Arc Atlantique Traffic Management Corridor
Annex 1 Evaluation reports
www.easyway-its.eu
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. FL-01: Hard shoulder running E40 and weaving segments E314
2. FL-02: Hard shoulder running E19 Kleine Bareel – St.-Job-in-‘t-Goor
3. WL-03: Management and transit traffic on Walloon motorways
4. FR-05: Intelligent Truck Parking
5. FR-16: Traffic Management Plans
6. IE-01: MIU ITS Deployment
7. NL-01: Field test Amsterdam
8. PT-..: Monitoring Enhancement on critical segments – to be delivered
9. PT-03: System Enhancements
10. E01: AG-64 Traffic Control and Traffic Management ITS deployment
11. E02: AG-55 Traffic Control and Traffic Management ITS deployment
12. ES-20: Floating Car Data use
13. ES-21: Analysis and evaluation of different traffic management strategies in order to reduce the congestions in Bilbao peri-urban area
14. UK 02: M25 J 5 – 7 Variable Speed Limit, All lane Running / Hard Shoulder Running
15. UK 03: M25 J 23 – 27 Variable Speed Limit, All lane Running / Hard Shoulder Running
16. UK ..: Welsh National Traffic Data System – to be delivered
Arc Atlantique Evaluation report – Annex 1 2/2
Hard Shoulder Running and Weaving Segments Belgium –E40/E314 – Brussel - Aken
Project Reference: FL-01
Project Name: Hard shoulder running E40 and weaving segments E314
ITS Corridor: E40/E314 Brussel - Aken
Project Location: Belgium – E40/E314 Leuven Area
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT
1.1 Nature of the Site The R0, E40 and E314 in this report are part of a highway connection between the cities of Brussels-Lummen (E314), and Brussels-Luik (E40). The newly implemented hard shoulder is situated on the E40 between off and on ramps of Sterrebeek and Bertem East Bound. Between Bertem and Heverlee 2 extra lanes are added on the E40 in the East Bound direction. The weaving segments are located on the E314 between every on ramp and the next off ramp in Leuven and Wilsene in both directions.
Figure 1 Evaluated site Hard Shoulder Running and Weaving Segments Belgium –E40/E314 – Brussel - Aken
1.2 Issues Addressed In the morning peak hours, the congestion is located towards Brussels, i.e. traffic going into Brussel City and primarily towards R0. The bottleneck of the R0 (Fig. 2 (6)) and the bottleneck of the E40 around Leuven (Fig. 2 (3)) are not the focus of this analysis, but their impact on the E314 congestion is undeniable. Traffic jams on the R0 bottleneck (Fig. 2 (6)) and subsequent shockwaves towards the E314 (Fig. 2 (4)) create a first bottleneck between Winksele and Heverlee on the E314 (Fig. 2 (2)). A second bottleneck is present between Holsbeek and Herent due to a capacity constraint. The shockwaves from upstream bottlenecks, traffic from on-ramps and off-ramps around Leuven are leading to oversaturation. This bottleneck leads to a traffic jam spillback on the E314 up to Tielt-Winge (Fig.2 (1)).
Figure 2 Issues addressed in the morning towards Brussels (red: traffic jam, orange: shockwaves, green: no jam) During evening peak hours, traffic jams are caused by traffic coming from Brussels – i.e. Brussel City and R0 – going towards Luik and Lummen. 4 bottlenecks are identified. The first bottleneck is located between Leuven and Wilsele (Fig. 3 (7)). Main reason is a capacity constraint due to a high amount of traffic coming from the on-ramps and going towards off-ramps around Leuven leading to oversaturation. This bottleneck creates shockwaves towards the E40 amplified by weaving traffic and traffic coming from the on-ramp in Bertem (Fig. 3 (8)). Subsequently, the cumulative effect of the previous bottlenecks causes severe spillback in combination with a capacity reduction bottleneck and the on-ramp at Sterrebeek (Fig. 3 (9)). The capacity is reduced in Sterrebeek going from 4 to 3 lanes. The same effect occurs in Fig. 3 (10) where the above mentioned effects are combined with a capacity bottleneck. At St-Stevens-Woluwe 3 lanes converge to 2 lanes. Hard Shoulder Running and Weaving Segments Belgium –E40/E314 – Brussel - Aken
Figure 3 Issues addressed evening: traffic jams towards Leuven-Aarschot-Lummen General policy is to decrease traffic jams around Leuven, particularly on the E314 and E40 towards Leuven. Figure 4 and Figure 5 illustrate the changes in the infrastructure for reducing spillbacks during evening peak. The 4 to 3 lane bottleneck between Sterrebeek and Bertem is removed by adding hard shoulder running during the evening between 2 and 8 PM on weekdays. The capacity between Bertem and Heverlee is permanently expanded, where diverging traffic towards E314 can use 2 new lanes to reduce weaving effects. Figure 5 shows the new situation for reducing traffic jams, where on-ramps are connected with the following off-ramp to reduce capacity drops due to weaving traffic. Figure 5 is mirror wise applied to E314 from Wilsele towards Leuven for reducing shockwaves during the morning peak.
One remark: measuring points 9 and 10 are located downstream on the E40 and are not mentioned in Figure 4 or Figure 5. Measuring point 9 is between Heverlee and Haasrode, and 10 is located between the off- and on-ramp of Haasrode. Hard Shoulder Running and Weaving Segments Belgium –E40/E314 – Brussel - Aken
Figure 4 Overview before and after hard shoulder running and extra lanes E40
Figure 5 Overview before and after roundabout off ramp E19 St-Job-In-‘t-Goor and N117
Hard Shoulder Running and Weaving Segments Belgium –E40/E314 – Brussel - Aken
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT
2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information The main objective of this project is to assess the actual effect due to the infrastructural implementations after a substantial analysis period. An excessive dataset is analysed to compare before and after the deployment of the extra capacity with data from cameras, inductive loops at the measuring points, and other sources.
A quantitative analysis is conducted based on objective measurements:
• Demand measurements; • Speed measurements; • Registration of accidents; • Registration of operational characteristics by the control centre.
Most important estimations are made about the impact on following KPIs:
1. Demand flow evolution as in extra nominal growth and changes in route choice; 2. I/C ratios for indicating capacity use with maximum capacity of 2200 PCU/h; 3. Use of on and off ramps and their corresponding shifts; 4. Travel times as calculated with estimation models based on the detector information; 5. Vehicle hours lost as a general performance indicator; 6. Traffic safety as in the number of reported accidents; 7. Operational performance of early and late opening of the hard shoulder.
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied Variable Message Signs (VMS) are implemented for opening – i.e. green arrow - and closing – i.e. red cross preceded by a yellow arrow - the hard shoulder running lane. The VMS also allows harmonising speed on this section. An additionally CCTV network is installed along the whole section. The CCTV allows the traffic operator to check prior to opening the lanes if vehicles or objects are blocking the lane. The lane remains closed in that case.
Figure 6 VMS with close or open sign for the hard shoulder running Hard Shoulder Running and Weaving Segments Belgium –E40/E314 – Brussel - Aken
2.3 Project Costs The estimated budget for this project was € 3,048,000. EU contributed 20% or 609,600 euros. Total budget spent is around € 4,000,000 for the hard shoulder on the E40, and € 2,400,000 for the weaving segments and local capacity extension on the E314.
2.4 Status of the Project
On the 2th of September 2013 the hard shoulder is opened for the first time. 3. RESULTS
3.1 Level of Deployment / level of services The considered periods for analysis are 6 months before and the same 6 months after full deployment. Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2012-2013 Before period for analysis Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2013-2014 Road works Act ivat ion Aft er period for analysis 3.2 Impacts / benefits
Demand flows The demands in the direction of Brussels are increasing (3% between Aarschot and Wilsele) at a similar rate during off-peak periods and morning peak. This illustrates that no new traffic is generated due to the weaving segments on the E314 (Figure 7). The most important bottlenecks at the R0 still remain. Further analysis focuses therefore on the evening peak.
During evening peaks, the demand increases significantly on the E40 between 1 and 10% on top of the nominal growth due to the extra capacity. This extra traffic is concentrated between 3 and 7 PM. The infrastructural implementations don’t influence the amount of traffic on the E314 nor traffic coming from Brussels. Analysis points out, that there is no shift in demand towards the peak hour in time.
Figure 7 Extra demands Hard Shoulder Running and Weaving Segments Belgium –E40/E314 – Brussel - Aken
Use of on and off ramps The hard shoulder running leads to a significant increase in traffic on the E40. Extra traffic is using off-ramps Sterrebeek (in between Brussels and Leuven), Haasrode Research park (E40 below Leuven), and the on-ramp of the Woluwelaan (R0 near Zaventem). The impact of the hard shoulder running can be estimated between 12 and 17% extra traffic on these ramps when nominal growth is neglected. Especially the on-ramp Woluwelaan is a positive effect, because in the past traffic used the R22 for going towards the N2. The N2 is a parallel road to the E40 of the underlying network and can be considered rat running. In contrast, the on-ramp in Kraainem and straight going traffic on the R22 (Woluwedal towards N2) reduced between 6 and 14%. These effects imply a reduction of rat running traffic due to the better throughput on the R0 and E40. The increase in Haasrode Research park is because of the extra traffic avoiding the congestion on the E314.
Throughput on the E314 did not improve after the implementation of the weaving segments due to the remaining bottleneck capacity. On the E314 shifts between off-ramps (e.g. Winksele +19%, Herent -22%) are mainly due to road works on the underlying network.
I/C ratios I/C ratio is only analysed for the evening peak. Demand over capacity ratio of R0 increases slightly due to the number of formerly rat running vehicles avoiding the N2. That traffic uses the R0 instead. The decrease in I/C is most prevalent in the neighbourhood of the hard shoulder (location 5-8) with a reduction between 14% and 34%. The peak values in red are flattened rates because the demand is equal to saturation flow. The real demand is not accounted for because traffic jams limit the throughput.
I/C (%) Location Road Segment Before After E40 1 Kraainem off and on ramp 68 67 2 Kraainem - St-Stevens-Woluwe 58 57 3 St-Stevens-Woluwe off and on ramp - 71 4 St-Stevens-Woluwe - Sterrebeek 76 84 5 Sterrebeek off and on ramp 86 70 6 Sterrebeek - Bertem 94 76 7 Bertem off and on ramp 90 73 8 Bertem - Heverlee 96 62 9 Heverlee - Haasrode 71 79 10 Haasrode off and on ramp 54 57 R0 24 Machelen off and on ramp 62 62 25 Machelen - Zaventem 61 63 26 Zaventem 82 85 27 Zaventem-Hennaulaan 75 77 28 Zaventem-Hennaulaan - St-Stevens-Woluwe 65 67 29 St-Stevens-Woluwe off and on ramp - 44 30 St-Stevens-Woluwe - Wezembeek-Oppem 67 68 31 Wezembeek-Oppem off and on ramp 58 58 32 Wezembeek-Oppem - 4 armen Tervuren 67 67 33 4 Armen -Tervuren - tunnel - 85 E314 18 Herent - W ilsele 98 67 19 W ilsele off and on ramp 88 89 20 W ilsele - Holsbeek 96 97 21 Holsbeek off and on ramp 81 81 22 Holsbeek - Aarschot 87 86 23 Aarschot off and on ramp 64 65 Grey fields: capacit y ext ension in aft er period Hard Shoulder Running and Weaving Segments Belgium –E40/E314 – Brussel - Aken
Travel times The average travel time is reduced by 1.7 minutes on the R0, -3.2 minutes on the Brussels part of the E40, and -3.7 minutes where the hard shoulder is implemented. At the same time, the amount of travel time on the lower part of R0 increases with 2.6 minutes on average. This effect is remarkable because the amount of traffic does not increase. This effect can be explained by a moved bottleneck where the supply from the upper part of the R0 is accelerated. On the E314, there are no measurements for the speed, so no travel times could be estimated. Because of the more severe congestion, it is safe to assume that the travel times increase. One remark, this average travel time is not experienced by every user as such. The difference in travel time between congestion and no congestion can be significant.
Figure 8 Reduction in average travel time
Vehicle hours lost Since the E40 isn’t jammed that frequently, the average reduced travel time has a limited meaning. Therefore, the vehicle hours lost is a better approach to sum up the impact on traffic flows and quantify the effects of the extra capacity on the traffic jams. The number of vehicle hours lost is significant with a reduction of 53% on the R0 between Machelen and St-Stevens- Woluwe, 78% between Brussels and St-Stevens-Woluwe and 51% on the segment between St- Stevens-Woluwe and Heverlee. There is no data available on the E314. At the same time, vehicle hours lost increases between St-Stevens-Woluwe and Leonard with 20% because of the accelerated supply. The analysis concludes that the total reduced vehicle hours lost can be estimated around 142,300 per half year. Hard Shoulder Running and Weaving Segments Belgium –E40/E314 – Brussel - Aken
Figure 9 Reduction of vehicle hours lost
Traffic safety The period of measurements (half year each) is too short to make any final conclusions about the impact on safety. Although the average speed in the evening peak was higher on the R40, the amount of accidents before (39) and after (39) are the same. The number of accidents with injuries reduced from 9 before to 6 after. There seems to be a minor shift in the accidents (Figure 9), but more data is necessary to analyse the statistical significance.
A significant negative impact is observed on the number of accidents on the E314 nearby the weaving lanes between Herent and Wilsele (from 6 to 12 accidents) and around the off-and on ramp at Herent (from 1 to 6). Accidents with injuries on the E314 increased from 4 to 10. This is a statistical significant increase.
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Figure 10 Impact on safety Hard Shoulder Running and Weaving Segments Belgium –E40/E314 – Brussel - Aken
Operational performance In 79% of the evening peaks, the hard shoulder is opened and in 94% closed on time. Main reason for late opening is when a car breaks down, falling leaves and check by the police. Opening to early is mostly due to technical malfunction, after cleaning the leaves, or accident.
Hard Shoulder Running and Weaving Segments Belgium –E40/E314 – Brussel - Aken
3.2 Costs, including analysis of costs against performance/benefits Effects on robustness and decreasing travel times are significant for the hard shoulder running on the E40. The total vehicle hours lost during the evening peak is reduced with more than 142,300 during the half year period. When calculating cost/benefits at a value of time of 12€/vehicle hour lost, this renders a societal benefit of € 3,415,200. Considering the investment cost of € 4,000,000, the return on investment is less than 1.2 years without considering other beneficial effects like the lesser burden on the underlying network or decrease in accidents with injuries. The considered period is too short to make estimates about societal safety gains. The gains of the extra capacity in Herent and the weaving lanes are highly negative. Not only does the duration of the traffic jam increase, also the safety is reduced significantly. Exact negative benefit can’t be estimated due to the lack of speed profile information. But the analysis of the safety effects imply that the infrastructure has to be modified. Plans are made to adapt the weaving segments into a hard shoulder running. These adaptations will remove the bottleneck for speed harmonization amongst lanes.
4. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS This project is partially transferable to other countries where an unused hard shoulder is available. The impact is significant when a similar bottleneck capacity problem is present compared to the E40. The same reasoning applies when rat running traffic creates problems on the underlying network. The use of understandable and clear signals and properly adapting the infrastructure are necessary for optimal effect of such new implementations.
On the other hand, a lesson can be learned from the infrastructural implementations on the E314. Weaving segments in combination with bottlenecks induce unsafe black spots probably due to high speed differences. Hard Shoulder Running – E19 Belgium – Antwerp - Breda
Project Reference: FL-02
Project Name: Hard shoulder running E19 Kleine Bareel – St-Job-in-‘t-Goor
ITS Corridor: E19
Project Location: Belgium – E19 Antwerp - Breda
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT
1.1 Nature of the Site The part of the E19 and R1 subject of this report is a highway connection between the cities of Antwerp and Breda. The newly implemented hard shoulder is situated on the E19 in the direction of Breda between the off and on ramp complex of Kleine Bareel and St-Job-in-‘t-Goor.
Figure 1 Evaluated site Hard Shoulder Running – E19 Belgium – Antwerp - Breda
1.2 Issues Addressed Before 2014, congestion often occurred during evening peak hours caused by traffic leaving Antwerp region going North on the E19 towards Breda. In the morning, the congestion is towards Antwerp. Figure 2 describes the causes of the traffic jam during evening peak. The first bottleneck is situated at St-Job. A single lane roundabout at the end of the off ramp often can’t cope with the demand flows. Queues spill back to the off ramp lane of only 250m and ultimately towards the lanes of the E19. Extra problems are caused by the interaction of outgoing traffic on the E19 with other highway flows in combination with high freight density. A second bottleneck is located at Kleine Bareel. This bottleneck is due to limited capacity of the main road and the interaction of on ramp traffic. Once the spillback of St-Job grows on the E19 as far as Kleine Bareel, the two shockwaves melt together and amplify the growth of the traffic jam.
Figure 2 Issues addressed General policy is to increase outflow capacity during the evening out of the city region, but at the same time to prevent more traffic going in the city centre in the morning. Therefore, in this project new capacity is only added North bound. By adding the hard shoulder running between Kleine Bareel and St-Job-In-’t-Goor, the capacity is extended during evening peak for the first bottleneck. This hard shoulder is opened for peak hour traffic between 2 and 8 PM for weekdays Monday till Hard Shoulder Running – E19 Belgium – Antwerp - Breda
Thursday, and between 12 AM and 8 PM on Fridays. For solving the throughput problem of the roundabout at the end of the off ramp St-Job-In-‘t-Goor, its dimensions are extended from a single lane to a double lane roundabout including extra supply lanes. At the same time the capacity of the E19 between Antwerpen Noord and Kleine Bareel was permanently extended with an extra lane. By expanding the capacity, the congestion problems should be resolved. Figure 3 illustrates the changes before and after for the E19. Figure 4 shows the infrastructural changes to the roundabout at the end of the off ramp E19 St-Job-In-‘t-Goor.
Figure 3 Overview before and after E19
Figure 4 Overview before and after roundabout off ramp E19 St-Job-In-‘t-Goor and N117 Hard Shoulder Running – E19 Belgium – Antwerp - Breda
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT 2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information The main objective of this project is to assess if the capacity extension is able to solve the bottlenecks and traffic jam problems, or creating new ones. An excessive dataset is analysed to compare before and after the deployment of the extra capacity with data from cameras, inductive loops at the measuring points, and other sources.
A quantitative analysis is conducted based on objective measurements: • Demand measurements; • Speed measurements; • Registration of accidents; • Registration of operational characteristics by the control centre.
Most important estimations are made about the impact on following KPIs:
1. Demand flow evolution as in extra nominal growth and changes in route choice; 2. I/C ratios for indicating capacity use with maximum capacity of 2200 PCU/h; 3. Use of on and off ramps and their corresponding shifts; 4. Duration of the traffic jam; 5. Travel times as calculated with estimation models based on the detector information; 6. Vehicle hours lost as a general performance indicator; 7. Traffic safety as in the number of reported accidents; 8. Operational performance of early and late opening of the hard shoulder.
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied Variable Message Signs (VMS) are implemented for opening – i.e. green arrow - and closing – i.e. red cross preceded by a yellow arrow - the lane. The VMS also allows harmonising speed on this section. An additionally CCTV network is installed along the whole section. The CCTV allows the traffic operator to check prior to opening the lanes if vehicles or objects are blocking the lane. The lane remains closed in that case.
Figure 5 VMS with open or closing sign for the hard shoulder running Hard Shoulder Running – E19 Belgium – Antwerp - Breda
2.3 Project Costs The budget for this project was € 4,000,000. EU contributed 20% or 800,000 euros. Total budget actually spent was around € 4,000,000.
2.4 Status of the Project
On the 14th of July 2014 the hard shoulder was opened for the first time. Hard Shoulder Running – E19 Belgium – Antwerp - Breda
3. RESULTS
3.1 Level of Deployment / level of services The considered periods for analysis are 6 months before and the same 6 months after full deployment. Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb 2013-2014 Before period for analysis Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb 2014-2015 Road works Act ivat ion Aft er period for analysis 3.2 Impacts / benefits Demand flows During off peak periods, the demands are similar. During evening peaks however, the demand increases. Figure 6 illustrates the average increase over the six months. In general, it can be concluded that the extra capacity attracts extra traffic, but nominal traffic growth is minimal. Analysis pointed out, that there is no shift in demand towards the peak hour in time.
Figure 6 Extra demand during the evening peak
Use of on and off ramps The main reason of the extra demand is due to the shift in the use of off and on ramps for traffic going North towards Brecht and Sint-Job. The extra capacity attracts rat running vehicles towards the highway and thus reducing the use of primary roads. This can be considered as a positive effect. Hard Shoulder Running – E19 Belgium – Antwerp - Breda
Figure 7 Shift in use of off (af) and on (op) ramps
I/C ratios Demand over capacity ratio of R1 increases due to the number of formerly rat running vehicles that stay on the highway. The same holds for location 9 and 10, where this type of traffic leaves the highway at downstream off ramps instead of using the underlying network.
For location 5-8 the capacity increases, so logically it reduces I/C ratios significantly. Especially location 8 benefits from this extension, where the I/C ratio of 94% ignores the spillback and demand is flattened out due to the traffic jam. I/C (%) Location Road Segment Before After R1 1 Antwerpen-Oost - Deurne 59 61 2 Deurne - Merksem 71 74 3 Merksem off and on ramp N.A. N.A. 4 Merksem - Antwerp Noord 69 73 E19 5 Antwerpen-Noord - off and on ramp 86 61 6 Antwerpen-Noord - Kleine Bareel 83 67 7 Kleine Bareel - off and on ramp 83 62 8 Kleine Bareel - St-Job-in-'t-Goor 94 69 9 St-Job-in-‘t-Goor - off and on ramp 69 74 10 St-Job-in-‘t-Goor - Brecht 74 79 Grey fields: capacit y ext ension in aft er period Travel times The average travel time is reduced with 2.7 minutes on the E19 and with 2.6 minutes on the R1. On average the total reduced travel time is 5.3 minutes. One remark, this travel time is not Hard Shoulder Running – E19 Belgium – Antwerp - Breda
experienced by every user as such. The difference in travel time between congestion and no congestion can be significant.
Vehicle hours lost Since the E19 is not always jammed and the spread in experienced travel time can be large, the average reduced travel time has a limited meaning. Therefore, the vehicle hours lost is a better approach to sum up the impact on traffic flow and quantify the effects of the extra capacity on the traffic jams. The number of vehicles hour lost is significant with a reduction of 95% on the R1 and 87% on the segment between Kleine Bareel and St-Job. There is no data available between Antwerpen Noord and Kleine Bareel. So the analysis concludes that the 68,800 of total vehicle hours lost over a half year is a safe estimate of the benefits.
Figure 8 Reduction of vehicle hours lost
Traffic safety The period of measurements (half year each) is too short to make any final conclusions about the impact on safety. Although the average speed in the evening peak was higher the amount of accidents before and after are the same with respectively 38 and 37 accidents. There seems to be a shift in the accidents (Figure 9), but more data is necessary to analyse the statistical significance. No data is available about the severity of the accidents. Hard Shoulder Running – E19 Belgium – Antwerp - Breda
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Figure 9 Impact on safety The average time to remove the cars involved in accidents is reduced from 66 to 62 minutes. At the same time, the hard shoulder is opened 3 times in the analysed period of September 2011 till February 2015 for reducing the impact of accidents on the spillback. These extra lanes increase the robustness of the network.
Operational performance In 85% of the evening peaks, the hard shoulder is opened and in 93% closed on time. Main reason for late opening is an accident, when a car breaks down, an obstacle on the road or a technical malfunction of the inspection equipment. Opening to early is mostly due to holiday peak period, traffic jam tourists or when an accident happened upstream.
Hard Shoulder Running – E19 Belgium – Antwerp - Breda
3.2 Costs, including analysis of costs against performance/benefits Effects on robustness and decreasing travel times are significant. The total vehicle hours lost is reduced with more than 91% or 68,800 during the half year period. When calculating cost/benefits at a value of time of 12€/vehicle hour lost, this renders a societal benefit of € 1,651,200. Considering the investment cost of € 4,000,000, the return on investment is less than 2.5 years without considering other beneficial effects like the lesser burden on underlying network. The considered period is too short to make estimates about societal safety gains.
4. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS This project is transferable to other countries where an unused hard shoulder is available. The impact is significant when a similar capacity problem of bottlenecks is present near on and off ramps and rat running traffic creates problems on the underlying network. The use of understandable and clear signals and properly adapting the infrastructure are necessary for optimal effect of such new implementations.
Only extending outbound capacity is a straight forward approach with limited attraction of new traffic in the sense. The possible reversed modal shift from public transport towards private traffic seems limited. Moreover, this could result in a relief of the traffic problems of the underlying network by seducing traffic towards the highways. Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Project Reference: WL-03
Project Name: Management of transit traffic on Walloon motorways
ITS Corridor: Arc Atlantique
Project Location: Motorways (A3 - A4 – A26 – A27) and main roads (N4 – N89) in the Ardenne Region
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT
1.1 Nature of the Site
In winter, heavy snow falls occur sometimes and cause severe traffic problems, typically caused by long trailer trucks get stuck in the snow when driving up the hills, followed by others, that try to overtake and skid. The consequences are that winter maintenance vehicles are prevented to reach the spots of intervention and that motorways become rapidly completely blocked.
1.2 Issues Addressed
A specific Traffic Management Plan – called “Plan Neige” has been elaborated with appropriate measures linked to the seriousness of weather conditions. This plan is supported by a combination of new and additional resources (ITS, intervention equipment, staff) as well as by cross-border cooperation through a light and efficient coordination structure at Walloon level – called “CAR” (cellule d’Action routière).
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT
2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information
The “Plan Neige” relies on a traffic ban for HGV over 13 meters. The strategy consists first in allowing them to continue their journey on alternative routes, staying on the main network and when weather conditions are becoming very severe, in stopping them in predefined areas. Mobile equipment is especially used for this purpose.
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied
Deployment of mobile equipment (VMS and cameras) for management of truck traffic;
Use of existing equipment and systems: (fixed) VMS signs; weather information system (Météoroutes); system for tracking of spreading and snow removal vehicles (IRIS); traffic information website...
2.3 Project Costs
Belgium – Wallonia benefits from a support of 703 k€, corresponding to 20% of its investments in the frame of Arc Atlantique for the implementation of traffic management measures in order to reduce consequences of traffic disruptions and to improve safety in case of temporary / seasonal and predictable problems. The management of HGV by heavy snow is an activity falling under this project.
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Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
2.4 Status of the Project (e.g. planned, implemented, operational) Implemented
3. FOR PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED - EVALUATION PLAN 3.1 Objectives for the Evaluation (i.e. impacts to be evaluated)
The methodology recommended in the frame of Arc Atlantique is based on the concept of vehicle hour lost.
We already know that the Plan Neige meets the expectations of drivers and public authorities, who required actions from road operators in order to manage traffic problems in case of heavy snow falls and to prevent motorways to be blocked for a long time. Evaluation aims at objectifying the benefits of traffic management, taking into account all users in order to possibly improve the “Plan Neige”. It consists mainly in a debriefing after every alert phase.
3.2 Timing and Type of Evaluation, including data needed and associated issues, methods, definitions/terminologies)
Evaluation of projects dealing with seasonal / abnormal congestion is not easy, especially in this case as it depends very much on the occurrence of traffic problems caused by bad weather conditions. Time, place and severity are very difficult to foresee and assessment is based on a lot of assumptions.
A general evaluation of the Plan Neige is carried out at least at the end of every winter period. Detailed evaluation of the management of truck traffic is realized when traffic ban for HGV over 13 meters is applied.
4. FOR IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS – RESULTS
4.1 Level of Deployment / level of services
EW DG Km road Km road network network planned realised
TMS-DG07 289 289
The service has been deployed on the motorways in the Ardenne region (Southern part of Wallonia).
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Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Mobile equipment combined with existing traffic information systems enables the launch of 10 different scenarios according to weather conditions and in coordination with measures taken in the neighbouring regions in France and Luxembourg.
During the winter period, when the Cellule d’Action Routière is activated and the Plan Neige is into force, the traffic management service provided is level 2 with incident warning and management in the frame of a traffic management plan.
4.2 Impacts / benefits
As we mentioned before, evaluation of the impact of a project dealing with abnormal congestion is quite difficult. This project has rather to be seen as part of a risk management strategy in which measures have to be elaborated in order to face extreme situations.
The Plan Neige includes three levels: enhanced vigilance, pre-alert, alert. During winter 2014 – 2015, we faced only 4 situations for which we reached the last step with the launch of a traffic ban for HGV’s. It was a good winter from a traffic management point of view.
