stop has more travellers than Pumpgatan and which was taken into account when designing this stop. This is also shown by that Regnbågsgatan got a higher rating on almost every point. One thing that reduces the rating for the traffic safety is that there are not enough traffic calming measures in connection to the crossings over to the bus stops, which affects all traffic modes. Unlike Pumpgatan, it exists four marked crossings both for pedestrians and cyclists to and from the bus stop. But the crossings are partly elevated, which might lead to that the road traffic does not slow down as much as if the crossings would be fully elevated. The separation between pedestrians and cyclist could be made clearer. Today they are separated by different materials on the pedestrian and cycle paths. Due to the large flows of pedestrians moving to and from the bus stop it could be good to separate the paths further. Especially since it has been observed that many pedestrians are walking on the bicycle paths. Another thing that affect both accessibility and traffic safety is that on one side of Lindholmsallén there is a stairway to an office that goes out into the pedestrian and bicycle paths. This stair, which is shown in Figure 17, is an obstacle for both pedestrians and cyclists. CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 29 Figure 17 The stairway is an obstacle for both pedestrians and cyclists that has to share the walkway when passing the stairs (Photo by authors). Compared to Pumpgatan the design of this bus stop is not as open. This mainly has to do with the lower concrete walls along the bus stop and the advertisement on the bus shelters that obstructs the view. For road traffic, the main reduction of the ratings is as in Pumpgatan due to the fact that the road network and signs are not logical and simple. In this case the rating of the orientation for the road traffic at Regnbågsgatan is lower than at Pumpgatan because at this site there are fewer signs. At Regnbågsgatan there is also several possible destinations and connecting roads and it is thus important to have good directions and a simple road structure. Table 6 Evaluation ratings for Regnbågsgatan. Traffic safety Accessibility Orientation Security Total Pedestrians 3.75 4.5 4.5 4.5 17.25 Cyclists 3.75 4.25 4.75 5 17.75 Public transport 4.25 4.75 4.75 4 17.75 Road traffic 4.25 4.75 3.75 5 17.75 Total 16 18.25 17.75 18.5 3.3.3 Lindholmen The third part of the evaluation was of the bus stop Lindholmen and its surroundings. The result is presented in Table 7. This bus stop is designed in a similar way as Regnbågsgatan and thus there are several ratings in the two areas that received the same score. One similar reduction in ratings is that the crossings from the bus stop lacks sufficient traffic calming measures here as well. There is also not enough separation between the traffic modes, especially between pedestrians and cyclists. In the area around bus stop Lindholmen it is observed to be even more people moving around. Thus it is important with a clear separation of the traffic modes. Figure 18 shows pedestrians coming from the buses and CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 30 crossing the road. The majority of pedestrians in the picture is walking on the red marked bicycle lane instead of the pedestrian crossing. It is also visible in both Figure 17 and Figure 18 that the placement of some of the pillars is not good. One thing that differs compared to the other areas is that a convenience store, Pressbyrån, is located by the bus stop. The building reduces the overview of the area and thus affect the security one feel here. But one could also see the store as a security when moving around in the area, when the store is open. Figure 18 Many pedestrians coming from the buses and the majority walks at the red bicycle lane instead of on the pedestrian path (Photo by authors). At Lindholmen all of the parameters essentially gets the same total rating and there are only smaller comments that reduces the ratings. Table 7 Evaluation ratings for Lindholmen. Traffic safety Accessibility Orientation Security Total Pedestrians 4.25 4.5 4.75 4.5 18 Cyclists 4.5 4.5 5 5 19 Public transport 4.75 5 4.75 4 18.5 Road traffic 4.5 4.5 4 5 18 Total 18 18.5 18.5 18.5 CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 31 3.3.4 Visualisation of evaluation result To visualise the result from the evaluations of the three bus stops and to compare them to each other, two value diagrams are made. The diagrams display the total ratings for the three areas. One diagram shows the result for the parameters, while the other diagram displays the total ratings for the different traffic modes operating in the different areas. Note however that even though the total rating could be between 0 and 20, there were none of them that got below 14. Thus the scale of the diagrams starts at 14 to make it easier to distinguish the characteristics of the different areas. How well the three areas satisfies the criteria for the different parameters are displayed in Figure 19. Here it is shown that all three areas have good security and almost the same rating, while in the other parameters they differ. The area Pumpgatan has the lowest rating in all four parameters, with traffic safety and accessibility being the worst. The areas Regnbågsgatan and Lindholmen has similar characteristics, which supports their similar design and is visible also in the value diagram. The one parameter that differs between the areas is traffic safety since there are