Urban university campus transportation and parking planning through a dynamic traffic simulation and assignment approach

Abstract

Many urban university campuses are considered major trip attractors. Considering the multimodal and complex nature of university campus transportation planning and operation, this paper proposes a dynamic traffic simulation and assignment analysis approach and demonstrates how such a methodology can be successfully applied. Central to the research is the estimation of trip origin–destinations and the calibration of a parking lot choice model. Dynamic simulation is utilized to simulate multiple modes of transportation within the transportation network while further assigning these modes with respect to various mode-specific roadway accessibilities. A multiple vehicle-class simulation analysis for planning purposes becomes a critical capability to predict how faculty and staff who once parked within the campus core choose other nearby alternate parking lots. The results highlight the effectiveness of the proposed approach in providing integrated and reliable solutions for challenging questions that face urban university campus planners and local transportation jurisdictions.

Keywords:

• dynamic traffic assignment
• microscopic simulation
• parking lot choice model
• university campus
• transportation planning

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial, technical, and administrative support from UTEP and the involvement of regional transportation agencies in this project. The recommendations of this study were partly reflected in the UTEP 2005 Master Plan Updates and are currently being considered by other regional transportation agencies (Meritz 2007). Valuable comments of the anonymous reviewers are acknowledged.