Nevertheless, in order to have an idea of the benefits of the projects, we analyzed a specific problem, which took place on 30 January 2015 on the N89. Around 12.00, the CAR decided a traffic ban for
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Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
HGV between the interchange with A4 / E411 and the French border, which was lifted after 4 hours (around 16.00).
Average situation Expected problems Plan neige
(without TMP) (traffic ban for HGV)
Free-flowing traffic Traffic blocked > 13 m HGV ban
100 km/h - 2.724 cars 30 km/h 30 km/h 90 km/h – 662 trucks (209 HGV) + 1 to 4 hours delay for all vehicles + 1 to 4 hours delay only for > 13m HGV’s
9.741 VHL 2.731 VHL
4.2 Costs, including analysis of costs against performance/benefits
From the estimated vehicle hour lost we could derive some benefits taking into account a reference cost linked for example to 1 vehicle hour lost. Nevertheless, our main benefit consists in a better efficiency of the resources (staff, spreading and snow removal vehicles).
On the other hand, the provision of a costs estimate turns out to be risky. In addition to the costs of mobile equipment, costs for fixed equipment and systems (depreciation and maintenance) and also the costs for the elaboration, implementation and operation of the traffic management plan, which are complicated to assess, should also be taken into account.
Therefore it appears quite difficult to quantify – even roughly – the costs and the benefits.
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS
From our experience, we recommend the use of mobile equipment for circumstances that are unusual but foreseeable. These situations are usually very disturbing for mobility .
Even if making use of a specific technology, in particular for data transmission, which does not go through conventional communication networks, this additional equipment should be integrated – from an operational point of view - with the permanent fixed equipment and managed from one single point - ideally the traffic centre - for an optimal efficiency. In this way, traffic management actions can be launched according to agreed traffic management plans based on traffic / weather data and benefit from all available traffic information systems.
4
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Project Reference: FR-05 Project Name: Intelligent Truck Parking ITS Corridor: Arc Atlantique Project Location: France – A13 motorway (ASFA - Sanef network)
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT 1.1 Nature of the Site Intelligent Truck Parking on 3 main rest areas on the A13 motorway, located on the west part of the sanef network and part of the Arc Atlantique corridor.
Figure 1 : sanef network and ITP location
1.2 Issues Addressed This project aims at displaying the remaining truck parking lots on 3 successive trucks rest areas on the A13 motorway. The first truck parking area is often full at night and drivers will park anywhere they can, while there are remaining truck parking lots on the next truck parking areas. In general, this project aims to find a solution to better park trucks on several rest areas to improve security on motorways.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT 2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
The need to inform drivers is a response to a difficult situation, as regulations require them to take regular breaks, but while driving they have no idea of how full the truck parking lots are. Therefore by displaying the current availability of the truck parking lots, truck drivers can choose to go the next truck area to have their regular break in a safe place.
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied The project consisted in validating a parking lot occupancy detection system, and then deploying detectors on each parking lot to measure the current occupancy level. The results of these measurements are in turn displayed on a VMS information panel located right before the first truck parking area. 73 detectors were installed altogether on the 3 parking areas. The detectors work as presence sensors for each parked vehicle (if the sensor is shadowed, the parking spot is considered as occupied).
The main achievement of this project was to evaluate the quality of the measurement made by the detectors in a first step, then, as a second step, to deploy the detectors on the 3 parking areas to better inform truck drivers.
2.3 Project Costs The total costs of this project are of 60k€.
2.4 Status of the Project (e.g. planned, implemented, operational) The project is operational.
3. FOR PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED - EVALUATION PLAN 3.1 Objectives for the Evaluation (i.e. impacts to be evaluated) During the first phase of this project, an evaluation was conducted in order to qualify the accuracy of the truck detection sensors used to measure the parking lot occupancy.
3.2 Timing and Type of Evaluation, including data needed and associated issues, methods, definitions/terminologies) This evaluation was done prior to the full deployment on the 3 truck parking areas. It consisted in installing a sample of detectors on several truck lots covered by a video camera. By comparing, every minute, the results of the parking lot occupancy, as measured by the detectors, with the reality, as seen on the video recording, one was able to calculate the percentage of good information provided by the detectors. Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
The result of this evaluation showed that over 95% of the detectors’ measurements corresponded to reality. This allowed us to continue the project by deploying the detectors on the 3 truck parking areas.
4. FOR IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS – RESULTS 4.1 Level of Deployment / level of services 3 truck parking areas on a stretch of 40km of the A13 motorway were equipped with the selected detectors. They now provide useful information, through a dedicated Variable Message Sign, to truck drivers who can adapt their journey depending on the current availability of truck parking lots.
4.2 Impacts / benefits This system allows a better distribution of trucks between the 3 truck parking areas (transfer of HGVs from the 1st parking area to the next 2 less occupied ones), therefore enhancing security on parking areas which were over-occupied prior to the installation of the system.
4.2 Costs, including analysis of costs against performance/benefits The investment was very small compared to the investment that would have been necessary in order to build new truck parking lots on the first truck parking area.
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS The evaluation results are transferable to other road operators upon request. In general, the technologies that were used during this deployment are fully reusable anywhere in Europe where road operators encounter the same kind of truck parking unavailability.
Contact: Guy FREMONT – Sanef [email protected]
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Project Reference: FR-16 Project Name: Traffic Management Plans ITS Corridor: Arc Atlantique Project Location: France – A89 motorway (ASFA – ASF network)
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT 1.1 Nature of the Site With a 2,600 km long network embedding an average annual daily traffic of 110,000 veh/day made up of 20% of heavy goods vehicles; ASF network is one of the busiest networks in Europe.
The A89 motorway links Bordeaux to Lyon. On the considered A89 stretch (Lyon to Ussel), traffic characteristics are the following: . An average of 12850 light vehicles/day . An average of 1350 HGVs/day
Figure 1: A89 motorway stretch in France
1.2 Issues Addressed Given the complex situation formed by these axes, including the presence of a sequence of several tunnels >1km in length, various measures have been implemented to optimize traffic management namely in terms of traffic rerouting.
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT 2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information First, a Traffic Management Plan (TMP) was implemented with all the competent authorities of the area and road operators and ASF as motorway operator. The extent of the TMP is unique given the number of operators involved.
Regarding the responsibility issue of the TMP, provisions are written down to optimize actions having a direct impact on traffic. For example, ASF has the authorizations allowing it to carry out major traffic management actions within a short timeframe, through delegation by the Prefect; example: closure of highways, etc. These short deadlines more in line with the necessary responsiveness of road operations compared to the time period of prefectural decisions.
In terms of use, the TMP is triggered on unplanned events (accidents, major hindrance to the flow of traffic ...), on scheduled events (closure of a tunnel for maintenance ...) or as needed to complete the existing regional bad-weather plan (PIRAU, Plan Intempéries Rhône-Alpes Auvergne).
The TMP mainly focuses HGV management.
Whenever possible, the TMP is implemented as an exercise, for example during a scheduled tunnel closure. On the other hand, despite traffic flows being managed by TMP measures, influx of vehicles can still occur leaving vehicles stranded. A specific management tool is available for ASF operations teams to deal with this type of event. This tool allows defining the best traffic management strategy by considering various parameters depending on the vehicles caught in the « net » (category, number, location ...).
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied In addition to the TMP and other measures described above, a dynamic traffic management system has been installed at main nodes: Nervieux (on the A89 motorway towards Lyon, north of Saint Etienne hereinafter referred to as section A) and Combronde (A71 to A89 towards Brive, north of Clermont Ferrand hereinafter referred to as section B). This device, consisting primarily of variable message signs, is activated by ASF when necessary to divert traffic (accident, tunnel closing event bad weather, etc.). The main target users are the HGVs. This device allows saving between 1 and 2 hours compared to the installation of an equivalent signalling "by hand". This prevents that many vehicles from being trapped later in the “net”. It also represents a gain in terms of safety since there is no need to involve staff on the ground to install the signs.
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Figure 2: Sections addressed on the A89 motorway
2.3 Project Costs The total costs of this project are of 700k€.
2.4 Status of the Project (e.g. planned, implemented, operational) The project is operational.
3. FOR PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED - EVALUATION PLAN 3.1 Objectives for the Evaluation (i.e. impacts to be evaluated) Evaluation of this project focused on the impact of the activated system on traffic conditions.
The following Key Performance Indicators have been calculated:
Category Definition Congestion Reduction of vehicle loss hours on considered section The Reduction of tons of CO2 on considered section Environment
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
3.2 Timing and Type of Evaluation, including data needed and associated issues, methods, definitions/terminologies) The Evaluation of TMP measures + the “trap management” tool + the dynamic signalling dynamic system can be made as follows: • We take the typical case of closing a highway following an incident on either Section A or Section B and requiring rerouting, • The TMP allows to accelerate decision-making to reroute 1-hour traffic by delegation of decision granted to ASF • Furthermore, the gain in time to activate the rerouting traffic once the traffic management decision is made is of about 1 hour, • In the first approach, it is therefore considered that this avoids the problem to the equivalent traffic of 1 + 1 = 2 hours arriving at the incident site, thus preventing these vehicles from ending up in a situation of blocked or disrupted traffic. • It is considered that the device is activated about 10 times a year in Nervieux (section A) and 5 times a year in Combronde (section B).
• In terms of traffic, it is considered that: . Section A is represented by traffic in September 2015 on the A89 motorway between Balbigny / Nervieux and La Tour de Salvagny, . Section B is represented by traffic in September 2015 on the first three sections west of the A89 / A71 junction.
4. FOR IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS – RESULTS 4.1 Level of Deployment / level of services The service is operated on a 150 km long motorway section.
4.2 Impacts / benefits Gain in fuel consumption: If all vehicles passed through the trap is found in cap situation, excessive consumption can be calculated as follows:
Section A Extra gas Gas extra Gas extra flow debit for 2 consumption per consumption consumption per hours vehicle/km l/HKM [a] HKM [b] [axb] Light vehicle 2*870 0.035 60.9 section A HGV section A 2*76 0.16 24.32 TOTAL 85.22 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
This represents 85.22 litres of fuel savings for all vehicles involved in the 1km disruption. Considering that the disruption brings these vehicles to a disrupted traffic situation for 2km, the gain in consumption is then of 85.22 * 2 = 170.44 L of fuel, and the total / year (considering 10 occurrences) = 1704.4 litres
Section B Extra gas Gas extra Gas extra flow debit for 2 consumption per consumption consumption per hours vehicle/km l/HKM [a] HKM [b] [axb] Light vehicle 2*529 0.035 37.03 section B HGV section B 2*87 0.16 27.84 TOTAL 64.87
This represents 64.87 litres of fuel savings for all vehicles involved in the 1km disruption. Considering that the disruption brings these vehicles to a disrupted traffic situation for 2km, the gain in consumption is then of 64.87 * 2 = 129.74 L of fuel, and the total / year (considering 5 occurrences) = 648.7 litres
Thus, total for Sections A + B: 1704.4 + 648.7 = 2353.1 litres
Environmental impact:
Regarding CO2 emissions, considering the mix of light vehicles and HGVs on the network, 1 litre of
gas generates 2.7 kg of CO2.
2353.1 litres thus generate a gain of 2353.1*2.7 = 6.35 tons of CO2 emission
4.3 Costs, including analysis of costs against performance/benefits Traffic impacted by this measure: • Considering that the average daily traffic is taken into account on all of these sections, in both directions • Considering that the average traffic in one hour of the day (12 hours out of 24) is approximately equal to 80% of the total daily average traffic:
For section A: HGVs: 1150 HGVs/day *0.8/12 = approx. 76 HGVs per hour during the day Light vehicles: 13056 LV/day *0.8/12 = approx. 870 LV per hour during the day
For section B: HGVs: 1310 HGVs/day *0.8/12 = approx. 87 HGVs per hour during the day LV: 7946 LV/day *0.8/12 = approx. 529 LV per hour during the day
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Therefore, for 2 hours trapped in the disrupted traffic: . Section A: (76+870)*2=1892 vehicles for approx. 10 events per year, i.e. 18920 vehicles yearly. . Section B: (87+529)*2=1232 vehicles for approx. 5 events per year, i.e. 6160 vehicles yearly
Considering an average of 1.6 persons per vehicle, this gives in terms of vehicle loss hours: . (18920+6160)*1.6=40128 loss hours
1 loss hour is estimated at 37.27€: 40128*37.27= 1 495 570 € saved annually.
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS ASF has been promoting the deployment of TMPs for a long time. Having in charge one of the busiest motorway network in Europe, the road operator supports solutions which have proven their efficiency.
The result figures of this evaluation show the positive impact of the measure on traffic flows, on the Environment and on safety.
The service is technically mature and knowledge can be transferred between road operators. Results of this evaluation can be considered by road operators coping with similar traffic conditions.
Contact: Frederic AMBLETON – ASF [email protected]
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Project Reference: IE-01
Project Name: MIU ITS Deployment
ITS Corridor: Arc Atlantique
Project Location: M7, M8, M11, M18
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT
1.1 Nature of the Site The MIU ITS Deployment encompasses the deployment of Journey Time Data Collection technologies and Variable Message Signs on motorways located on the TEN-T Core and Comprehensive networks. The ITS deployment occurred on the following four major inter-urbans in Ireland:
• M7 – The M7 (E20) forms part of the Dublin to Limerick national primary road. The M7 is 186 km in length and the longest motorway in Ireland
• M8 – The M8 motorway is an inter-urban motorway which forms part of the motorway from the Dublin to Cork. The M8 is 149 km in length and motorway commences County Laois at the motorway interchange with the M7.
• M11 - The M11 motorway is an inter-urban motorway forming part of the national primary route from Dublin to Wexford. The national primary route is 134km in length and continues to Rosslare as the N25. The road forms part of European route E01.
• M18 - The M18 motorway is an inter-urban motorway linking the cities of Limerick and Galway via the large town of Ennis and the major airport at Shannon beside the mouth of the eponymous river.
The Journey Time Data Collections technologies are located on the M7 between Dublin and Limerick. This route was selected for the Data Collection (sub-function1) element of the project as it provided the greatest coverage for a single motorway and existing roadside equipment and back-office support facilitated the subsequent data fusion and processing (sub-function 2). The deployment of the Variable Message Signs (Sub-function 3 – Data Provision) was spread across the four motorways at strategic locations.