more remarks made on Regnbågsgatan and thus this area receives a lower rating. Figure 19 Value diagram of the total ratings for the different parameters evaluated. The second value diagram, presented in Figure 20, displays how well the areas work for the different traffic modes that operate in the area. As seen, this diagram shows an altered characteristic for the three areas. For road traffic there are small differences between the areas, here Regnbågsgatan have a slight lower rating. The area Pumpgatan has the lowest rating for the rest of the transport modes. Interesting to notice is that for pedestrians and public transport there are not a big variation between the ratings of the areas. This difference is most likely explained by the different sizes and designs of the bus stops, from Pumpgatan 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Traffic safety Accessibility Orientation Security Value diagram - Parameters Pumpgatan Regnbågsgatan Lindholmen CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 32 which has a simple structure to Lindholmen which is larger and with more travellers. The most interesting difference is when looking at the bicyclists. Here it is a big difference between Pumpgatan and the other two. The main reason behind this is that around the area Pumpgatan, there are no possibilities for parking the bike whatsoever, which resulted in that the area got a rating of 0 on several criteria and conclusively a comparable low total rating for bicyclist. Figure 20 Value diagram of the total ratings for the different traffic modes evaluated. As seen in the figures, bus stop Lindholmen has fulfilled the criteria best, while bus stop Pumpgatan received the lowest scores. The low result however, does not mean that the bus stop has a bad design. Pumpgatan has few travellers in comparison to the other two on the street and therefore has a simpler design. The accident statistics also indicates that the area is not prone to accidents. Bus stop Regnbågsgatan fulfils the requirements quite well but not to the same degree as Lindholmen, which got the highest rating of the three of them in all aspects. Regnbågsgatan and Lindholmen have a similar design and they both have more users than Pumpgatan. Bus stops Regnbågsgatan and Lindholmen are both representative for a simulation since they include the elements that are interesting to simulate. What differs between them is the roundabout situated close to the stop Regnbågsgatan, which increases the interactions between all traffic modes and makes the traffic situation complex. It is therefore of interest to look at this area in more detail using simulations, which will be described in the following chapter. 14 15 16 17 18 19 Pedestrians Cyclists Public transport Road traffic Value diagram - Transport modes Pumpgatan Regnbågsgatan Lindholmen CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 33 4 Simulation As previously described, the simulation is carried out in order to get a visualisation of the area and the problems that may occur at this location. This chapter starts with an in depth presentation of the method and procedure used for the simulation. Further on, a detailed description of the assumptions and simplification in the model is presented. This is followed by a description of how the simulation model is built up. Lastly, the obtained results from the simulation is presented and analysed. 4.1 Method and work process The first step in the simulation was to get to know the program that was used, PTV VISSIM 7.00-15. A study was made to get knowledge of how to use the program, build a model and perform the simulations. The work process used for this traffic simulation study is presented in Figure 21. This process is derived from a manual for capacity analysis using simulation, from the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket, 2014a). The simulation is run for the area around the bus stop Regnbågsgatan. The time that is chosen to be simulated is during a weekday and between 07:00 and 08:00. When looking at the different traffic modes separately the peak hour differs, but the combined hour that was chosen is representative for the morning peak traffic for all traffic modes. The three weeks that are chosen for the traffic counts are in the month of April. These weeks are normal and not disturbed by holidays or other occasions that may affect the amount of traffic. By counting the traffic in April the amount of cyclists on the roads has also started to increase, giving a better result as the amount of interactions between traffic is expected to be higher during this time. 4.1.1 Data collection The work process starts with the data collection, to gather all the data and information needed about the modes of transport operating in the area. The volumes of the different traffic modes were counted on the site and used in the simulation. Not all the data collection was carried out during the selected simulation time and the counting was concentrated to three weeks resulting in average values for the Figure 21 Work process for traffic simulation studies. CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 34 different traffic flows. This is done in order to get as low scattering of the data as possible. If the data collection would be carried out for a longer time period, the weather and thus also the preferred mode of transport used could change. The volumes of traffic on site was counted on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This is because on Mondays and Fridays people may travel in