ASSESSMENT OF INTERSECTION CAPACITY UNDER EMERGENCY SITUATIONS USING THE TRANSPORT MODELING METHOD

Abstract

The article analyzes the capacity of the intersection for different scenarios that may arise in the transport system due to emergencies under martial law in Ukraine. For this, the PTV Vissim transport microsimulation software was used. The study was carried out on the example of the intersection of main streets with busy traffic in the regional center of the country, which combines traffic flows from different parts of the city, incoming and outgoing flows from it. Intersections play a critical role in the efficiency, convenience, safety, and sustainability of a city’s road network, as they serve as meeting points where many public, commercial, and private vehicle routes intersect. They are vital components of the transport infrastructure and facilitate the movement of motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists around the city and at the same time can cause more traffic jams and accidents if not properly organized. With an increase in the number of emergency events caused both by aggressor attacks on critical infrastructure facilities and directly as a result of hostilities in our country, it is extremely important to understand how these events affect traffic flows at intersections. This study proposes to use traffic simulation methods to predict various emergency scenarios and assess their impact on the capacity of the intersection. To achieve the goal of the work, modeling of three scenarios for the operation of the intersection was carried out: work under existing conditions in normal mode during the period of maximum load (morning rush hour); work under the same initial conditions, but with the traffic light control turned off; an evacuation mode with an increased flow of traffic in the direction of leaving the city with no public transport. This simulation allowed the impact of these scenarios on traffic parameters to be assessed, recommendations to improve overall emergency preparedness and directions for further research to be developed.