1.2 Issues Addressed Deployment of ITS Equipment for the provision of the Traffic Condition and Travel Time Information has to date been concentrated on the heavily trafficked M50 located in Dublin and the cross border route the M1 between Dublin and Belfast. This project sought to address the lack of Traffic Condition and Travel Time Information on the lower trafficked inter urban routes in Ireland by increasing the coverage of ITS deployment through the following: Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
(i) Collection of and processing of data along the M7 Motorway that will enable the dissemination of both predictive and real-time travel time information to the road user. This will contribute to the improvement of traffic efficiency facilitating the road users in the selection of more cost and time effective trips. The current lack of this data increases the adverse Environmental impact of congestion on the network. (ii) Provide information about traffic conditions and travel times to positively impact road safety. The locations for deployment of the 10 no. Pilot VMS were selected, in part, on the basis of the following: • Proximity to accident hotspots based on the NRA Traffic Accident Database;
• Proximity to alternative routes that will facilitate the motorist in react to the information displayed to find the best way to bypass critical road segments / areas of the network, respectively.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT
2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information The primary objectives of the MIU ITS Deployment is to improve safety, reduce congestion, reduce environmental impacts, and promote the continuity of services on existing inter urban routes through the coordinated deployment of real-time information, traffic management and logistics services. This project sought to achieve these objectives through the deployment of Journey Time Systems and Variable Message Signs.
As part of the project, Travel Time information data is collected by the contractor, EACL Ltd, on behalf of the Authority along the M7 using the Bluetooth Journey Time Management System. The data is collected at 21 no. counting stations along the route and processed by the Traffic Monitoring System operated and maintained by the Contractor on behalf on the Authority. It is envisaged that Data collected from these points will be fused with information obtained by the Road Operator from existing Event-based Information Systems such as the TII Road Space Booking System and existing weather stations. Figure 1 demonstrates the model organisational structure that best fits this project.
Figure 1: Organisational architecture - road operator point of view
Data Fusion & Information Data collection Information Use Processing Provision
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
In the immediate term, information from the mature Event-based Information Systems will be displayed on the deployed VMS with travel time data displayed in the future when the quality of information obtained from the Bluetooth Journey Time Management System is verified. This will enable the Authority to achieve the goal of increasing the coverage of the network where motorists are provided with both pre-trip and on-trip travel information. On a national level, a project specific objective of the Authority was to deploy cost effective ITS solutions for the provision of Traffic Condition and Travel Time Information on lower trafficked inter urban routes. To achieve this objective, the following cost saving measures was trialled as part of the project:
(i) Journey Time Data Collection
The Authority deployed a Bluetooth Journey Time Monitoring System to ascertain whether it is a viable alternative to ANPR technologies. The Bluetooth Journey Time Monitoring System was selected due to its perception in the market as a low-cost and non-intrusive alternative to ANPR.
To further reduce the costs of the deployment; the M7 motorway was selected as the route for the pilot study as the Bluetooth units could be co-located with TII owned traffic counters and cabinets along the full extent of the route. The traffic counters are located approximately every 10 km along the route between junctions. The co-location of the Bluetooth unit with traffic monitoring units also provided the Authority with additional information to verify the quality of information obtained from the Bluetooth Journey Time Monitoring System.
(ii) Variable Message Signs
The Authority deployed 10 nr. VMS (two different sign types) across the four motorways to examine the feasibility of alternative and more cost effective VMS solutions. The alternative VMS solutions deployed are as follows:
• Solar Powered VMS that do not incur the substantial costs of connecting to a power supply or the continued cost of powering the signs.;
• Full Colour VMS suitable for mounting on existing cantilever road sign structures which are typically located at the beginning of diverge tapers for interchanges on motorways and dual carriageways.
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied Two separate systems were deployed on the network as part of this MIU ITS Deployment as follows:
(i) Bluetooth Journey Time Management System
(ii) Variable Message Signs (i) Bluetooth Journey Time Management System
The HI-TRAC® BLUE Bluetooth system manufactured by TDC (Q-Free) and supplied by EACL Ltd was deployed on the M7 between Dublin and Limerick at 21 no. locations. The HI TRAC Blue unit installed is UTMC compliant and fully integrated with the TII Traffic Monitoring System supported by Drakewell. This enabled the TII to process the data collected at the 21 no. points along the M7 using the existing TII Traffic Monitoring System following the addition of an existing compatible software module. The journey time information will be used to provide the operator with real time journey time information and the Authority with historical journey time information.
The HI TRAC Blue unit is co-located with existing traffic monitoring sites on the M7 and the compatibility of the HI-TRAC® BLUE Bluetooth system with the TII Traffic Monitoring System will enable Bluetooth Journey Time data to be verified [in part] against the traffic count data.
(ii) Variable Message Signs (VMS)
The 2014 VMS Pilot Scheme comprised of the deployment of 10 VMS using both new and existing structures and explored the use of alternative deployment methods, never before used in Ireland. This included mounting some signs on existing road sign structures and also using solar power as a means of avoiding the significant costs associated with sourcing and supplying power to VMS.
The scheme involved the deployment of 2 sign types namely:
• Solar Powered VMS (manufactured by Securite & Signalisation(SES), supplied by Rennicks); • Full Colour VMS (manufactured by Data Display, supplied by Imtech).
2.3 Project Costs (i) Bluetooth Journey Time Management System
The project costs for the Supply, Installation and Operation of the Bluetooth Journey Management System at 21 no. sites along the M7 was €95,704.54 excl. VAT. The maintenance costs of the Bluetooth Journey Management System over a four year period are €27,014.72 excl. VAT.
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
(ii) Variable Message Signs (VMS)
The project costs for the deployment of 10 VMS was €1,388,544 excl. VAT. The breakdown of projects costs per site type is as follows: Greenfield Static Sign Gantry Solar Powered Sign Full Colour Sign Variable Message Sign €67,600 €45,000 Foundation €8,000 €0 Mounting Structure €18,248 €12,500 Installation €20,000 €5,000 Civil Enabling Works €34,000 €59,000 Electrical works €0 €10,000 Structural Survey €0 €3,500 Total €147,848 €135,000
2.4 Status of the Project (e.g. planned, implemented, operational)
The Bluetooth Journey Time Management System and Variable Message Signs have been installed and are currently operational in isolation. The verification of the data obtained from Bluetooth Journey Time Management System is ongoing and the results from initial validation exercises are positive. Comparisons with 2 no. existing ANPR systems on the N7 indicate the Bluetooth Systems output similar travel time information despite a reduced capture rate of 30% (ANPR capture rate of 90%).
With regard to the Variable Message Signs, the Road Operator is currently displaying messages based on the existing event-based information systems. In the three month period since August 2015, a total of 17 no. safety related messages were displayed to motorists.
The next phase of the project is to establish the interface between the contractor and Road Operator. This will complete the functionality of the service by establishing the interface between all three sub-functions as described in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: Functional architecture of the service and decomposition in three sub-functions
Interface 1 Interface 2
Sub-function 1 Sub-function 2 Sub-function 3 Data Collection Data Fusion Information Information and Provision Use Processing
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
3. FOR PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED - EVALUATION PLAN
3.1 Objectives for the Evaluation (i.e. impacts to be evaluated)
The objectives of the evaluation are to determine the extent of the network covered by the service and the impact of this service on road users along the four motorways. The primary impacts to be assessed are as follows: (i) Safety
(ii) Environmental Impacts
(iii) Network Efficiency
The above impacts will assessed from the perspective of the user and the road authority.
3.2 Timing and Type of Evaluation, including data needed and associated issues, methods, definitions/terminologies)
The evaluation of the project will be an ongoing process with the impacts assessed over a period of xx12 months. The duration of the evaluation must be sufficient to ensure the immediate impacts of the deployment are sustained over a prolonged period of time as the road user becomes familiar with the information provided by the Authority.
With respect to the Bluetooth Journey Time Management System, the quality of the information obtained will be assessed on basis of the following table:
Table 2: Quality requirements for real-time traffic information - minimum level Real-time Quality parameters information
Physical Uptime Data Error Location Accuracy*** coverage (Availability) Latency probability
>90% a. Traffic condition >75%* 5-15 min 5-10 km <10% information (95% in EIP)
>90% Between fixed points at b. Travel time >75%* 2-3 min relevant locations or <10% information (95% in EIP) between starting point and destination
c. Weather >90% >80%** <5 min 20-50 km <10% information (95% in EIP)
* Physical coverage relates only to the main corridor and not it’s connecting links ** Physical coverage relates only to critical spots *** Where location is expressed as a predefined area, its accuracy will be the smallest defined area (e.g. a local community, village, or municipality Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
The Variable Message Signs will be assessed on basis of the following table:
Table 3: Quality requirements for Safety Related Traffic Information - minimum level
Quality parameters
Safety related Event/ Location Physical Uptime Latency Error traffic events condition Event Accuracy coverage (Availa (in 95% of proba- coverage ***(in 95% of TERN - bility) cases) bility of\
a. Temporary Condition Relevant 95% <5 min link between <10% slippery road parts* intersections
b. Animal/people/ >2 500 link between obstacles, debris Event 80% ** 95% <5 min <10% intersections on the road veh/lane
c. Unprotected Event >2 500 80% ** 95% <5 min link between <10% accident area veh/lane intersections
d. Short term road Event >2 500 80% 95% <5 min link between <5% works veh/lane intersections
e. Reduced Condition Relevant 95% <5 min link between <10% visibility parts* intersections
f. Wrong-way Moving Relevant 80% ** 95% <3 min link between <10% driver event parts* intersections g. Unmanaged Event >2 500 80% ** 95% <5 min link between <10% blockage of a road veh/lane intersections h. Exceptional Event/ Relevant 95% 95% <5 min link between <5% weather conditions Condition parts* intersections
* Physical coverage relates to only such sections or spots on the network, where the frequency and consequences of the events and/or conditions make the service socio-economically feasible. ** Can be related only to events eventually leading to a) a call to the traffic management/information/control centre, b) a call to emergency centre or other PSAP, or c) a police report due to accident or other reason, i.e. only events brought to the attention of the traffic management/information/control centre are covered. *** Where location is expressed as a predefined area, its accuracy will be the smallest defined area (e.g. a local community, village, or municipality
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
4. FOR IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS – RESULTS 4.1 Level of Deployment / level of services
For the purposes of this Project, the level of deployment and the level of services will be measured for each of the four routes.
Table 4.1: M7 Service level improvements Aspect KPI for corridor status in 2012 KPI for corridor status in 2015 Data Acquisition* 10% 100% Data Management 10% (20km / 190 km) 25% (45km / 190 km) Data dissemination No Minimum Service Provision** No Minimum
Table 4.2: M8 Service level improvements Aspect KPI for corridor status in 2012 KPI for corridor status in 2015 Data Acquisition* 0% 0% Data Management 0% 10% (30km / 300 km(1)) Data dissemination No Minimum Service Provision** No Minimum
(1)Both Directions
Table 4.3: M11 Service level improvements Aspect KPI for corridor status in 2012 KPI for corridor status in 2015 Data Acquisition* 10% 0% Data Management 1% 5% Data dissemination No Minimum Service Provision** No Minimum
Table 4.4: M18 Service level improvements Aspect KPI for corridor status in 2012 KPI for corridor status in 2015 Data Acquisition* 0% 0% Data Management 0% 10% (18km SB / 90 km) Data dissemination No Minimum Service Provision** No Minimum * Data Acquisition with respect to Journey Times only. ** Pre-Trip and On-Trip Traveller Information Services available with respect to Forecast and Real Time Event Information / Speed Limit Information / Weather Information. Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
4.2 Impacts / benefits
The impact of the deployment will be assessed on the basis of the policy objectives relating to the following:
• congestion and disturbances in the traffic flow (Corridor performance);
• exhaust and noise emissions caused by interrupted traffic, delays and unwise journey decisions;
• accidents and injuries due to unforeseen and unexpected traffic conditions (Road safety);
• Another objective to be considered is travel efficiency. Improved travel efficiency concerns issues like reducing travel times, assuring travel time reliability and reducing congestion.
These are described as the % change or number of vehicle hours driven, vehicle hours lost in congestion, fatal and injury accidents, CO2 emissions and travel time. The impacts concerning these aspects are put in relation to the deployment costs thus giving a C/B ratio.
4.3 Costs, including analysis of costs against performance/benefits
As part of the project, the key benefits that will be analysed against the cost of the project for each of the corridors are as follows:
• Safety (i) Number or % change in fatalities / Injuries (ii) Change in speed
• Environmental Impacts (i) Reduction of CO2 emissions (ii) Noise reduction (i) Modal Split
• Congestion (i) Lost Vehicle Hours / Time Saving (ii) Re-routing (Traffic Management) (iii) Difference in Vehicle km driven (iv) Journey time (v) Journey time variability at key points
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS Given the limited ITS deployment on the route corridors covered by this project and technologies installed as part of the pilot studies, it is highly likely that the results achieved will serve to demonstrate the Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
development of services towards a truly European (pan-European) service and to assure an adequate service quality (Level of service). The co-location of the Bluetooth Journey Time System with Traffic Monitoring Units will assist the Authority in establishing tests to ascertain the quality of the real time traffic information services. Subject to the findings of this assessment, the results may be transferable on a European dimension with information available on the robustness of the travel time information obtained. The outcome of the cost saving initiatives applied as part of this project will also serve to provide authorities Europe wide with information on deployment options that seek to maximise the service coverage (geographical and time availability) within existing financial controls.
PROJECT EVALUATION SUMMARY TEMPLATE (EEG/11/8)
Project Reference: Field test Amsterdam
Project Name: Praktijkproef Amsterdam (Practice Trial Amsterdam - PTA)
EasyWay Region: Arc Atlantique
Project Location: Amsterdam region
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT 1.1 Nature of the Site Amsterdam is the biggest international business district of The Netherlands. On the ring road average daily intensities go up to 80.000-100.000 vehicles a day on (A10) with 10-25% truck traffic. 1.2 Issues Addressed Evaluation showed effective traffic management measure can realise up to 20% reduction of vehicle loss hours. The project aims to improve traffic flow in and around Amsterdam. All road operators in and around Amsterdam (city, RWS and the region) work together on two solutions for congestion: via coordinated traffic management and via individual travel information. This evaluation deals with the first coordinated traffic management scenarios.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT
2.1 Project Objectives Government, the market and science are collaborating within PTA in an innovative way to develop solutions that will improve accessibility in busy regions. Demonstrable cost- effectiveness will prompt national and international applications as well as opportunities for Dutch trade and industry.
