TRAFFIC MICROSIMULATION &

3-D VISUALIZATION

Presenters:
Fadi Emil Nassar, P.E.
Veronica A. Boza, E.I.

FDOT – MAY 4, 2007

 MACRO / MICRO TRAFFIC MODELS
 MACRO MODEL: TRAFFIC FORECAST
 MICRO MODEL: OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS
 NO LONGER SEPARATE FILEDS:
– DISTRIBUTION IMPACTED BY OPERATIONS
– CAPACITY CONSTRAINT AT INTERSECTIONS
– TRANSIT/MODAL SPLIT IMPACTED BY CONGESTION
 GAP CLOSING BTW MACRO & MICRO ANALYSES
 CONVERGENCE OF SOFTWARE
 INTEGRATED MODELS:
– CUBE / DYNAMISM
– VISUM / VISSIM
 TRAFFIC MICROSIMULATION MODELS

 ANALYZE THE PERFORMANCE OF TRANSPORTATION

SYSTEMS BY SIMULATING THE MOVEMENTS OF
INDIVIDUAL VEHICLES ON A SPLIT-SECOND BASIS

 ACCOUNT FOR ROADWAY, DRIVER AND VEHICLE

CHARACTERISTICS

 OPERATIONAL RESULTS (SPEED, QUEUES, DELAYS,

ETC) ARE BASED ON TRAFFIC INTERACTION INSTEAD
OF EQUATIONS
 3D-VISUALIZATION

 COMPLEX ROADWAY SYSTEMS

 BRIDGES
 OVERPASSES
 INTERCHANGES
 AIRPORT TERMINAL RAMPS
 VIEW FROM CAR
SR 112 - MIAMI
 WHEN TO USE MICROSIMULATION
 LIMITATION OF HCM / HCS
 SYSTEM ANALYSIS (COORDINATION)
 CONGESTION / SPILLBACK / BOTTLENECK
 QUEUING / STORAGE
 CLOSELY SPACED RAMPS
 BUS / MULTIMODAL / ITS / RAMP METERING
 SIGNAL PRE-EMPTION
 COMPLEX OR UNIQUE GEOMETRY
 SIMULATION PROCESS
 STUDY OBJECTIVES
 MODEL SELECTION
 DATA COLLECTION
 BASE MODEL DEVELOPMENT
 CALIBRATION / VALIDATION
 ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS
 MOE SUMMARY / PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE
 PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
 STUDY OBJECTIVES
 GOALS OF MODELING PROCESS
 ESTABLISH NEED FOR MICROSIMULATION
 PROJECT SCOPING
– LIMITS OF ANALYSIS / INFLUENCE AREA
– BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
– TIME PERIOD
– PEAK HOUR FACTOR
 LEVEL OF DETAIL / EFFORT / BUDGET
 UNDERSTAND MODEL STRUCTURE
– DELAY, QUEUE, DRIVER BEHAVIOR
 MOE DIFFERENT FROM HCM EQUATIONS
 MODEL SELECTION
 BASIC MODELS
 CORSIM
 SYNCHRO/SIMTRAFFIC
 ADVANCED MODELS
 VISSIM / AISUM / CUBE DYNAMISM
 PARAMICS & OTHERS
 COMBINATION OF MODELS
 CORSIM
 LINK-NODE NETWORK (DEVELOPED BY FHWA)
 ADVANTAGES:
– WIDELY USED & ACCEPTED
– EXTENSIVE VALIDATION IN USA
– FREEWAY/RAMP OPERATION
– BUS ROUTES
– ITS ANALYSIS – RAMP METERING
– TIME PERIOD ANALYSIS
– LINK AGGREGATION
– SHORT/LONG INCIDENT SIMULATION
– HEADWAY DISTRIBUTION TYPES
 CORSIM (CONTINUE)
 DISADVANTAGES:
– 2-D ONLY (NO ELEVATIONS)
– SIMPLIFIED SIGNAL OPERATION
– PROBLEMS WITH SHORT LINKS
– RESULTS GROUPED PER LINKS
– NO SIGNAL OPTIMIZATION
– NO INTERSECTION LOS
– IMPROVED BUT LIMITED GRAPHICAL INTERFACE
CORSIM-CYPRESS
CORSIM – INTERCHANGE ALTERNATIVES
Alternative 1
Partial Cloverleaf
Interchange:
• Limited Spacing of
Interchange
• Stacks queue in one or
more quadrants
• Requires Extensive ROW
• Complex Design