a different way. It is for example more common with different schedules or taking the day off on these days. Thus the three chosen days for data collection are assumed to be more representative as weekdays. The results from the counts and the additional information that was gathered is presented in Appendix 3. Several counts were made to get as much information as possible about the amount of traffic moving in the area. The counts were made at different locations in the area to be able to know which routes the road users take. The locations are placed at the boundaries of the area, where the amount of the different modes of transport moving in and out of the model was counted. In this way the volumes could be decided. Furthermore, information about the routes and behaviour were gathered at these data collections. There were four extra counts done, placed at the four crossings around the bus stop. This is because a large share of the pedestrians is entering the model through the buses at the stop. It is therefore of interest to know which crossing the pedestrians use to get to and from the bus stop. The traffic at each location was counted three times, one each week, and an average value was obtained. The count on a specific location was also repeated on the same day of the week. This was done to avoid errors due to people that are changing the way they travel during the week. 4.1.1.1 Pedestrians and cyclists The main focus of this report is to investigate the traffic situation for the pedestrians. There are no indexes available for recalculating the pedestrian flows if counted in another hour. Thus all the pedestrian counts were carried out between 07:00 and 08:00. The cyclists were mostly counted during this time as well. In the simulation area there are several buildings which pedestrians is observed going to and from. The largest of these were included as starting points and destinations for a share of the traffic volumes. The amount of pedestrians that travel to these buildings was also observed during the data collection. 4.1.1.2 Public transport The central part of the simulation is the bus stop Regnbågsgatan, located on Lindholmsallén. This bus stop is busy, with buses and pedestrians arriving and departing during the whole day. The data collection for the public transport in the simulation is divided into two parts. The first part was to research the timetables for the buses at the stop to determine the frequency of the different bus lines. To fit the chosen simulation time, the hour between 07:00 and 08:00 in the morning was studied. CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 35 The second part of the data collection was to count all the alighting and boarding passengers on the buses, in order to determine the share of people travelling with each of the bus lines. The count was done one time and it is assumed that this share does not change during the week and that the travellers use approximately the same bus line consistently. Both the directions on the bus stop was counted, the south direction with buses going towards Lindholmen and the north direction with the buses going toward Gothenburg city centre. 4.1.1.3 Road traffic The data collection for the road traffic was done in a similar way as for pedestrians and cyclists. But for road traffic it exists indexes for recalculating the traffic from one hour to another. This means that it is possible to count these volumes during a later hour of the day, making the data collection more efficient. The amount of road traffic travelling in and out of the area was counted. Furthermore, also information about routes and behaviour were collected. Another part of the data collection for the road traffic was to decide the share of heavy traffic operating on the roads in the simulation area. This was done by counting the amount of heavy traffic and normal traffic driving into the area during a specific period of time. Additional information about the volumes of road traffic on Lindholmsallén was found in statistics from the Urban Transport Administration of Gothenburg. This data was compared to the result from the simulation, where two data points were placed at the one-lane part between Regnbågsgatan and Götaverksgatan. 4.1.2 Building the base model The next step in the simulation work process was to build a base model of the area that was to be simulated. This model was based on maps over the area and the local plan of this specific area. From the maps, information about the roads were obtained, including the width and also how they turn and connect to each other. The model was structured so that all the different traffic modes was included and inserted on the correct lanes. In VISSIM the roads that is drawn is called links, and these are joined to each other with connectors. After the links and connectors was drawn according to the maps, they are assigned input traffic. In this project, links and connectors was used for the road traffic, public transport and the cyclists. For these traffic modes a car following model by Wiedemann (1974) was used together with a lane changing model. The cyclists in this simulation are modelled as road traffic and thus follows the same behaviour. The settings for the roads can be changed when the links are drawn. These settings allow to decide which mode of transport that should drive on which link and also how the traffic should behave. Not all the transport modes use links and connectors. The pedestrians use something called pedestrian areas, which are used to get more realistic