Together all PTA partners conduct a large-scale test of the automated coordinated management of entire traffic network by an automated and proactive self-organising system of roadside technology. The objectives: • Gain experience and insight through the operational methods and effects of coordinated management of the entire Amsterdam traffic network • Investigation of concrete possibilities for programme roll-out In the rest of the Netherlands, and beyond! Together with Connecting Mobility 2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied To realise coordinated traffic management PTA will connect existing traffic lights to ramp metering systems and make sure they are tuned into each other instead of working stand alone are in smaller groups (like a junction). After several years of studies, these three theoretical principles were applied: • Nip starting congestion in the bud;
PROJECT EVALUATION SUMMARY TEMPLATE (EEG/11/8)
• Prevent congestion caused by blockages in crucial points in the network • A traffic problem needs to be solved on its own level (highway vs. secondary road network) The test area was the West part of the A10 Ring road around Amsterdam: • S102 – Real time network Controller on the urban network • S101-107 - Coordination of ramps on the A10 Ring road • Combination of both
2.3 Project Costs 15.000.000 EUR – this is for the total project including the in-car part. 2.4 Status of the Project (e.g. planned, implemented, operational) Operational
3. FOR PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED - EVALUATION PLANNED
3.1 Timing and Type of Evaluation The project is divided in three phases with several steps. Every step is evaluated. The road works on the Coen tunnel were even delayed to avoid tainting the evaluation results. The steps were: a. 1 local ramp on the ramp S101 b. Real time network Controller on the urban network c. Coordinated ramps – ramp metering connected to the traffic lights at the nearest junctions. d. Combination of both systems e. Experience and behavioural evaluation a, b and c were based on a data set of 2 weeks, mostly qualitative – a and c were inconclusive, so are not part of this evaluation. 3.2 Objectives for the Evaluation (i.e. Impacts to be evaluated) Traffic impact is measured through: • PTA systems • Data collection to check the results and to establish context • Selection of days • Traffic impact • Conclusions • Recommendations Experience and behavioural evaluation was done through a web survey, interviews, focus groups and a social media study.
PROJECT EVALUATION SUMMARY TEMPLATE (EEG/11/8)
4. FOR IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS – RESULTS
4.1 Impacts The main network where the Real time network Controller was active showed a positive effect on traffic flow with a reduction of delay of 11-13%. It cannot be said for certain the controller is the owner of the effect, the period of measurement was too short. The overall impact on the entire network was negative, since it resulted in a negative impact on the secondary road network and a positive impact on the main road network. VHL One evening peak hour showed a reduction of 190 VHL (-15%) on the main road network and an increase of 250 VHL (+30%) on the secondary road network. Travel times • On the A10 West the travel time was reduced with 35 sec (8 minutes with 5.300 veh/hr) • On the A5 the travel time was reduced with 40 sec (3,5 minuts with 1.400 veh/hr) • On the S101 East of A10 West the travel time increased with 25 sec (2 minutes with 300 veh/hr) • On the ramp of S101 the travel time increased with 15 sec. (1.5 minute with 800 veh/hr) Road users • The study on user experience show users are 10% more content about traffic flow. (unclear causal effect since the max. speed had changed between surveys) • The principle behind PTA is considered to be plausible • Road users have notices the use of ramp metering before the need seemed there on the main road network (normal traffic flow) • For professional road users the biggest problems are on the S101 ramp • A road with two lanes and ramp metering is unclear for road users. System evaluation • For the entire chain the operation of the system is evaluated as well: • Basic systems like traffic lights, inductive loops and ramp metering were reliable and constant • Data delivery was unreliable for 30% of the time, This caused problems for the control of the different systems. • PTA control system was stable • Rules for the PTA control system could have been better adjusted.
4.2 Costs See project costs
PROJECT EVALUATION SUMMARY TEMPLATE (EEG/11/8)
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS Coordination between traffic management systems is expected to be an essential part of urban traffic management and network traffic management. All urban areas can take on the lessons learned in the PTA and learn from the approach. Examples of other related projects elsewhere in the world: • China: based on existing MOU/focus on data fusion • South Korea: Visit of Highway Authority • Scandinavia: presentation and exchange of information • CEDR: APT is part of CEDR Task Group N6 (integrated networkmanagement) • Ertico: APT is part of the Traffic Management 2.0 platform • Europe: proactive looking voor pan european cooperation (urban mobility)
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Project Reference: PT-03
Project Name: System Enhancements
ITS Corridor: Arc Atlantique – Traffic Management Corridor
Project Location: A25 (Aveiro – Vilar Formoso), A41 (Freixieiro – Ermida) and A23 (Abrantes – Guarda)
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT
1.1 Nature of the Site This project of System Enhancements includes 2 Concessions: Ascendi (A25 and A41) and Scutvias (A23).
The ITS Systems implemented in these 2 Concessions, in the North of Portugal, were installed 8 to 9 years ago, without any specific renovations until now.
The context of this Project is to contribute to the “Arc Atlantique Corridor” through the deployment of harmonized ITS Services as follows:
- Ascendi: Improvement of two “Traffic Control and Information Centres” (TCIC), respectively in A25 and A41.
- Scutvias: Improvement of the “Traffic Control and Information Centre” in A23 and the renovation of the communications system (SDH technology to Ethernet IP technology).
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
1.2 Issues Addressed Related to Traffic Management and Traveller Information, the implementation of ITS systems in these two Concessions was indeed a very important improvement for the traffic flow, road safety and air quality. A25 (Ascendi Beiras Litoral e Alta) connects with Spain through a very important cross-border in Vilar-Formoso.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT
2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information The main objectives of the ITS Systems implemented in A25 (Ascendi Beiras Litoral e Alta), A41 (Ascendi Grande Porto) and A23 (Scutvias) were to develop and deploy Traffic Management and Traveller Information systems.
With the upgrade of 3 “Traffic Control and Information Centres” (HW and SW) and the renovation of the communications network in Scutvias it was possible to enhance the efficiency and safety in this portuguese segment of the Arc Atlantique Corridor.
The goal is to have better traffic management and to inform on time the road users about different road situations (weather conditions, accidents, congestions, alternative itineraries and specific events.
Efficiency was improved in accordance with the harmonised use in these Concessions of the “EasyWay Deployment Guidelines” and the associated “Operating Environments classification”.
In order to achieve a coordinated traffic management and Traveller Information is essential a mutual cooperation of neighbouring Authorities and Operators, mainly with Spain because of the cross-border in Vilar-Formoso.
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied The technical deployments of the ITS systems installed in A25 (Ascendi Beiras Litoral e Alta), A41 (Ascendi Grande Porto) and A23 (Scutvias) includes the following sub-systems and technologies:
• Vehicle Counting and Classification Sub-system (CAV/PAV): Ensures the collection of traffic data to the Traffic Control and Information Centre (TCIC) and determine automatically the following variables in real time: Speed, traffic volume, intensity, instantaneous speed and classification of vehicles. Some of these equipment are also prepared for weighing in motion. Each variable is reported by lane and direction and the automated traffic data collection sub-system ensures the collection of data for each Sub-stretch. • Variable Message Signs Sub-system (VMS): Allows an accurate and effective tactical management of traffic and also a strategic traffic management. Each VMS includes one graphical area and one alphanumeric area (3 lines / 18 characters / 32mm)
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
VMS A23 and VMS A25
• Closed- Circuit Television Sub-system (CCTV/PTZ): The CCTV video cameras are installed one per Sub-stretch, depending of the length, and one in each interchange, in a way that covers the most of the concession. • Meteorological Sub-system (MS): The Meteo Stations are complemented (A25) with lateral VMS (PL) in specific places for information about the weather conditions and in TCIC is possible to predict the conditions 2/3 hours before in order to prevent dangerous situations. • Emergency Call Boxes Sub-system (SOS): The Call Boxes (SOS) are installed on both sides of the road (Primary and Secondary) at every 2 Km. • Traffic Control and Information Centre (TCIC): Includes 2 rooms, the “Operators Room” with 2 station positions, monitors and video-wall and a “Technical Room” with all telematics and telecommunications central systems and equipment. The Ascendi upgrade of 2 Traffic Control Information Centers consisted in the following activities: Upgrade of Hw central systems (Cluster Servers, Storage, Backup Robot and Communications); Installation of a virtualized infrastructure for Telematics System; SQL Database migration; Videowall renewal; Full Integration with existing traffic and management system. Scutvias implemented an advanced traffic management and information system that includes a complete automated integration with tunnel infrastructures and telematics systems and a DATEX protocol based on data exchange for occurrences, traffic measures and quality of service.
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
TCIC A23 and TCIC A25
• Communication Network (CS): the telecommunications system is based on an optical fibre rings topology with SDH or Ethernet IP technology and with automatic protection to minimize the impact of failures on the overall service. The main backbone rings terminate at the TCIC and the secondary rings, which interconnect to the backbone, aggregate the communication data between the TCIC and the roadside equipment. The network architecture along with the use of SNCP (Sub-network Connection Protection), provide to this network a high level of survivability. The new communications of Scutvias is based on MPLS-TP technology using “PackPad” equipment (communication nodes) that substitutes the ADM4 of SDH technology. This new multi-service platform transport Ethernet, SDH, PDH and Mini-link services and has 3 backbone rings with 1 Gb (primary network) instead of 2 rings in the old ADM4/SDH.
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Scheme of new communication network
For the VMS sub-system the project has followed the European Standard EN 12966 – Road Vertical Signs (functional and technical requirements, general and specific principles of design) from CEN/TC226. The CAV/PAV sub-system (Vehicle counting and classification) has followed the EN 13563 (Traffic control equipment – Vehicle detectors) from CEN/TC226 and the final report COST323 (Weigh in motion of road vehicles). The Emergency Call Boxes (SOS) has followed the prEN 1823 (Téléphones routiers d´appel d´urgence).
2.3 Project Costs The total costs for the improvements (HW and SW) in ITS Systems implemented in Ascendi and Scutvias are as follows: Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Ascendi – 300.000,00 €
Scutvias – 437.000,00 €
2.4 Status of the Project (e.g. planned, implemented, operational) Ascendi – The upgrades in TCIC are implemented and the ITS System is operational. Scutvias – The upgrades in TCIC and communications network are being implemented and will be ready in the end of December 2015.
3. FOR PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED - EVALUATION PLAN
3.1 Objectives for the Evaluation (i.e. impacts to be evaluated) In order to evaluate specific aspects related to “Key Performance Indicators” (Safety, Efficiency and Environment) would be necessary to compare data before the implementation of these global ITS Systems installed in Ascendi and Scutvias with data after the implementation.
The main objectives for the evaluation are the improvement of traffic management, safety of the drivers and less impacts on environment.
3.2 Timing and Type of Evaluation, including data needed and associated issues, methods, definitions/terminologies) After the implementation of these global ITS Systems in A25 and A23, the overall evaluation methodology has been to use the “EasyWay Deployment Guidelines” (EW DG) and analyse periodically the “traffic flow”, the “Environment” and the “Safety” in order to accomplish the objectives defined by the KPI.
For the specifications of ITS Services, Ascendi and Scutvias are using mainly the “EasyWay Deployment Guidelines” as follows:
• TMS DG05-08 – Incident warning and management
• VMS DG01 – Principle of VMS design
• DTX DG01 – DATEX interchange interface • TIS DG02 – Forecast and real time event
• TIS DG03-05 – Traffic condition and travel time information service (Ascendi)
• TIS DG06 – Weather information service
4. FOR IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS – RESULTS
4.1 Level of Deployment / level of services (2015) Ascendi – A25 (Aveiro – Vilar Formoso) – 200 Km – Level of Services - 2 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Scutvias – A23 (Abrantes – Guarda) – 180 Km – Level of Services - 2
4.2 Impacts / benefits The expected impacts that are beeing assessed in the evaluation action is related to those objectives addressed by the Project Arc Atlantique (more efficiency on traffic management, improvement of road safety and less impacts on environment) and the main findings that are possible to refer at this moment are summarized as follows:
• Impacts on Traffic Flow: Through the use of specific Deployment Guidelines (TIS-DG03- 05, TIS-DG02, TIS-DG06 and TMS-DG05-08) we have analysed periodically better results in the Traveller Information Services and Traffic Management Services.
• Impacts on Air Quality: The impact to the Environment is very difficult to obtain because we don´t have any kind of records related to the “air quality” before the implementation of the ITS System. According to the contract with the Grantor the periodical monitoring measures of the “Air Quality” is related mainly to NO2 not to CO2, but they are correlated. Ascendi has done NO2 measures in A25 during 16 weeks (4 in the winter, 4 in the spring, 4 in the summer and 4 in the fall) in specific places of the Stretches and all the results were under the contractual limits. Scutvias has done NO2 measures in A23, including the “Gardunha Tunnel” (1.800m) and all the results were under the contractual limits. All the results of measures in these Concessions are always sent to APA (Portuguese Environment Agency), National Road Authority and Grantor. According to NO2 measures other parameters are analysed (CO, PM10, PM25, HAP, NOx, SO2, BTX and Pb). These Highways (A25 and A23) don´t have strategic bottlenecks with congestions or strong CO2 emissions. For the passive sampling measures of NO2 are used patterns of the European Commission Report “Review of the application of diffusive samplers in the European Union for the monitoring of nitrogen dioxide in ambient air” (EUR 23793 EN – 2009).
• Impacts on Safety: According to the Directive 2010/40/EU on the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and with the use of the “EasyWay Deployment Guidelines” Ascendi (A25) and Scutvias (A23), year by year, decreased the number of accidents and consequently the number of fatalities, serious injured and slight injured are decreasing.
4.3 Costs, including analysis of costs against performance/benefits In these Concessions (A25 and A23) normally there aren´t congestions and so the translation of the specific parameter VHL (Vehicle Hour Lost) into Euros is impossible to obtain and consequently the cost-benefit analysis.
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Project Reference: E01
Project Name: AG-64 Traffic Control and Traffic Management ITS deployment
ITS Corridor: ARC ATLANTIQUE
Project Location: La Coruña - Region of Galicia - Spain
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT
1.1 Nature of the Site Motorway AG-64 is located in Galicia, northwestern Spain, running between cities of Ferrol (La Coruña) and Vilalba (Lugo) with a length of 64 km, connecting Ferrol-Terra area to motorway A-8, making possible both the access to A-6 motorway (Madrid-La Coruña) and to Cantabric motorway which runs parallel to the north coast of Spain.
It is also remarkable that AG-64 motorway allows the connection to Ferrol Harbor, one of the most important in Spain (Shipping Yard and Container Terminal), as well as to Thermal Power Plant As Pontes, becoming the link of these two strategical points related to energy in particular and to economy in general.