Alternative 2
Diamond Interchange
• Sufficient Spacing
• Simple Design
• Narrow ROW
• Stopped Condition
 SYNCHRO/SIMTRAFFIC
 LINK-NODE NETWORK (TRAFFICWARE)
 ADVANTAGES:
– WIDELY USED
– EASY DATA ENTRY / BEST GRAPHIC INTERFACE
– EXPORT TO CORSIM / T7F / HCS / VISSIM
– DATABASE INTERFACE (VOLUME/SIGNAL/LAYOUT)
– INTEGRATED SIGNAL OPTIMIZATION
– ROUNDABOUT MODELING (NOT YET VALIDATED)
– INTERSECTION LOS (HCM / ICU)
– DIAMOND INTERCHANGE / RING & BARRIER
– QUEUE LENGTH (PERCENTILE)
– EASY TO CREATE SUB NETWORKS
 SYNCHRO/SIMTRAFFIC (CONTINUE)
 DISADVANTAGES:
– NO TRANSIT MODELING
– LIMITED FREEWAY CAPABILITY
– SIMTRAFFIC RESULTS DIFFER FROM SYNCHRO & NOT
WIDELY ACCEPTED
– LINK-BASED MOEs
– LIMITED FLEXIBILITY OUTSIDE BASIC INTERSECTIONS
(TOLL PLAZA, AIRPORT, SIGNAL PREEMPTION, ITS, ETC)
SYNCHRO - UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
SAMPLE SYNCHRO/SIMTRAFFIC
NETWORK
 PORT ST. LUCIE

I-95

CORSIM Network
Becker Road
 ADVANCED - VISSIM
 LINK-CONNECTOR
 DEVELOPED BY PTV IN GERMANY
 ADVANTAGES:
– INCREASING ACCEPTABILITY IN US
– EXTENSIVE TRANSIT MODELING CAPABILITY
• LIGHT RAIL
• BUS TRANSIT WITH BUS STATIONS
• ROUTE ASSIGNMENT BASED ON SCHEDULE
– EXPLICIT PEDESTRIAN & CYCLIST MODELING
– 3D GRAPHIC OUTPUT / IMPACT OF GRADES
– ADVANCED SIGNAL CONTROL LOGIC
• IMPORTANT FOR DEMAND RESPONSIVE OPERATION
• IMPORTANT FOR SIGNAL PREEMPTION
 VISSIM (CONTINUE)
 ADVANTAGES:
– ADVANCED ORIGIN-DESTINATION
– ROUTING FOR ALL VEHICLE TYPES
– DYNAMIC ASSIGNMENT (VISUM)
– ROUNDABOUT SIMULATION
– UNLIMITED VEHICLE TYPE
• IMPORTANT FOR TOLL PLAZA
• AIRPORT CURB SIDE OPERATION
– FLEXIBLE DATA COLLECTION
– INTERFACE WITH 3-D MODELER
– DYNAMIC VISUALIZATION OF RESULTS
 VISSIM (CONTINUE)
 DISADVANTAGES:
– NOT AS WIDELY USED IN FLORIDA
– EXPENSIVE (WITH TRANSIT OPTION)
– CODING OF DESIRED OUTPUT PARAMETERS
– FLEXIBILITY REQUIRES GREATER KNOWLEDGE AND
CODING EFFORTS
– NO STANDARD SUMMARIES WHICH COMPLICATE
REVIEW PROCESS
– NO SIGNAL OPTIMIZATION (INTERFACES WITH
SYNCHRO)
MIAMI - PROPOSED
ROUNDABOUT
 DATA COLLECTION
 GEOMETRY & LAYOUT
 TRAFFIC CONTROL: SIGNAL & SIGN
 VOLUMES (RECONCILE COUNTS)
 DATA FOR CALIBRATION
– TRAVEL TIME
– AVG & FREEFLOW SPEED
– QUEUE LENGTH
– OBSERVATIONS / WARNING SIGNS
 BASE MODEL DEVELOPMENT
 DEVELOP LINK-NODE DIAGRAM
 NODE NUMBERING / PROPER CODING
 BASE MAPPING
 DATA COLLECTION / FIELD REVIEW
 CHECK INPUT DATA
 BALANCE VOLUMES
 DEVELOP O-D MATRIX (RAMPS)
 SIGNAL TIMING
 QA/QC – CHECK SIMULATION RUNS
 VERIFIABLE / REPRODUCIBLE / ACCURATE
 VOLUME CALIBRATION
CONGESTED CONDITIONS
(EX: SR112)

 DATA COLLECTION
 INITIAL CALIBRATION RESULTS
 ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION
 DEMAND PEAK HOUR VOLUMES
 TRAVEL TIMES
 DATA COLLECTION
1 From SR 112
? WB SR 112 Ramp to Ramp
Ockeechobee Road:
Fourth lane starts west of
1 110'
NW 32nd Ave and ramp
1
110' separation starts at
NW 35th Ct Ockeechobee Rd/N. River Drive
130'
Bridge over
3 Miami River From SR 112
Ramp

3 2
EBL used to re-
direct traffic to NB
325' Le Jeune from NW 36 Street
2 Ockeechobee &
7 Le Jeune Int.

