The Present Traffic Situation and a review of the Uniflow System
Amal S. Kumarage Department of Transport & Logistics Management University of Moratuwa
Presentation to the Institute of Engineers Sri Lanka
20 th April 2007 Transport in Colombo City
Daily Passengers in Both Directions at the CMC Boundary (1965-2005) Corridor Pax AAGR Pax AAGR Pax AAGR Pax 1965 65-85 1985 85-95 1995 95-05 2005 (000s) % (000s) % (000s) % (000s) Galle Road 91 5.8% 279 1.7% 331 1.0% 365 Neg’bo & Kandy Rds 118 6.2% 400 3.6% 607 -1.0% 553 Ratnapura Rd 62 4.2% 141 3.9% 206 -0.5% 196 Cotta Rd/SJP Rd 45 3.5% 89 10.8% 249 1.3% 278 Horana Rd 21 5.2 % 58 8.1 % 126 -1.3% 111 Wellampitiya Rd 38 2.0% 56 0.1% 59 -0.3% 57 Narahenpita Rd 12 6.2% 40 0.1% 35 2.8% 46 Ambatale Rd 32 12.0% 63 -0.8% 58 TOTAL 387 5.3% 1,095 4.4% 1,676 -0.6% 1,572
Growth of ‘traffic’ to Colombo
Year Private Buses Goods Total Vehicles Vehicles 1995 203,215 27,084 24,158 254,457 2005 321,249 22,835 30,296 374,381 PeriodGrowth 58% -16% 25% 47% Growth p.a. 4.7% -1.7% 2.3% 3.9%
Period 1995-2005
•Growth of Passenger Traffic - 06%
•Growth of Vehicle Traffic + 47%
•Growth of Demand for Road Space + 32% Modal Share at CMC Boundary
Motor Cycle 3wheeler Train 5% 4% 10% Car/Saloon 11%
Utility 14%
Buses 56% Reasons for this phenomenon
• Increasing incomes, more options for using a private vehicle, deterioration quality of public transport…
• Migration of institutions where employees and clients have historically used public transport to suburbs with new establishments coming up attracting people from higher income categories whose preferred mode of transport is a private vehicle.
• Suburban public transport has not improved in routing. No interest by the Provincial Council as it is not considered a problem!
• Influx of three wheelers as a popular means of self employment providing a poor solution to the situation.
• Present trip patterns still radial in orientation. The Problem
Centralized Commercial Development Residential Congestion at peak hours Area Predictions for the next decade………..
• Road congestion will increase, travel times will increase
• As a result, number of people coming to the city will decrease,
• A number of business establishments will migrate to suburbs or become uncompetitive
• congestion will remain at a dynamic equilibrium (as has been the case since 1990s)
• Colombo will continue as a commercial capital which will operate at a sub-optimal level with no planned alternate to take its place or become competitive with fast developing cities in the region. Option 1: Redeveloping Urban Areas ‰ Satellite Cities developed as Compact Cities
Improved Public Transport Congestion is minimized As minimum need of Transportation
Satellite City Commercial Core center Satellite City Option 2: Public Transport Strategy for Reducing the Traffic Load on Roads
Centralized Commercial Development Served by Quality Public Transport Residential Area The Ultimate Challenge in Transport: Managing the Trend to Motorization
Car Ownership Vs Income
0.9
0.8 C1 : High Growth C1 C2: Moderate to High U.S.A. 0.7 C3 : Low to Moderate C4 : Low Australia,, 0.6 Canada, C2 New Zealand, 0.5 C3 Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,
0.4 Germany,, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden
C4 0.3 Singaphore, Hong Kong Car OwnershipOwnershipCarCar Rate Rate 0.2
0.1 SL 0 850 5,850 10,850 15,850 20,850 25,850 30,850 35,850 Per Capita Income (US $) Summary of Factor Determining Sustainable Vehicle Ownership Levels
Population Populatio Roads Share of Car Density n Density (m/per Public Ownership Restrictions (persons/h son) Transport Saturation a) (per 1000 p) Low < 25 > 4 < 5% 600 -700 Little or no restriction on ownership
Moderate 25-75 1-4 15-35% 300-400 Some traffic and parking restrictions
High > 75 < 1 50-80% 200-300 Traffic and ownership restrictions
Capacities & Other Attributes of Transport Systems
System Path Vehicles per Passengers per Operating Speed Configuration Hour per Hour (thousands) at Capacity Lane/track (Km/hr) Metro (MRT) 30 30-80 40 Light Rapid 20 20 -30 20 Transit (Trams) Suburban Rail Double track 15 10-20 20 Bus Lanes With flow 400 10-20 20 Busways 2 lane undivided 700 15-30 Cars 2 lane undivided 1,400 2 - 3 20 4 lane divided 2,000 3-4 30 Bicycle Lane 2 lane-2 mt. wide 1,200 1.2 15
Pedestrian 3 meter wide - 10-15 5 Walkways
Mass Transit Modes- a comparison Characteristic Busway LRT Metro Suburban Rail Segregation At-grade At-grade Mostly elevated/u’ gd At-grade Space Requirement 2-4 lanes from 2-3 lanes from Elevated or u’ gd, little - existing existing impact on existing road road road Flexibility Flexible in both Limited flexibility, Inflexible and risky in Inflexible imp’n risky in financial terms and op’s, robust financial terms operationally Initial Cost 1-5 10-30 15-30 at-grade 30-75 - US$ mn / km elevated 60-180 u’ gd
Practical Capacity 10-20,000 10-12,000 60,000+ 30,000 Pass/hr/direction
Operating Speed 17-20 20 30-40 40-50+ Kph Bogota- Columbia
• Under Mr. Enrique Peñalosa's leadership from 1998-2000, innovative transportation strategies such as a successful busway, bicycle paths and restrictions on private car use were used to equalize all citizens' access to mobility and began to relieve the traffic congestion and air pollution that was choking Bogotá. His administration also built parks, planted trees and promoted the use of public space.