AG-64 motorway
1.2 Issues Addressed Within the motorway there are several key points regarding traffic management in bad weather conditions, situations which impact directly not only in road safety but also causing abnormal congestions.
The volume of registered traffic in a day reaches 12,000 veh/day with a peak of 1,000 vehicles per hour. HGV percentage is really important, 17% average, mainly due to access to Ferrol Harbour. Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT 2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information Due to the importance of improving road management between A-6 and A-8 motorways and the requirement of reducing potential traffic situations of risk, deployment of new Intelligent Transport Systems in AG-64 motorway was defined as one of the main projects in DGT traffic management strategy.
It must be mentioned that with this deployment the close of “communications ring” on the Traffic Control Center in Northwest of Spain (located in La Coruña) was closed and achieved.
The Objectives established were:
• Enhancement of A-6 and A-8 connection. • Improvement of access to Ferrol harbour. • Reduction of abnormal congestion due to bad weather conditions: 15% decrease of delay- hours. • 20 % reduction of registered accidents. It must be noted that 24 % of accidents area related to rear collision between a HGV and a light vehicle (factor: speed disparity)
The main characteristics of the project and actual traffic are listed below: • Route: Ferrol-Villalba • Length: 64 km • A-8 & A-6 connection • Ferrol Harbour & TPP As Pontes • 12.000 veh/day • Peak: 1.000 veh/hour • 17 % HGV • Project Objectives: • 15% decrease of delay-hours • 20 % reduction of registered accidents (rear-end collisions)
• End: Dec 2014
• Investment: 1.851 M€
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied The project includes deployment of weather and traffic monitoring systems, traffic management systems including mean-speed controls and road safety variable message equipment to avoid rear-end collisions into heavy vehicles.
Main equipment is listed below:
Variable Message Sign: 11 Communications Stations (ERU): 11 Traffic Data Capture Stations (ETD): 11 Weather Stations: 3 CCTV systems: 10 LPR units: 4
The deployment of all systems, which began in 2013, ended up successfully in December 2014.
2.3 Project Costs
Total investment of all ITS´ deployment reached the amount of 1,851 k€.
2.4 Status of the Project (e.g. planned, implemented, operational)
The project is totally implemented, starting in March 2013 and ending up in December 2014.
3. FOR PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED - EVALUATION PLAN
3.1 Objectives for the Evaluation (i.e. impacts to be evaluated)
3.2 Timing and Type of Evaluation, including data needed and associated issues, methods, definitions/terminologies)
4. FOR IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS – RESULTS
4.1 Level of Deployment / level of services Regarding deployment, there were no previous ITS on the road.
4.2 Impacts / benefits Concerning impacts and benefits, KPI are established in relation to road safety instead of using vehicle lost hour KPI related, due to lack of historic data available and the insufficient knowledge about the impact of bad weather conditions on the traffic flow.
Therefore the KPI is based on the change in severity of accidents/ reduction of accidents during years 2014 (no/partial deployment) & 2015 (complete deployment). Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
The KPI is set up by using and adapting EURORAP RISK INDEX´s formula and is defined as:
KPI (impact RI Eurorap) = Δ fatalities and serious injuries/(365*ADT*L) x 106
Data of accidents in years 2014 and 2015 are listed in this table:
AG-64 MOTORWAY
YEAR FATALITIES SER. MINOR INJURIE ACCIDENTS INJURIES MAIS 1-3 MAIS >3
2014 0 4 7 40
2015 (16sept) 0 2 8 34
Δ 0 -2 1 -6
% 2014-2015 0 % -200% 14% -15 %
By using the formula above indicated and data mentioned in 2.1, the KPI is equal to 0,007.
Impact KPI = 0,007
4.2 Costs, including analysis of costs against performance/benefits For analyzing cost and performance of the project and its investment, the socio-economic benefit and impact is determined by using conclusions of research projects “El valor monetario de una Vida Estadística en España. Estimación en el contexto de los accidentes de tráfico. 2010” and “El valor monetario de una victima no mortal Estimación en el contexto de los accidentes de tráfico 2011 », San Pablo Olavide University Sevilla and Murcia University, which established that the value of preventing one fatality and one serious injurie due to a road accident are equal to 1,4 million euros and 225 thousands euros, respectively.
So, the socio-economic benefit and hence the ratio cost/benefit are defined as follows:
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Socio-economic benefit = Δ fatalities or/& serious injuries * 1,4 M€ or/& 225 k€
Ratio Benefit/Investment = Socio-economic benefit/Investment
In our project, the values obtained are:
BENEFIT = 450 K€
B/I = 0,24
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS The main conclusion of this evaluation regarding the deployment of ITS equipment and its impact on the reduction of accidents, derive from the fact that a little amount of investment in the field of ITS, undoubtedly, influence on behavior of driver by improving the information about traffic flow and, therefore, enhancing traffic management and road safety policies and measures.
Also, it is key to highlight the importance of developing and determine a value for each fatality that occurs in our roads in order to precisely calculate the social and economic return of every investment made in traffic management and road safety.
Final assessment and evaluation will be made by 2020, horizon year in which results obtained in this project will be analyzed in depth in comparison to the main objectives set in the project.
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Project Reference: E02
Project Name: AG-55 Traffic Control and Traffic Management ITS deployment
ITS Corridor: ARC ATLANTIQUE
Project Location: La Coruña - Region of Galicia - Spain
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT
1.1 Nature of the Site Motorway AG-55 is located in Galicia, northwestern Spain, running between cities of La Coruña and Carballo (La Coruña) with a length of 33 km, connecting La Coruña southwestern area to motorway AP-9, making possible both the access to A-6 motorway (Madrid-La Coruña).
It is also remarkable that AG-55 motorway allows the connection to La Coruña Harbor, one of the most important in Spain (Shipping Yard and Container Terminal), as well as to different main factories for Spanish industry.
AG-55 Motorway
1.2 Issues Addressed Within the motorway there are several key points regarding traffic management in bad weather conditions, situations which impact directly not only in road safety but also causing abnormal congestions.
The volume of registered traffic in a day reaches 15,000 veh/day with a peak of 1,200 vehicles per hour.
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT
2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information Due to the importance of improving road management between A-6 and AP-9 motorways and the requirement of reducing potential traffic situations of risk, deployment of new Intelligent Transport Systems in AG-55 motorway was defined as one of the main projects in DGT traffic management strategy.
It must be mentioned that with this deployment the close of “communications ring” on the Traffic Control Center in Northwest of Spain (located in La Coruña) was closed and achieved.
The Objectives established were:
• Enhancement of A-6 connection. • Improvement of access to La Coruña harbour. • Reduction of abnormal congestion due to bad weather conditions: 15% decrease of delay- hours. • 20 % reduction of registered accidents. It must be noted that 24 % of accidents area related to rear collision between a HGV and a light vehicle (factor: speed disparity)
The main characteristics of the project and actual traffic are listed below: • Route: La Coruña-Carballo • Length: 33 km • AP-9 & A-6 connection • La Coruña Harbour & important factories • 15.000 veh/day • Peak: 1.200 veh/hour • 6 % HGV • Project Objectives: • 15% decrease of delay-hours
• 20 % reduction of registered accidents (rear-end collisions) • End: Feb 2015
• Investment: 1.262 M€
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied The project includes deployment of weather and traffic monitoring systems, traffic management systems including mean-speed controls and road safety variable message equipment to avoid rear-end collisions into heavy vehicles.
Main equipment is listed below:
Variable Message Sign: 7 Communications Stations (ERU): 7 Traffic Data Capture Stations (ETD): 7 Weather Stations: 2 CCTV systems: 8 LPR units: 4
The deployment of all systems, which began in 2013, ended up successfully in February 2015.
2.3 Project Costs
Total investment of all ITS´ deployment reached the amount of 1,262 k€.
2.4 Status of the Project (e.g. planned, implemented, operational)
The project is totally implemented, starting in March 2013 and ending up in February 2015.
3. FOR PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED - EVALUATION PLAN
3.1 Objectives for the Evaluation (i.e. impacts to be evaluated)
3.2 Timing and Type of Evaluation, including data needed and associated issues, methods, definitions/terminologies)
4. FOR IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS – RESULTS
4.1 Level of Deployment / level of services Regarding deployment, there were no previous ITS on the road.
4.2 Impacts / benefits Concerning impacts and benefits, KPI are established in relation to road safety instead of using vehicle lost hour KPI related, due to lack of historic data available and the insufficient knowledge about the impact of bad weather conditions on the traffic flow.
Therefore the KPI is based on the change in severity of accidents/ reduction of accidents during years 2014 (no/partial deployment) & 2015 (complete deployment). Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
The KPI is set up by using and adapting EURORAP RISK INDEX´s formula and is defined as:
KPI (impact RI Eurorap) = Δ fatalities and serious injuries/(365*ADT*L) x 106
Data of accidents in years 2014 and 2015 are listed in this table:
AG-55 MOTORWAY
YEAR FATALITIES SER. MINOR INJURIE ACCIDENTS INJURIES MAIS 1-3 MAIS >3
2014 1 2 26 41
2015 (16sept) 0 0 2 20
Δ -1 -2 -24 -21
% 2014-2015 -100 % -200 % -92% -51 %
By using the formula above indicated and data mentioned in 2.1, the KPI is equal to 0,017.
Impact KPI = 0,017
4.2 Costs, including analysis of costs against performance/benefits For analyzing cost and performance of the project and its investment, the socio-economic benefit and impact is determined by using conclusions of research projects “El valor monetario de una Vida Estadística en España. Estimación en el contexto de los accidentes de tráfico. 2010” and “El valor monetario de una victima no mortal Estimación en el contexto de los accidentes de tráfico 2011 », San Pablo Olavide University Sevilla and Murcia University, which established that the value of preventing one fatality and one serious injurie due to a road accident are equal to 1,4 million euros and 225 thousands euros, respectively.
Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
So, the socio-economic benefit and hence the ratio cost/benefit are defined as follows:
Socio-economic benefit = Δ fatalities or/& serious injuries * 1,4 M€ or/& 225 k€
Ratio Benefit/Investment = Socio-economic benefit/Investment
In our project, the values obtained are:
BENEFIT = 1,850 K€ B/I = 1,47
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS The main conclusion of this evaluation regarding the deployment of ITS equipment and its impact on the reduction of accidents, derive from the fact that a little amount of investment in the field of ITS, undoubtedly, influence on behavior of driver by improving the information about traffic flow and, therefore, enhancing traffic management and road safety policies and measures.
Also, it is key to highlight the importance of developing and determine a value for each fatality that occurs in our roads in order to precisely calculate the social and economic return of every investment made in traffic management and road safety.
Final assessment and evaluation will be made by 2020, horizon year in which results obtained in this project will be analyzed in depth in comparison to the main objectives set in the project. A tool for vehicle lost hours calculation based on probe vehicle
Project Reference: Arc Atlantique ES-20
Project Name: Floating Car Data use
ITS Corridor: Arc Atlantique
Project Location: Arc Atlantique corridor (main road network) in Basque Country
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT
1.1 Nature of the Site Project covers whole main road network in Basque Country. It is an international corridor from France (and Centre of Europe) to Spain, Portugal and North of Africa trough the Atlantic Pyrenees pass. It is the only feasible mountain pass in the Atlantic corridor which is an important international bottleneck (the other feasible pass is in the Mediterranean pass which is more than 500 km away.
1.2 Issues Addressed Project is mainly concerned about the possibility to measure vehicle lost hours and then to have a tool for evaluation of ITS traffic management services deployment including cost/benefit analysis.
Congestion problems at both sides of the border have impact in the other part of the border. As it is the unique feasible border pass, special, traffic operation (like holidays, weekends, winter problems, truck queues, toll booths,…) have direct impact in all area (at both sides of the border). Then the possibility for knowing and measuring vehicle lost hours at any moment (real time) and also for evaluation purposes it is the most important for the project.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT
2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information After a lot of ITS deployments have been done in the corridor, it is now important to evaluate the impact on traffic of these deployed ITS services. To obtain this information it has been initiated a project dealing with the calculation of vehicle lost hours. The project objective was to obtain vehicle lost hours for both:
• Real time in main road network and corridor (namely the Arc Atlantique corridor) • Historic vehicle lost hours in most of the road network managed by Basque Government (not only main road network but also secondary roads).
In this way the project purpose is also double:
• To have a better knowledge of the traffic situation A tool for vehicle lost hours calculation based on probe vehicle
• To measure how traffic management (deployed ITS services) are impacting traffic congestions
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied Vehicle lost hours are obtained from aggregation of 2 types of data:
• Vehicle speeds • Traffic intensity
In order to have information on the first parameter (vehicles speeds) it has been contracted data provided by TomTom (Floating Car Data) in the road network operated by Basque Government. This means that:
• real time vehicle speeds around 300 kms of the main Basque corridors are provided (this means the Atlantic project Corridor) and
• historical vehicle speeds for more than 3.000 kms of whole road network (also including secondary roads)
Loops detectors and other ITS road infrastructure equipment are used for obtaining traffic intensity (number of vehicles per hour). The aggregation of this parameter together the information on vehicles speed allows to have information on vehicle lost hours and then a very useful parameter to know the traffic congestions in the roads and how well traffic management measures are used.
2.3 Project Costs Project cost is around 400 K€ for a first phase with (2 year project) with possibly the same cost amount in a second phase.
2.4 Status of the Project (e.g. planned, implemented, operational) Project has been already implemented in a first phase (Arc Atlantique phase 1). Nevertheless it is to be totally finished in a second phase in the framework of Arc Atlantique phase 2 (year 2017).
3. FOR PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED - EVALUATION PLAN
3.1 Objectives for the Evaluation (i.e. impacts to be evaluated)
3.2 Timing and Type of Evaluation, including data needed and associated issues, methods, definitions/terminologies)
4. FOR IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS – RESULTS 4.1 Level of Deployment / level of services A tool for vehicle lost hours calculation based on probe vehicle
The project was started in year 2014 and in this first phase (until end year 2015 – namely Arc Atlantique phase 1) it has been taken several measures along the whole main road network in Basque Country allowing now to have information on vehicle lost hours.
Main traffic management services applied were related to:
• traffic information via different media: VMS, web services, radio alerts bulletins • reversible lanes and hard shoulder use during special traffic operations
• road crane service for quick removal of vehicles from selected highways segments
Very important note: this report is done without most of the data collected in year 2015 which will be available only at end of year 2015.
4.2 Impacts / benefits This project it not specifically related with saving vehicles hours but with allowing the measuring of lost vehicle hours. This means that this project has allowed to have information on lost vehicle hours but there is not information about how much is saved. This is because there are not available parallel lost vehicle hours from other years and/or what would have been the congestions without the applied traffic management services.