4 1

1
9 3
5 2
75' 2
12 6
3 8 6
Flyover 9 5
4 WB - NW 36 Street
100'
65' 6
11 7
Driveway
8 EB -NW 36 Street

30
MP H

5 8 10
7 3
6 4

250' 7

To 4
Flyover
4
To EB SR 112
5 Ramp
From
2 SR 112 500' 5
To
NW 42 Ave
7

Legend: 6
Signalized Intersection
Unsignalized Intersection
1 Roadway Split Areas
100' Turn Lane Storage Length
30
MP H Posted Speed Limit Flyover
From NB
Le Jeune Road
To
Airport

1 Intersection Count Location

1 Machine Count Location
1 Ramp Count Location
INITIAL CALIBRATION RESULTS
 VISSIM not replicating observed queues with
measured volumes:
– Traffic backups on ramps and intersections
– Tri-Rail and Freight Train Impact on traffic

 Significant difference is travel times

 Need for additional investigation
 ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION
 Intersections Peak Hour Factors (PHF) greater than 0.95
suggests constrained conditions.
Intersection AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour
Le Jeune Rd/SE 8 St 0.98 0.97
Le Jeune Rd/Okeechobee
Rd: 0.98 0.99

Le Jeune Rd/NW 36 St 0.97 1.00

Le Jeune Rd/NW 31 St 0.95 0.95
NW 36 Street/Lee Dr 0.98 0.98
NW 36 St/S. River Dr 0.97 0.95
NW 36 St/N. River Dr 0.97 0.97
 ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION
 Peak to daily factors (K-factor) less than 8.5% on
freeways and 9.0% for arterials suggest constrained
conditions.
Ramps:
Quality Counts FDOT Stations
Location TO/FROM
AM PM AM PM
WB SR-112 To Okeechobee Rd 5.2% 3.5% 4.2% 11.1%
Off Ramps To NW 36 Street 8.0% 6.3% 8.7% 5.8%
To Airport 6.7% 7.5% n/a n/a
To SB Le Jeune Rd 6.7% 8.9% 6.3% 7.2%
EB SR-112 From Okeechobee Rd 12.3% 4.7% 10.9% 5.3%
On Ramps From NW 36 Street 9.7% 8.1% n/a n/a
From Airport 4.2% 9.5% n/a n/a
From NB Le Jeune Rd 5.7% 7.6% 4.2% 8.4%
ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION
Arterials
Location AM PM
Le Jeune Rd, South of NE 8 St 5.8% 7.1%
Le Jeune Rd, South of NW 31 St 5.8% 4.4%
N. River Dr, West of Flyover merge 8.6% 6.6%
N. River Dr, North of NW 36 St 6.6% 5.8%
N. River Dr, South of NW 36 St 6.9% 7.5%
S. River Dr, East of Le Jeune Rd 6.5% 6.2%
S. River Dr, West of NW 36 St 6.5% 9.4%
NW 36 St, West of N. River Dr 6.5% 6.4%
NW 36 St, East of N. River Dr 5.1% 6.1%
 VOLUME ADJUSTMENT
 Adjustment to achieve demand volumes
based on FDOT Quality/Level of Service
Handbook:
– Ramps:
• Minimum K100 is 8.5%; and
• Average Peak to daily ratio percent difference is 28%
and 26% for the AM and PM Peak Hours respectively.
– Arterial Road:
• Minimum K100 is 9.0%; and
• Average Peak to daily ratio percent difference is 27%
for both the AM and PM Peak Hours.
VOLUME BALANCING (SEASONAL FACTOR / TRUCKS / ETC)
 CALIBRATION / VALIDATION
 DRIVER BEHAVIOR
– STARTUP DELAY & REACTION TIME
– MINIMUM HEADWAY/GAP ACCEPTANCE
– LANE CHANGE PARAMETERS
– CAR FOLLOWING SENSITIVITY

 VEHICLE CHARACTERISTIC
– TRAFFIC COMPOSITION
– MAXIMUM ACCELERATION / DECELERATION

 ROADWAY CHARACTERISTICS
– FREE FLOW SPEED
– CHANNELIZATION
– PARKING ACTIVITY
 TRAVEL TIMES
 AM Peak Hour
Collected Travel VISSIM Travel
Segment Time Range (Sec) Time (Sec)
SR-112 Off ramp 232 - 291 235
EB NW 36 St 178 - 295 195
WB NW 36 St 273 242

 PM Peak Hour
Collected Travel VISSIM Travel
Segment Time Range (Sec) Time (Sec)
SR-112 Off ramp 430 - 580 394
EB NW 36 St 180 - 655 204
WB NW 36 St 229 - 380 368
NB Le Jeune Rd 248 - 303 266
SB Le Jeune Rd 281 - 445 285
ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS / MOE
 SIMULATION GREAT FOR ALT ANALYSIS
 SIMPLIFIED REALITY / LIMITATIONS
 ESTABLISH MOE & MATRIX EVALUATION
– SPEED
– DENSITY
– TRAVEL TIME
– QUEUE
– DELAY
 PERFORM MULTIPLE RUNS (SEED #)
 SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
 PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
– GRAPHIC SIMULATION
– OPERATIONAL RESULTS