• "In Bogotá, we chose to build a city for people, not for automobiles,“
• "Cities built for cars' mobility suffer from congestion and unsafe street conditions and leave many residents with poor access to jobs. Instead of these problems, we gave our citizens enjoyable public spaces and unprecedented mobility."
• "Typically, when we judge a city's success we talk about skyscrapers, superhighways and parking spaces. The experience of Bogotá shows that cities can prosper by focusing on a new model for success, one that is centered on the needs and contentment of all the city's residents ‚ not just those that own a private car."
• "God made us walking animals — pedestrians. As a fish needs to swim, a bird to fly, a deer to run, we need to walk, not in order to survive, but to be happy." • Latin America's largest network of bicycle ways
• A world-class Bus Rapid Transit system of dedicated bus lanes called Trans Milenio- carries ½ million people daily
• The world's longest pedestrian -only street, spanning 17 kms and 300 kms of sidewalks, many through the city's poorest neighborhoods for which he was nearly impeached by the car owning lobby.
• The planet's biggest Car-Free Day , Instituted the city's first "Car-Free Day" in 2000. Through a referendum, people adopted a yearly car free day and decided that from the year 2015 onwards, there would be no cars during rush hours.
• Car-Free Sunday , when many streets are closed to motorized traffic to make space for thousands of cyclists and pedestrians. Review of the Uniflow System
• The newly introduced traffic arrangement within Colombo has created several problems, which have been studies.
• A sample survey of different types of vehicle users, bus passengers and train passengers in the Bambalapitiya, Kollupitiya, Slave Island, Town Hall, Fort and Cinnamon Gardens areas was carried out during the last week of January 2007.
• The results of this are as follows: % Change in Walk or Travel Distance by User
Decreased 100 Increased 90 No Change 80
70
60
50
40 Percentage Percentage 30
20
10
0
rs e g n rs e e s s g s a n p P e O s s n s n i a a p a P O r s V s T f r r Travel Distances have u f le e B a e s t e U s /S h h increased for everybody l le e o W c V o e y h e te c r C a S r h o v T t ri o P r M e th O % Change Travel Time by User
No Change Decreased 80 Increased 70
60
50
40
Percentage 30
20
10
0
s ger ssen rs Pa ato us per ps B s O n O Bu Va ps aff r O /St ele ers ol he U cho W cle hs S ree Cy Ve Th or te ot iva M Pr her Travel Time have decrease for Ot More private vehicle users, but Increased for other road users Ease of Parking after One Way
No Change 100 More Difficult
90 Easier
80 Percentage 70
60
50
40
30
20
10 ps O 0 an ff V ta ps l/S O oo er ch el S he Easier s e W er re U h le T yc More r C to hs Difficult Mo e e V No Change at riv r P he Ot
Parking has become more difficult could the same results have been obtained in the two way system with parking ban Score of Acceptance by Users
7
6
5
4
3 Scorefrom 10 2
1
0
r e r g e r n g o e n t n a r s e r a s s V le e a e l s p f e c s a f P e y h O a h s n P t C e r i s S e a s / W r V r u u l p to e T B B o e t e o e o a e h r k h M iv c r p S T o P h r e S th From a score of 0 (very bad) to 10 (very good), itO can be seen that overall user response is that public transport, pedestrians, shop keepers, van and 3 wheeler operators who cater to over 80% of passenger movements, have rated it bad to very bad. The worst off being train users. Car users have rated it slightly favourably, while motor cycles users have indicated a median response. Some Details of Plus and Negatives of the Uniflow Benefits Problems
Some Delays at Junctions have been Some junctions the congestion has increased. eliminated. •Flower Road/Thurstan Road •Reid Avenue/Thurstan Road, •Independence Avenue/Reid Avenue •Maitland Crescent/Independence Av, Albert Crescent/Independence Av) Some trips have become shorter and faster. One way system has diverted some trips away from one- Bambalapitiya (Majestic City) to Town Hall. way areas thus creating new locations of congestion or making earlier congestion worse. •Dickmans Road/Havelock Road •Maya Avenue/Havelock Road There are less lanes in southward direction and hence the southbound evening peak travel times have increased.