In the same way from year 2014 is observed an increase in the number of vehicles driven hours due to some improvement in the economic situation of the country and region together with other factor like a decrease in the petrol price. This impact is specially observed on parameters like AADT (Annual Average Daily Traffic).
As overall, this means an increment in the number of vehicles in the roads and then an increment on the congestions and lost vehicle hours. For this reason project has focused on measuring the lost vehicle hours without measure the saving lost vehicle hours. For this last factors “saving lost vehicle hours” it has been applied the best practice results depending on the traffic management services that were applied.
As reference for previous items on increase of congestion we can point out the Inrix report for Spain that states “the improving of the economical situation is reason for more congestions in Spain”.
Measures were done taking into account different circumstances:
• Special days: the most complicated day (2nd August 2014) a total of 13.700 vehicle lost hours along the main international corridor (150 kms approx.) of traffic coming from France to Spain, Portugal and North of Africa, was measured. This means an average of 20 minutes lost per vehicle. Of course this quantity cannot be extended to all days of the year but to the more problematic days.
• Recurrent (daily) traffic: different week days in May and June 2015 were selected to measure lost vehicle hours in all Arc Atlantique roads in Basque Country (approx. 380 kms). In these cases it were used information on lost time provide by itinerary calculators like Google and TomTom plus traffic intensity from Basque Government. Main traffic A tool for vehicle lost hours calculation based on probe vehicle
events were related to road works, traffic accidents and recurrent congestions around main cities (mainly Bilbao) and toll plazas. The extension of these days to all year means an annual amount of 400.000 vehicles lost hours.
4.2 Costs, including analysis of costs against performance/benefits Project cost is already indicated in previous paragraphs but it cannot be used for a performance/benefit analysis as it has not been measured the saved vehicle lost hours but the absolute value of vehicle lost hours. Furthermore the cost here indicated is related to the project cost for allowing the measure of vehicle lost hours not the project cost of the ITS traffic management services deployed.
Project cost is around 400 K€ for a first phase with (2 year project) with possibly the same cost amount in a second phase.
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS The sources of information used for the projects have been:
• Vehicle probe data (vehicle speeds) provided by Tomtom
• AADT (traffic intensities) provided by the road operator
With these two factors, the same results could be obtained in any other European corridor. More taken into account that data from Tomtom are available for all European countries and that traffic intensity should be available if the partner is a road operator like is the case of most of the corridors projects.
Nevertheless the project results have some special considerations that are important to take into account for a correct extrapolation to other corridors and countries:
• The project corridor is placed at a very specific international cross border bottleneck where traffic merging from several origin and destination countries including a mountain pass (Pyrenees) with the following pass 500 kms away. Evaluation of traffic management strategies to reduce the congestions in Bilbao peri-urban area
Project Reference: Arc Atlantique ES-21
Project Name: Analysis and evaluation of different traffic management strategies in order to reduce the congestions in Bilbao peri-urban area
ITS Corridor: Arc Atlantique
Project Location: Peri-urban highway around Bilbao
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT 1.1 Nature of the Site Bilbao peri-urban highway is placed between the city, the estuary and mountainous area where is placed the city. All of them created an important geographical constraint for physically improve or enlarge the city ring.
Beside the motorway constraint there are other important factors which have impact in the project:
• A lot of tunnels in the project running are which are a direct result of the previous physical constraints.
• Usual bad weather problems mainly related to the rain.
• Peri-urban area with very different type of traffic as it includes both the urban commuter traffic and the long distance traffic for the motorway A-8 (E-5 / E-70) which runs horizontally across all North of Spain and having in this point the biggest city of the whole region (both Spanish and French).
• A lot of not important accidents motivated by the previous indicated road and traffic constraints that produce high impact in congestions with a lot of road segments with maximum speed limited to 80 or 100 km/h.
1.2 Issues Addressed Project is mainly concerned about study different traffic management solutions to save vehicle lost hours and avoid delays. Some of the traffic management strategies have been really deployed (not just simulated).
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT 2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information Taking into account the site constraints (see item 1.1 “Nature of the Site”, several traffic strategies have been evaluated via a simulated way (one of this traffic management strategies has also been deployed). The objective was in all the case to measure the lost vehicle hours that could be Evaluation of traffic management strategies to reduce the congestions in Bilbao peri-urban area
saved with any of these traffic management strategies and then use the most appropriate of the strategies in a real traffic management deployment.
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied The biggest part of the project has been dealing with simulation. After modelled the project corridor (Bilbao peri-urban area) several traffic strategies were applied and studied. Here it is presented the results for strategy based on ramp metering.
A second part has been dealing with the deployment of a reversible lane to West of Bilbao (Cantabria region).
2.3 Project Costs Project cost of the simulation project has been 45 kEuros as included in Arc Atlantique project. Here is not presented the cost on the real deployment on reversible lane.
2.4 Status of the Project (e.g. planned, implemented, operational) Project, as simulation study project has been finished in the framework of Arc Atlantique project..
3. FOR PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED - EVALUATION PLAN
3.1 Objectives for the Evaluation (i.e. impacts to be evaluated)
3.2 Timing and Type of Evaluation, including data needed and associated issues, methods, definitions/terminologies)
4. FOR IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS – RESULTS
4.1 Level of Deployment / level of services The project was started in year 2014 and it is already finished. This means that a complete report is already available.
In this evaluation report it has been taken into account 2 of the traffic strategies that were used:
• Deployment of a reversible lane from Bilbao to the West (to Cantabria region) which was activated in special entry and exit traffic operations giving priority to the traffic going out of the city at the start of the week end and returning to the city at the end of the week end.
• Use of ramp metering
4.2 Impacts / benefits Impact and benefit are studied in different ways depending on the 2 applied traffic management strategies. Evaluation of traffic management strategies to reduce the congestions in Bilbao peri-urban area
For reversible lane, deployed to the West of Bilbao, a real deployment of the service was done on different days in Easter and exit traffic operations between June and August. In all these cases it was added an extra lane for vehicle going out of the city of Bilbao to the West the exit days.
In total it was 15 days of traffic management service applied with different impact depending on days and amount of traffic. For instance the measured saved vehicle lost hours have been 24.021.
It was also measured a saving cost of around 455.000 € for the total of the traffic management measures which was obtained considering the following values: • 1.20 € per litre of petrol
• 12 € per lost vehicle hour
• 10 € per ton of saved CO2
For ramp metering, the service was based totally on simulation and the following results were obtained:
• Service is no feasible due to road geometry constrains in the study area. Mainly due to no physical space available.
• Long distance traffic would have priority in front of local traffic as there is not no possibility to divert local traffic to other itineraries.
• If there is an improvement of traffic flow in peri-urban area it would mean traffic attraction from the other lost distance alternative (toll motorway) and then this would mean:
o Worst short distance local traffic
o Bad use of alternative toll motorway 4.2 Costs, including analysis of costs against performance/benefits Project cost is already indicated in previous paragraphs (2.3) but it cannot be used for a performance/benefit analysis as it is not representing the cost of the traffic management service but the cost of the project that has allow to obtain the data and impacts here included Project cost was around 45 k€.
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS The methodology applied could be considered to be transferred to other sites and corridors but the particularities of the involved corridor are very important and are necessary to be first taken into account. So project results could transferred to similar peri-urban corridor with few possibilities for increase transport infrastructures. Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Project Reference: UK 02
Project Name: M25 J 5 – 7 Variable Speed Limit, All lane Running / Hard Shoulder Running
ITS Corridor: Arc Atlantique
Project Location: UK England
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT The site of this project is between Junctions 5 and 7 of the M25 in Kent and Surrey. The M25 is the orbital motorway around London but also links key arterial motorways that connect to the rest of the United Kingdom to the north, west and east.
The motorway is largely rural in nature but is in close proximity to London and significant satellite towns. In certain areas, for instance at the Thames crossing at Dartford, and in the west, the road passes through industrial areas and is close to and feeds other key transport infrastructure, such as Heathrow airport.
The section of motorway where this ITS deployment has been implemented is along the stretch immediately to the west of the merge of the M26 with the M25, and the A21 with the M25. At this location the M25 is Dual 2, the M26 is Dual 2 and the A21 is also Dual 2.The M26 carries significant traffic from and to the port of Dover and Eurotunnel. The A21 carries traffic travelling from the south coast of England. The merging of these lanes means four additional lanes of traffic are merging with the M25. Capacity is therefore severely restricted.
The M25 and M26 motorways are part of the Connecting Europe Facility Atlantic Corridor and are part of the TEN-T Core Network.
The operating environment as described in Deployment Guideline ICT-DG01 is T4 this being the designation for a motorway with daily flow related traffic impact and safety concerns.
The key issue to be addressed at this location is that of recurrent congestion. This invariably occurs during the morning peak, but also at other times during the day as well as at weekends. The junction forms a significant bottleneck to both long distance traffic travelling across the United Kingdom from the channel ports, and for local traffic using the M25 for short distance trips. The area also is susceptible to seasonal congestion as the M25 and M26 carries holiday traffic to the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel.
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT
2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information The key objective of the project is to reduce congestion and delay due to traffic in the vicinity of the M25 Junction 5. In meeting this objective the route will be more efficient and the economic impact of delays and congestion reduced. A secondary objective is to improve the safety of the M25.
This scheme has been a priority to implement due to the strategic importance of this stretch of the road network.
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied The project has been implemented using Highways England’s toolset for Smart Motorways. This comprises a series of technologies implemented to provide a comprehensive ITS solution that has proven to make a significant impact on road capacity without the need for physical road expansion.
The evolution of the solution followed a rigorous developmental path with full evaluation of the impacts on congestion, safety and the environment. A key component comprised the introduction of variable speed limits. These reduce the permitted maximum speed to 50 mph in all lanes at times when traffic density achieves a prescribed level.
Coupled with variable speed limits is the use of the hard shoulder, which is open at all times unless an incident dictates closure is required. To assist in reducing risk of all lane running emergency refuge bays are provided.
The motorway is monitored using CCTV that can operate in darkness as no street lighting has been provided. The decision not to provide street lighting was taken after evaluation of risk.
Traffic volume measurement and incident detection is achieved through a combination of detector loops and radar. These systems used proven software developed during the implementation of previous controlled and hard shoulder running motorway projects on the M25 and M42. Data from these detectors is used to initiate the variable speed limits and monitor incidents. Operational impact of the scheme is monitored at the Regional Traffic Control Centre.
The scheme is also supported by enforcement cameras. These are key to ensuring the benefits of reduced speed, the consequential laminar flow and resulting increased capacity is achieved. The temporary speed limits are enforceable in law, are automated and do not need the intervention of a police officer. Regional Traffic Control Centre
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
The signing comprises Highways England MS4 signs that can display pictograms and text. ‘Portal’ gantries are used at the beginning of scheme and at junctions.
MS4 VMS Refuge Area
A further series of variable message signed are located at the roadside for use in lane closures for maintenance and incident management.
Technology deployed includes the following, and does not include the communications and wider supporting civil engineering infrastructure that was necessary to implement the scheme.
• 9 gantries that span both carriageways
• 10 refuge areas
• 13 emergency telephones
• 88 overhead signals
• 33 verge mounted signs
• 38 CCTV cameras
2.3 Project Costs The project costs are estimated at £121m. This includes the supporting civil and communications infrastructure, planning, design, procurement and implementation and bringing into operation.
2.4 Status of the Project The project has been implemented and is now operational.
3 RESULTS
4.1 Level of Deployment / level of services The Integrated level of service (as defined by the EasyWay Deployment Guidelines) along the M25 between Junction 5 and Junction 7 prior to implementation of the scheme was Level 2.
This equates to the provision of ‘traffic management including at least either of dynamic lane management, ramp metering or incident warning and management (and combinations)’.
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
The actual ITS technology deployed at this time comprised emergency roadside telephones, MS1 variable message signs located in the central reserve that provided simple messages and advisory speed limits, CCTV and loop detectors. In addition, MS3 signs, that can provide RTTI and SRTI were provided throughout this length of motorway. Ramp Metering was installed at the A21 to M25 ramp.
MS1 VMS MS3 VMS
Since the introduction of the new scheme the integrated level of Service has increased to Level 3. This equates to the provision of ‘traffic management including applications for hard shoulder running, HGV overtaking ban and/or variable speed limits’. The following services are now provided:
Traffic Management Services:
• Variable Speed Limits
• Hard Shoulder Running
Traffic Information Services
• Real Time Traffic Information
• Safety Related Traffic Information
The length of road over which the new ITS technologies are deployed is approximately 12km.
4.2 Impacts / benefits
Whilst it is too early in some cases to draw firm conclusions due to the recent go live operation of the scheme, based on learning from previous similar projects where variable speed limits and hard shoulder running has been introduced, journey time reliability can improve by 22 per cent.
For this project, analysis of the early data set from the road side detector systems is indicating the following: 1) In terms of flow, between J5 and J6 where the number of lanes has increased from three to four having incorporated 4 additional merge lanes, there is a significant increase of up to 10%, in the peak flow per 15 minutes in the clockwise direction. The data for the anticlockwise direction is not validated at present. Details are presented in the tables below.
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Mon-Thurs Friday Saturday- Direction Location Value AM Inter- PM AM Inter- PM Sunday Peak peak Peak Peak peak Peak J5 – J6 Before 1,474 1,042 1,109 1,430 1,200 1,206 1,244 (radar After 1,627 1,066 1,089 1,535 1,224 1,161 1,303 detection, Change 153 25 -21 105 24 -45 59 lane % 10% 2% -2% 7% 2% -4% 5% increase) Change Before 1,597 1,150 1,210 1,549 1,304 1,325 1,339 After 1,726 1,192 1,209 1,690 1,379 1,300 1,431 Clockwise Change 129 42 -2 141 75 -25 92 J6 – J7 % 8% 4% 0% 9% 6% -2% 7% (loop Change detection) After 1,189 1,265 1,602 1,115 1,263 1,626 1,328 Change -40 48 -21 -36 12 -6 23 % -3% 4% -1% -3% 1% 0% 2% Change M25 J5 to J7 Peak 15 Minute Flows
Clockwise Location Value Mon- Sat- Friday AADT Thurs Sun J5 – J6 Before 64,400 69,800 57,100 63,000 (radar, After 66,200 70,700 60,900 65,400 lane Change 1,800 900 3,800 2,400 increase) % Change 3% 1% 7% 4% Before 72,300 77,700 63,100 70,500 J6 - J7 After 73,100 77,800 66,000 71,700 (loop) Change 800 100 2,900 1,200 % Change 1% 0% 5% 2% M25 J5 – J7 Daily Flows (ADT 24 Hours)
2) Vehicle Hours Delay (VHD) has reduced slightly overall in the clockwise direction from 4,008 hours before the scheme was implemented, to 3,046 hours after the scheme went operational. This is a daily saving of 962 VHD. In the anti-clockwise direction it has reduced from 3,711 hours prior to scheme implementation to 2,355 hours after the scheme came into operation. This is a daily saving of 1,357 VHD.
