TABLE OF CONTENTS

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background 1.2 Transport Situation in Mauritius 1.3 Study area
1.3.1 Introduction 1.3.2 Ebene Region

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2 3 4
5 5

1.4 Aim and Objectives

1.4.1 Aim 1.4.2 Objectives

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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Literature review. 2.2 Free-flow speed and speed flow curve. 2.3 LOS survey for urban road network. 2.4 Flow characteristics in new developed area. 2.5 Capacity of Roundabout. 2.6 Vehicle Occupancy studies.

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11 12 13 14 17 19

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Traffic volume surveys 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 Vehicle Classification. Survey Period Sites description and selection of station.

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23 24 24 24 25 28 28 29 29

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3.3 Free-Flow Speed. 3.3.1 3.3.2 3.3.3 Base length Setup for spot speed surveys. Sampling of vehicle.
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3.3.4

Sites description and location of the base lengths.

29 31 31 32 32 33 34 35 36

3.4 Vehicle Occupancy Survey. 3.4.1 Data Collection.

3.5 Turning Count Survey. 3.5.1 3.5.2 3.5.3 3.5.4 3.5.5 Roundabout description and location of station. Method for turning count survey. Survey Strategy for Roundabout. Traffic manoeuvres where counting was feasible. Turning count from each Bound.

CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS

4.1 Overview 4.2 Variation of LOS with time. 4.2.1.0 Measures of efficiency. 4.2.1.1 Multilane highway. 4.2.2.2 Road segment AB 4.2.2.3 LOS analysis for Road segment AB. 4.2.2.4 Determining LOS. 4.2.2.5 Adjustment factor applied to capacity (Ci) under base condition 4.2.3.0 Two way highway. 4.3 Reserve capacity of road segments 4.4 Variation of number of travellers with time. 4.5 Volume to Capacity (V/C) ratio of roundabout 4.6 Comparison of traffic count with past study.

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38 38 38 39 39 41 42 42 45 49 51 52 53

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CHAPTER FIVE: Data Collection, Analysis and Discussion

5.1 Introduction. 5.2 Variation of LOS with time. 5.2.1. LOS analysis for Road segment AB. 5.2.2. LOS analysis on road segment BE 5.3 Reserve capacity of Road segment 5.4 Variation of number of travellers with time. 5.5 Volume to Capacity (V/C) ratio. 5.5.1 Turning count results 5.5.2 Volume to Capacity (V/C) ratio 5.6 Comparison of traffic count with past study.

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54 55 55 60 69 70 74 75 79 81

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CHAPTER SIX: FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

6.1 Overview. 6.2 Suggestions for further studies.

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85 87

APPENDICES REFERENCES

88 159

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LIST OF TABLES

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Table 2.1: Number of vehicles arriving at roundabout (7.00am to 9.15am) Table 2.2: Approximate hourly volume per lane.

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Table 2.3: Vehicle occupancy (VO) for different trip purpose in New Zealand urban areas. 20 Table 3.1: Turning count done on site. 35

Table 3.2: Straight ahead, Right turning and Left turning manoeuvre from the North, South, West, and East direction. Table 4.1: Measures of efficiency for different facility. 36 38

Table 4.2: LOS criteria for multilane highways that would be used in this project. 41 Table 4.3: LOS criteria for Class two-way road. Table 4.4: Formula to determine Circulating flow. Table 5.1: Essential elements of FFS survey on segment AB. Table 5.2: LOS criteria for multilane highway with FFS 66km/h Table 5.3: Essential features of LOS analysis for segment AB Table 5.4: Essential features of speed survey Table 5.5: Essential Features of LOS analysis. Table 5.6: Reserve capacity of segment AB and BE Table 5.7: Essential findings of VOS on segment BE Table 5.8: Possible Trip distribution for survey period: 6.45am to 8.45am Table 5.9: Capacity and V/C ratio for each entry arm. 46 52 56 57 58 62 63 69 70 78 79

Table 5.10: Comparison of traffic count between 7.00am to 8.45am from West Bound of Roundabout B. 81
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Table 5.11: Comparison of traffic count between 7.00am to 8.45am from East Bound of Roundabout B. 81

Table 5.12: Comparison of traffic count between 7.00am to 8.45am from South Bound of Roundabout B. 81 81

Table 5.13: Average total vehicles and PCU for 2007 and 2010 during 7.00am to 8.45am

LIST OF PLATES
Plate 1.1: Map of Mauritius and location of Ebene. Plate 1.2: Road network at Ebene Plate 4.1: Double Bend Warning Sign at Segment BE. Plate 5.1: An illustration of LOS E Plate 5.2: An illustration of LOS F

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6 7 46 68 68

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Vehicle per km of road from 2005 to 2010 Figure 2.1: FFS curve established in Taiwan Figure 2.2: Traffic count done by Charitar (2008)

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3 12 15

Figure 2.3: Variation of VO with household income in New Zealand urban areas 20 Figure 2.4: Variation of VO with household size in New Zealand urban areas. Figure 3.1: Plan View for Road Segment AB Figure 3.2: Plan View for Road Segment BE Figure 3.3: Flowchart for survey strategy on Roundabout 21 26 27 34 44

Figure 4.1: Flow chart to determine LOS on segment AB for each 15-min time period.

