Performance rating of cooperative driving on urban roads incorporating traffic-calming solutions

Abstract

Over the last decade, traffic calming measures have been increasingly used to meet the needs of modern cities in improving the quality of road spaces and the efficiency of urban mobility. In the era of cities in transition, cooperative driving vehicles (CDVs) allow for new prospects in smart mobility development, but they also leave many open issues. This paper explores the performance of CDVs employed as a smart public transport system, paired with traffic calming solutions (TCSs), using a microsimulation-based approach. The TCSs, including the rearrangement of the roadway, the installation of two single-lane roundabouts, and the planning of a restricted-traffic area, were designed for a section of the coastal road network of a small city in southern Italy selected as a case study. In Aimsun Next, the coordinated solution comprising the TCSs and CDVs was compared with the existing roadway configuration assumed as the baseline road layout. Model parameters were calibrated by matching the simulated data with purpose-built reference capacity functions as the market presence percentages of CDVs varied. The simulation results reveal that the synergy of TCSs and CDVs can improve overall traffic conditions compared to the current scenario. The approach proposed in this study can guide road planners and decision-makers in evaluating various road design alternatives and traffic management solutions covering the combined application of CDVs and TCSs.