CE 303 - Transportation Engineering

Urban Transportation Planning

Lecture 1 - Introduction
Transportation is the movement of people and goods safely and efficiently in geographical space. A
transportation system provides connectivity (interaction between people, spreading of ideas) and
evolution of civilization.

Components of Transportation Systems

1. Links
Road segments, Railroad, Pipes
2. Nodes
Intersections, Interchanges, Transit terminals, Harbours, Airports.
3. Flow Entities
Road vehicles, Trains, Aircraft, Ships
4. Control Systems
Geometric designs, Flow entity regulations, User regulations.

Classification of transportation systems by routes

1. Land
Links-Road, Railway
Nodes- Intersections, Interchanges, Bus Terminals, Freight terminals, Railway stations
Flow entities- Road vehicles, Rail cars, Pedestrians.
2. Air
Links- Air routes
Nodes- Airports
Flow entities- Aircraft
3. Water
Links- Sea routes
Nodes- Seaports, Quays
Flow entities- Ships
4. Pipe Lines
Links- Pipe Lines
Nodes- Pipe terminals
Flow entities- None
Urban Transportation Planning
The four steps of urban transportation planning are the assessment of,
1.
Trip-generation which is based on the desire to travel for a given purpose.
2.
Trip-distribution which depends on the choice of destination
3.
Modal choice which depends on the choice of travel mod
4.
Traffic assignment which depends on the choice of travel route or path.
Each assessment of these components requires a model based on regression. The dependent and
independent variables of the models have to be identified. The models should be calibrated and verified.

Fig. 1.1 Sequential Demand Forecasting Process