Pedestrians‘ Big Debut <strong>in</strong> Traffic Simulation: from Bit Player to Ma<strong>in</strong> Character TRAFFIC CONSULTING COMPASS INTERNATIONAL 02/2007 04
People <strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>traffic</strong> <strong>in</strong> many different ways. Not only as motorists, but also as pedestrians. In the past, most <strong>traffic</strong> analyses focused on vehicles. Pedestrians were just decorative trimm<strong>in</strong>gs. That is about to change. The new VISSIM version <strong>in</strong> the <strong>PTV</strong> Vision <strong>traffic</strong> plann<strong>in</strong>g software suite can now realistically model <strong>in</strong>teractions between pedestrian and vehicle flows. Now, it can run analyses that <strong>in</strong>clude both modes of transport, or focus solely on pedestrians. Thanks to Helb<strong>in</strong>g‘s social force model, it can represent human behaviour more accurately. This improves the quality of the plann<strong>in</strong>g results and makes them more realistic, which greatly benefits the users. There are many possible applications for the program: <strong>in</strong> urban and <strong>traffic</strong> plann<strong>in</strong>g, evacuation <strong>simulation</strong>, visualization and animation. Now you can def<strong>in</strong>e pedestrian behaviour <strong>in</strong>dividually, just as it has been done for vehicles. This also <strong>in</strong>cludes people who deliberately flaunt <strong>traffic</strong> rules. “For example, take the exit of an underground railway station. You th<strong>in</strong>k you‘re not impulsive? Not true. You‘re much more flexible than you th<strong>in</strong>k. As a pedestrian, you react quite dynamically – to the friend who calls across to you, to a shop TRAFFIC w<strong>in</strong>dow that draws your attention, to a bus that sends you runn<strong>in</strong>g across the street when the light is red. None of this movement is really l<strong>in</strong>ear. But it does <strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>traffic</strong> – even if you don‘t realize it. How? A new <strong>simulation</strong> tool for pedestrians can show you. With<strong>in</strong> a short period of time, hundreds of people will stream upwards and reach a pedestrian cross<strong>in</strong>g. Some will just go ahead and cross it, while others will wait for the light. And that‘s exactly what we want to, and are able to, model <strong>in</strong> the <strong>simulation</strong>,“ says Peter Vortisch, Director of Traffic Eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g Products at <strong>PTV</strong>. Possible applications Traffic control and transportation plann<strong>in</strong>g: Traffic eng<strong>in</strong>eers and planners have to prove that a certa<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>frastructure supports normal <strong>traffic</strong> and pedestrian volumes. Their ma<strong>in</strong> focus is on evaluat<strong>in</strong>g different <strong>traffic</strong> situations. This option is especially attractive for facilities with high volumes of pedestrian <strong>traffic</strong> such as airport term<strong>in</strong>als or bus and underground railway stations. Apart from the flows of pedestrians, you can analyze the connections at those locations: How long does it take to get to the next term<strong>in</strong>al or station level, and how do you get there? How can this <strong>in</strong>formation be added to the timetable? Reliable plann<strong>in</strong>g for pedestrians, too Fig. left: Realistic pedestrian simu- lation at the airport term<strong>in</strong>al Fig. right: For underground rail stations, it is easy to model how long it takes to get to the next station level, and how to get there. COMPASS INTERNATIONAL 01/2008 05
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