movements and behaviour. This allows the pedestrians to move anywhere on the CHALMERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 36 area and not in specific lanes as for the rest of the traffic. These areas are drawn either as links that are set to behave as pedestrian areas, or if the wanted area is not formed as a road the pedestrian area could be drawn with another shape. Pedestrian areas was done in VISSIM through an additional module called VISWALK, which focuses on pedestrians. VISWALK uses the social force model by Helbing & Molnár (1995), a model that takes into account different aspects that affects the pedestrian behaviour and thus makes the simulation more realistic. One example of this is how close the pedestrians walk to each other. When all the traffic was placed in the model, the next step was to adjust the road and add regulations and measures so that the traffic moves more realistically. This includes traffic signals at the crossings in the area where these exists. In the simulated area the existing traffic lights are operating so that the public transport gets priority at the bus lane in the middle of the road. In order for these traffic signals to work so that the public transport has priority they were programed using another add-on module called VISVAP. A more detailed description on how the traffic signals works and how it was programmed is presented in Appendix 4. Another regulation was at the locations where traffic cross each other and it needs to be specified which lane that should give way for the other. In VISSIM there are two options on how to work with this, priority rules and conflict areas. In this project only conflict areas were used. In VISSIM the different conflict areas generated in the model is automatically displayed and it was then easy to decide who should give way and who has priority at all the existing conflict areas. Another measure to get a more accurate driving is to have something called reduced speed areas. In reality when a car for example drives in a roundabout or over a raised pedestrian crossing it would not keep the set speed on the road. Instead, it would reduce its speed to get through in a safe way. This was modelled in VISSIM using reduced speed areas. At the locations on the roads where it was observed that the vehicles lower their speed, a reduced speed area was placed and a new speed was introduced to the traffic. More detailed descriptions of the modelling of the priority rule, conflict area and reduced speed area are presented in Appendix 5. To get a more accurate simulation result, the roads leading into the simulated area were extended outside of the specific location. This will make it easier for the traffic coming into the area to keep the correct speed and to adjust to the simulation. These extended roads that were added outside of the simulation area was not drawn according to reality and possible intersections and other objects were ignored. This was because the purpose of the added roads was only to increase the road lengths leading into the simulation area and was not part of the simulation itself. 4.1.3 Verification, Calibration and Validation When all the data was collected and the model itself was built up, the base model was verified to control that it worked properly and according to reality. The method for this was to go through the model in detail, to see that all the parameters and settings were correct. CHALMERS Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master’s Thesis BOMX02-16-16 37 The next step in the process was to do an iterative calibration and validation of the model. This can be done by comparing specific parameters with measurements of these values to see how well the reality corresponds to the simulation. Another method is to do a visual calibration and validation, where a test run of the simulation is carried out and compared with observations of the actual traffic. For this simulation only the visual calibration and validation was used. This was a restriction that was necessary as the simulation was not that extensive and the time was limited. Some aspects that was observed during the visual calibration and validation was: - How close to the pedestrian crossings does the cars stops? - Where does the cars start to slow down when approaching an intersection with traffic lights or right of way? - Are the conflict areas accurately done and has the correct traffic right of way? - Is the clearance time for the traffic lights correct? 4.1.4 Simulation Before running the simulation, the last step was to change settings and parameters in the program that establish how the simulation should be run and what output the program should generate. These results were processed and analysed in order to be a part of the evaluation of Lindholmsallén. The simulation was run once with a total time of 4 500 s, which is 1 hour and 15 minutes. The extra 15 minutes works as a warm-up for the model to fill it up with traffic. After the 15 minutes the program starts to record the simulation and the result from it. Another parameter was the simulation resolution which were set to 10 time step(s) / Simulation second. This parameter specifies how often vehicles and pedestrians are moving in a simulation second (PTV Group, 2015). The simulation was run with a specific random seed, which resulted in a stochastic variation of the input vehicles. This was done to imitate the natural variance that occur in traffic. From all of the output results that was obtained from the simulation two main results was analy