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
3) Furthermore average journey time has improved clockwise in most time slices. Anti-clockwise journey times in the PM peaks are greatly improved but slightly worsened during the AM and inter-peak periods. Before the scheme the clockwise journey time ranged from 11min 33sec to 16min 3sec and After they ranged from 11min 30 sec to 15min 20sec depending on day and time of day. The clockwise improvement in journey time ranges from -0.7% to 10.5%. In the anti-clockwise direction journey time ranged from 11min 6sec to 15min 10sec and after they ranged from 11min 15 sec to 13min 2sec depending on day and time of day. The improvement in journey time ranges from -4.5% to 13.3%.
4) It is too early to draw definitive conclusion about the impact on safety as the sample size after 12 months operation is too small. Nevertheless, current data indicates there have been no fatalities since the scheme was introduced. However, the number of serious injuries has increased resulting in an increase in the KSI and Serious rates. There is a reduction in total collisions and casualties, which remains when accounting for the background reduction nationally in England. Details are given in the table below.
Collisions / Before (annual After (12 % Change Rates (collisions per HMVM) average) months data) Killed 0.67 0 -100% Seriously Injured 5.00 9 80% KSI 5.67 9 59% Slightly Injured 68.00 55 -19% Total 73.67 64 -13% Traffic (HMVM) 6.02 6.1 2% Killed Rate 0.11 - -100% Serious Rate 0.83 1.47 77% KSI Rate 0.94 1.47 56% Slight Rate 11.30 8.97 -21% Total Rate 12.25 10.44 -15% M25 J 5 – J7 Number of Collisions and Collision Rates by Severity
This project is undergoing further evaluation which is expected to be completed in 2 years. Further information can be obtained from Highways England, United Kingdom.
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS
This solution to impacting congestion through introduction of sophisticated ITS measures such as Variable Speed Limits and Hard Shoulder Running is transferable to other European countries. Similar schemes have been deployed in the Netherlands and in Germany for instance. This approach has a key benefit of increasing road capacity without the need to widen roads. In England, experience of these solutions has developed over a number of years where incremental steps in design have been taken as a result of learning and post implementation evaluation. It is worth noting that the level of technology used for this particular scheme is less than that used in initial schemes of this type.
Being able to enforce temporary speed limits has proven beneficial due to improved compliance and is recommended for schemes of this type.
Clearly each potential scheme needs to be considered on its own merits, taking account of cost, expected improvements to the road network, and other issues such as technical feasibility, and ongoing costs to maintain and refresh the technology.
The success of these schemes in England has led to Highways England initiating a programme of further deployment up to 2020 and beyond.
Further information can be found at www.highwaysengland.co.uk .
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Project Reference: UK 03
Project Name: M25 J 23 – 27 Variable Speed Limit, All lane Running / Hard Shoulder Running
ITS Corridor: Arc Atlantique
Project Location: UK England
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT The site of this project is between Junctions 23 and 27 of the M25 in Essex and Hertfordshire. The M25 is the orbital motorway around London but also links key arterial motorways that connect to the rest of the United Kingdom to the north, west and east.
The motorway is largely rural in nature but is in close proximity to London and significant satellite towns. In certain areas, for instance at the Thames crossing at Dartford, and in the west, the road passes through industrial areas and is close to and feeds other key transport infrastructure, such as Heathrow airport.
The section of motorway where this ITS deployment has been implemented is along the stretch immediately to the East of the A1 (M) at Junction 23 to the M11 at Junction 27. The solution has also been deployed further to the east. This section of carries significant long distance traffic from the Port of London in addition to traffic from the port of Dover and Eurotunnel. The A1 (M) and M11 carries traffic to and from the north of the United Kingdom.
The M25 motorway is part of the Connecting Europe Facility Atlantic Corridor and part of the TEN-T Core Network. It is on the Arc Atlantique ITS Corridor. The operating environment as described in Deployment Guideline ICT-DG01 is T4 this being the designation for a motorway with daily flow related traffic impact and safety concerns.
The key issue to be addressed at this location is that of recurrent congestion. This invariably occurs during the morning peak, but also at other times during the day as well as at weekends. 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ITS PROJECT
2.1 Project Objectives, incl. specificities / contextual useful information The key objective of the project is to reduce congestion and delay due to traffic between junctions 23 and 27 of the M25. In meeting this objective the route will be more efficient and the economic
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
impact of delays and congestion reduced. A secondary objective is to improve the safety of the M25. This scheme has been a priority to implement due to the strategic importance of this stretch of the road network.
2.2 Systems and Technologies Applied The project has been implemented using Highways England’s toolset for Smart Motorways. This comprises a series of technologies implemented to provide a comprehensive ITS solution that has proven to make a significant impact on road capacity without the need for physical road expansion.
The evolution of the solution followed a rigorous developmental path with full evaluation of the impacts on congestion, safety and the environment. A key component comprised the introduction of variable speed limits. These reduce the permitted maximum speed to 50 mph in all lanes at times when traffic density achieves a prescribed level.
Coupled with variable speed limits is the use of the hard shoulder, which is open at all times unless an incident dictates closure is required. To assist in reducing risk of all lane running emergency refuge bays are provided.
The motorway is monitored using CCTV that can operate in darkness.
Traffic volume measurement and incident detection is achieved through a combination of detector loops and radar. These systems used proven software developed during the implementation of previous controlled and hard shoulder running motorway projects on the M25 and M42. Data from these detectors is used to initiate the variable speed limits and monitor incidents.
Operational impact of the scheme is monitored at the Regional Traffic Control Centre at South Mimms.
The scheme is also supported by enforcement cameras. These are key to ensuring the benefits of reduced speed, the consequential laminar flow and resulting increased capacity is achieved. The temporary speed limits are enforceable in law, are automated and do not need the intervention of a police officer.
Regional Traffic Control Centre
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
The signing comprises Highways England MS4 signs that can display pictograms and text.
‘Portal’ gantries are used at the beginning of scheme and at junctions.
MS4 VMS Portal gantry including the MS4 and AMI
A further series of variable message signed are located at the roadside for use in lane closures for maintenance and incident management.
Technology deployed includes the following, and does not include the communications and wider
supporting civil engineering infrastructure that were necessary to implement the scheme.
• Gantries that span both carriageways
• Refuge areas for emergency use
• Emergency telephones
• Overhead signals that display speed limit information and lane indicators • Verge mounted signs and signals
• CCTV cameras
• Loops and radar for monitoring and detection.
2.3 Project Costs The project costs are estimated at £180m. This includes the supporting civil and communications infrastructure, planning, design, procurement and implementation and bringing into operation.
2.4 Status of the Project The project has been implemented and is now operational.
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
3 RESULTS
4.1 Level of Deployment / level of services The Integrated level of service (as defined by the EasyWay Deployment Guidelines) along the M25 between Junction 23 and Junction 27 prior to implementation of the scheme was Level 2. This equates to the provision of ‘traffic management including at least either of dynamic lane management, ramp metering or incident warning and management (and combinations)’.
The actual ITS technology deployed at this time comprised emergency roadside telephones, MS1 variable message signs located in the central reserve that provided simple messages and advisory speed limits, CCTV and loop detectors. In addition, MS3 signs, that can provide RTTI and SRTI were provided throughout this length of motorway.
M S1 VMS MS3 VMS
Since the introduction of the new scheme the integrated level of Service has increased to Level 3. This equates to the provision of ‘traffic management including applications for hard shoulder running, HGV overtaking ban and/or variable speed limits’. The following services are now provided:
Traffic Management Services:
• Variable Speed Limits
• Hard Shoulder Running Traffic Information Services
• Real Time Traffic Information
• Safety Related Traffic Information
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
4.2 Impacts / benefits
Whilst it is too early in some cases to draw firm conclusions due to the recent go live operation of the scheme, based on learning from previous similar projects where variable speed limits and hard shoulder running has been introduced, journey time reliability can improve by 22 per cent.
For this project, evaluation of the early data set from the road side detector systems is indicating the following:
1) Journey time reliability has improved on all days and in all time slices in both directions. This is demonstrated by improved 25th, 75th and 95th percentiles. In the period before the scheme was implemented, Monday to Thursday AM peaks were particularly unreliable, with the 95th percentile journey being over 40 minutes. After the scheme went into operation, this same measure is reduced to 25 minutes.
2) In terms of flow, this was expected to increase due to the increase from three lanes to four. There is a regular increase in the peak flow in the anticlockwise direction, indicating that previously it was operating at capacity and that the capacity has now been increased. However the clockwise direction has remained fairly static, some small decreases and increases, suggesting that demand previously did not exceed capacity in this direction. On weekdays, daily traffic flows have risen slightly in both directions by up to 9% on weekdays and 19% on weekends. Flows in almost all time periods have risen slightly. The table below gives more detail.
Mon-Thurs Friday Location Value AM Inter- PM AM Inter- PM Saturday-Sunday Peak peak Peak Peak peak Peak Before 1,231 1,141 1,389 1,161 1,083 1,408 1,079 After 1,157 1,113 1,440 1,140 1,099 1,432 1,187 J24 - J25 Change -74 -28 51 -21 16 24 108 Clockwise % -6% -2% 4% -2% 1% 2% 10% Change Before 1,262 1,020 1,144 1,198 1,125 1,182 1,046 After 1,399 1,132 1,231 1,384 1,148 1,220 1,231 J24 - J25 Change 137 112 87 186 23 38 185 Anticlockwise % 11% 11% 8% 16% 2% 3% 18% Change M25 J24 – J25 Peak 15 Minute Flows
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Clockwise Anti-clockwise Locatio Value Mon- Sat- Mon- Sat- n Friday AADT Friday AADT Thurs Sun Thurs Sun Before 67,600 72,800 53,800 64,400 66,400 71,300 53,300 63,400 After 72,900 76,100 61,300 70,000 71,500 74,400 61,200 69,000 J23 - J24 Change 5,300 3,300 7,500 5,600 5,100 3,100 7,900 5,600 % 8% 5% 14% 9% 8% 4% 15% 9% Change Before 66,700 70,300 50,900 62,700 62,900 66,200 49,300 59,500 After 67,200 70,500 56,500 64,600 68,600 70,800 58,700 66,100 J24 - J25 Change 500 200 5,600 1,900 5,700 4,600 9,400 6,600 % 1% 0% 11% 3% 9% 7% 19% 11% Change M25 Daily Flows (ADT 24 Hours)
3) Vehicle Hours Delay (VHD) has reduced considerably in the clockwise direction from 6,736 hours before the scheme was introduced to 3,750 hours following scheme implementation. The results in the anticlockwise direction show a reduction from 8,263 VHD to 3,863 VHD which is a daily saving of 4,400 vehicle hours.
4) Furthermore the average journey time to cover this stretch of the M25 (approximately 16 miles), has improved in both directions and in all time slices as a result of the scheme. Before the scheme the clockwise journey time ranged from 15min 56sec to 18min 38sec and after they ranged from 14min 40 sec to 17min 32sec depending on day and time of day. The improvement in the clockwise journey time ranges from 5.3% to 8.6%. In the anti- clockwise direction journey time ranged from 16min 3sec to 22min 17sec and after they ranged from 15min 12 sec to 17min 38sec depending on day and time of day. The improvement in anti-clockwise journey time ranges from 5.4% to 20.9%.
5) It is too early to draw definitive conclusion about the impact on safety as the sample size after 12 months operation is too small. Nevertheless analysis of the early data set shows that there has been a reduction in all but the killed and FWI metrics. There have been two fatal casualties in the period after implementation, although these are not directly attributable to the new traffic management arrangements (suspected suicide and a stowaway incident). There is a reduction in total collisions and casualties, which remains when accounting for the background reduction nationally in England. The table below gives more detail.
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
Before Casualties / Rates (annual After (12 months data) % Change (collisions per HMVM) average)
Killed 1.33 2 50% Seriously Injured 12.00 4 -67% KSI 13.33 6 -55% Slightly Injured 133.67 90 -33% FWI 3.87 3.3 -15% Total 147.00 96 -35% Traffic (HMVM) 7.54 6 -23% Killed Rate 0.18 0.35 95% Serious Rate 1.59 0.69 -57% KSI Rate 1.77 1.04 -41% Slight Rate 17.74 15.55 -12% FWI Rate 0.51 0.57 11% Total Rate 19.51 16.59 -15% M25 J 23 -27 Number of Casualties and Casualty Rates by Severity
Number of Period Collisions Collision Rate (PIA/HMVM) Annual Average in Before Period 97.0 12.87 Counter Factual for Before 93.8 11.91 Period (modified baseline) After 60 10.30 % Change -36% -14% M25 J 23 – 27 Number of Collisions and Collision Rates Following National Trends
This project is undergoing further evaluation which is expected to be completed in 2 years. Further information can be obtained from Highways England, United Kingdom.
November 2015 Template for Reporting Evaluation Results (Short)
5. EUROPEAN DIMENSION: LIKELY TRANSFERABILITY OF THE RESULTS
This solution to impacting congestion through introduction of sophisticated ITS measures such as Variable Speed Limits and Hard Shoulder Running is transferable to other European countries. Similar schemes have been deployed in the Netherlands and in Germany for instance. This approach has a key benefit of increasing road capacity without the need to widen roads. In England, experience of these solutions has developed over a number of years where incremental steps in design have been taken as a result of learning and post implementation evaluation. It is worth noting that the level of technology used for this particular scheme is less than that used in initial schemes of this type..
Being able to enforce temporary speed limits has proven beneficial due to improved compliance and this is recommended for schemes of this type.
Clearly each potential scheme needs to be considered on its own merits, taking account of cost, expected improvements to the road network, and other issues such as technical feasibility, and ongoing costs to maintain and refresh the technology.
The success of these schemes in England has led to Highways England initiating a programme of further deployment up to 2020 and beyond.
Further information can be found at www.highwaysengland.co.uk.
November 2015