Some links the capacity is not utilized as they cannot be accessed. •Bauddhaloka Mawatha (between Duplication/Galle Rd) •Marine Drive south bound. Travel speeds on some links has improved in Travel speeds on some links have deteriorated speed. •Dickmans Road (and most other roads in East- •Galle Road North bound West direction) •Duplication Road south bound •Havelock Road •Reid Avenue •Thurstan Avenue For Bus Passengers
Benefits Problems
No Benefit The bus-rail connection especially for evening has been totally destroyed. There are no south bound buses on Galle Road as a result the distance to walk to the stations as Bambalapitiya and Kollupitiya has increased from around 200 metres to over 500 metres. This especially on rainy days would be problematic. Due to one way systems there are some roads now with buses only in one direction. Passengers have to walk much longer distances to take a bus. (e.g.,Thurstan Road , Reid Avenue Galle Road,) As a result of longer walking distances, some passengers have to take 3 wheelers to catch the return bus. Most routes have longer travel times due to diversions and having to negotiate turns on narrow roads. Some routes have become very much longer. Example #154 and #104 north bound now has to detour 5 kms to travel a distance of 1 km on its original route. (See map) Long distance buses have been diverted away from Galle Road and travel times have increased. No bus halts, shelters, pedestrian crossings or information of bus routes on Duplication Road Present path of Routes #154/104 North Bound ‰
Now 5 kms when direct distance is 1 km For Pedestrians
Benefits Problems
No Benefit No Benefits to Pedestrians As most major traffic generators are on Galle Road, pedestrians now have to cross more lanes of traffic to catch buses. This makes them more vulnerable to accidents. Pedestrians have to cross several lanes of traffic in one direction making judgment of crossing gaps difficult to make. It is now virtually unsafe to cross even on a crossing if a policemen is not present. A serious accident could happen very soon. New pedestrian crossing requirements for bus halts have not been painted. Long-Term Consequence
• In a densely populated city, the appropriate transport planning solution is to encourage the more space efficient modes of transport.
• For Colombo this means encouraging the use of buses and rail and discouraging cars.
• The present one way system has done just the opposite of providing some relief to private vehicles and much inconvenience to public transport.
• This will eventually result in more people moving from bus to cars resulting in more congestion. Thus travel speeds on all roads will be worse off within one to two years.
• So should we ask to reverse this……………?? Another Option……..making the best of the situation! • This could be used as a step towards creating one way systems where:
– Bus Priority can be given in line with many cities the world over. This can be Bus Lanes, Bus Ways or Bus Rapid Transit Ways.
– Trams (Light Rail Systems) could be introduced which are ideal for Colombo.
• These would be the sustainable traffic management measures suitable for Colombo.
s
s
s
m n
a s
T
t
e o
e
r l
R
s
c
a
b
T
B s
c
k
o
e t
R
u r a
k
L J B S P J One way systems work when:
• The roads are close to each other.
• They eliminate conflicts at junctions by merging and diverging traffic
• One way systems do not eliminate signals.
• Signals are needed even in one way
• systems to create gaps for pedestrians to cross safely Solutions- Galle Road
If Uniflow is to be maintained on Galle Road/Duplication Rd:
• Make Marine Drive (up to Melbourne Avenue) and Galle Road Seaside lanes north bound. Make land side lane turning/merging lane for north bound and south bound Contra Flow Bus Lane.
• Make Marine Drive two lane north bound (up to Melbourne Avenue) with some by roads (namely Melbourne avenue, Station Road Wellawatte developed for traffic to enter Galle Road. Some places the ere should be openings in the centre median with traffic lights.
• Make Duplication Road 4 lane south bound Galle Road (Dickman Road Junction)
Wellawatta Bambalapitiya
Baudhaloka Mw Galle Road(Dickmans’ Road to Kollupitiya)
Majestic City
Bus Only Lane
Bambalapitiya Dickmons’ Rd Jn Jc.