TRANSPORTATION PLANNING &

DEVELOPMENT
ECE 3211

B.Sc. in GIS
5.2
 Course Outline:
• Introduction to highway and transportation planning: Classification of transportation facilities,
• The evolution of transportation system: the rail, roads, mass transportation, highways and
aviation. – Assignment 1
• Route location; Introduction to route location, factors affecting route location, location process
for rural, urban, recreational, bridge, etc., route location.
• Transport systems; public and private. Urbanization,
• Land use and transportation interactions; Zoning, transport modelling. • Network planning;
shortest path algorithm, less short paths, maximum flow through a network, the transportation
problem.
• Feasibility studies; cost, system effectiveness, sociological and environmental impact.
Regulations, financing, and planning of transportation facilities.
• Road safety.
 Expected Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course the student should be able to:
Understand the evolution of transportation systems;
Identify the modes of transportation and explain their interaction in the
transportation system;
Carry out the process of locating a highway between any two termini;
Discuss the causes of road accidents and their remedies;
Describe the methods of highway economic appraisal
 Course References:
1. Gichaga, F. J. and Parker, N. A. (1988): Essentials of Highway
Engineering with reference to warm climates; Macmillan Publishers.
2. Kadiyali, L. R. (2013). Traffic engineering and transport planning. Khanna
publishers.
Other References:
1. Banks, J. H. (2002). Introduction to transportation engineering (Vol. 21).
New York: McGraw-Hill.
2. O’Flaherty, C. A. (Edtd) (1997): Transport Planning and Traffic
Engineering; Arnold a member of the Hodder Headline Group-London.
3. Hobbs, F. D. (1974): Traffic Planning and Engineering; Pergamon Press.
ROAD SAFETY
 ROAD SAFETY
Definition:
• Road safety. , means methods and measures aimed at reducing the likelihood or the risk of
persons using the road network getting involved in a collision or an incident that may cause
property damages, serious injuries and/or death.
• A road accident is defined as an accident involving at least one vehicle on a road open to public
traffic in which at least one person is injured or killed or the vehicle is damaged.
• Accident statistics - It is the measure (or estimates) of the number and severity of accident.
These statistics reports are to be maintained zone-wise. Accident prone stretches of different
roads may be assessed by finding the accident density per length of the road. The places of
accidents are marked on the map and the points of their clustering (BLACK SPOT) are
determined. The interpretation of the statistical data is very important to provide insight to the
problem
 ROAD TRAFFIC SYSTEM
The success of a transportation system depends upon the co-ordination between the primary
components of the traffic system.
Primary components of the traffic system include:
i. Road users: drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and passengers
ii. Vehicles: private and commercial
iii. The Road
iv. Traffic control devices
v. The general environment
 Factors that affect road safety
These factors include the primary components of road traffic. These are:-
• Human factors - Road users
• Vehicles factors
• The road – mostly geometric design
• The environment – Topography and land use
 Human Factors that affect road safety
The major difficulty in dealing with human characteristics is their variability.

What are some of the human characteristics that affect road safety?
 Human Factors that affect road safety
The major difficulty in dealing with human characteristics is their variability. Some of the
human characteristics that affect road safety include:-
• Physical Characteristics – vision, hearing, strength, weight, age, height, etc.
• Mental Characteristics – skill, knowledge, intelligence, experience, literacy, etc.
• Psychological factor – Attentiveness, anger, fear, phobias, beliefs, etc.
Some aspects to consider when analyzing human characteristics with road safety include:-
• Reaction time – Road user’s response to stimuli – perception, interpretation, evaluation,
execution.
• Visual acuity and driving -the effectiveness of driver’s vision in perceiving the objects and
traffic control measures.
• Pedestrians – Safety consideration for people on footpaths or crossing the road
 Vehicle Factors that affect road safety
What are some of the vehicle factors that are relevant to transportation safety?
 Vehicle Factors that affect road safety
Vehicle factors that are relevant to transportation engineering include:
• The design vehicle,
• Vehicle dimensions,
• Weight & axle configuration,
• Turning path and turning radius,
• Visibility,
• Acceleration capacity
• braking performance.
Some aspects to consider when analyzing vehicle characteristics with road safety include:-
• Visibility - The visibility of the driver is influenced by the vehicular dimensions. As far as forward visibility is
concerned, the dimension of the vehicle and the slope and curvature of wind screens, windscreen wipers, door
pillars
• Braking performance - The time and distance taken to stop the vehicle is very important as far as the design of
various traffic facilities are concerned. The factors on which the braking distance depend are the type of the
road and its condition, the type and condition of tire and type of the braking system.
 Road Factors that affect road safety
1. What road factors affect safety?
 Road Factors that affect road safety
1. Road surface - Some of the factors relating to road surface like road roughness, tire wear,
tractive resistance, noise, light reflection, electrostatic properties etc.
2. Lighting - Illumination is used to illuminate the physical features of the road way and to
aid in the driving task
3. Surface roughness - . Drivers tend to seek smoother surface when given a choice
4. Pavement colors - When the pavements are light colored (for example, cement concrete
pavements), there is better visibility during day time whereas at night, dark colored
pavements like bituminous pavements provide better visibility. Contrasting pavements
may be used to indicate preferential use of traffic lanes
5. Night visibility - Since most accidents occur at night because of reduced visibility, the
traffic designer must strive to improve nighttime visibility in every way he can
6. Road geometric aspects - The geometry of the roadway plays a significant role in road
crash frequencies as well as the crash severity level. Different elements of the road design
are important.
 Road safety Measures
1. Safety measures related to Engineering
• Setting appropriate traffic control systems - speed limits, bumps, traffic lights, rumble strips,
• Design of roads with appropriate geometrics – NMT, lane widths,
• Road reconstruct road – provide alternatives or improve the geometrics of existing
• Channelization
• Appropriate road signs - for information to drivers
• Road furniture - Streetlighting , Road marking, guardrails, kerb stones, channels, reflective studs etc.
2. Safety measures related to enforcement
• Regular traffic studies
• Traffic police – speed control, roadworthy vehicle assessment
• Vehicle inspection
• Legislation – penalties for traffic offense
3. Safety measures related to Education – All road users,