Figure 4.2: Flow chart for determining LOS on segment BE for each 15-min time period 48 Figure 4.3: Flow chart to determine reserve capacity Figure 5.1: Speed distribution on segment AB Figure 5.2: Cumulative speed distribution on segment AB Figure 5.3: LOS and V/C variation with time on segment AB. Figure 5.4 Speed distribution on segment BE Figure 5.5: Cumulative speed distribution on segment BE. Figure 5.6: Variation of PTSF and LOS (Tuesday) with time on segment BE Figure 5.7: Variation of PTSF and LOS (Wednesday) with time on segment BE Figure 5.8: Variation of PTSF and LOS (Thursday) with time on segment BE Figure 5.9: Estimated Number of travellers on segment BE. (S1) Figure 5.10: Variation of vehicles (%) with one occupancy with time (S1) Figure 5.11: Turning count on a typical Tuesday Figure 5.12: Turning count on a typical Wednesday
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50 55 56 59 60 61 65 66 67 71 72 75 76

Figure 5.13: Turning count on a typical Thursday

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to thank the All-Mighty for his blessing during the course of this project and I sent my best salutation to His beloved Prophet. (Peace be upon him) I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my project supervisor, Mr. U Armoogum for his advice and guidance. A special thanks to my parents who have always encouraged me in my study. I am also grateful to my friends for their assistance in survey works. I would like to recognise the support and comprehension of the security officers at Ebene Heights, who allow us to use the building for survey work.

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Declaration form

ABSTRACT The number of vehicles per km of road in Mauritius has increased by 17% from 2005 to 2009. (Central Statistics Office 2010) This has no doubt an impact on the level of service of the road network in Mauritius. A road network with poor quality service is characterised by recurrent congestion and delays. Congestion and delays contribute to wastage of time and fuel. Their economic loss is estimated to be nearly Rs 1.2 billion per annum (Ministry of Infrastructure and Land Transport 2004). This project is, therefore an attempt at quantifying traffic flow and performance at a specific site viz part of Ebene Cybercity. This area has been chosen because it is a newly developed area, where various traffic generator points are located and its road network gives access to major urban areas. In addition, some roads located there are widely used to reach Reduit and the motorway toward Port-Louis. The accessibility of Ebene region to the surveyors was another reason, behind the motivation of this project. In this project, traffic flow along two specified stretches of road was measured using the manual classified count approach. Free-flow speed (FFS) for these stretches was estimated by dividing a known distance with time required to travel it. On the stretch where the highest traffic volume was recorded, a vehicle occupancy count was carried out. Turning count at a normal roundabout leading towards the Northern exit was also measured for three consecutive days in an attempt to assess the volume to capacity ratio (V/C) as an index of level of saturation. All the counting were done during the morning peak-hour (6.45am to 8.45am) Some conclusions of the study reveal that: 1. The passenger car units on a normal working day are higher from that on a school holiday by 9%. 2. Approximately 53% of the vehicles sample has one occupancy. 3. From 2007 to 2010, the vehicle demand for the roundabout had increased by 12%. 4. The theoretical V/C ratio is 0.54, yet delay and queue observed at the roundabout entry indicate a higher V/C ratio. These findings are based on limited data; further investigations would be required for better interpretation.
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List of Abbreviations and Symbol used: 15-min: ATS: AVO: BPTSF: C: ca: Ci: CSO: D: within the junction. e: F= fc = fd/np: fE: FFS: fHV: fP: fw: 15 minutes. Average travel speed. Average Vehicle Occupancy. Base Percent Time Spent Following. Actual capacity of roadway (pcu/h) capacity of entry for one lane roundabout. Capacity under ideal or base condition (pc/h/ln) Central Statistics Office. inscribed circle diameter the biggest circle that can be inscribed

average effective entry width. 303X2 0.21tD(1 + 0.2X2) adjustment for directional split. adjustment factor for environment on roadway Free flow speed adjustment factor for heavy vehicle adjustment factor for non-commuting driver. adjustment factor for lane width and shoulder width. proportion of heavy vehicle. Highway Capacity Manual. 1 0.00347( 30) 0.978[(1/r) 0.5] length of weaving section.

h:
HCM: k= l:

l: average effective flare length - measured along line drawn at right angles from the widest point of the entry flare.
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LC: LOS: LW: Max-15 min flow: MSF: MSFE: N: : circulating traffic. ORN:

Lateral clearance. Level of service. Lane width. The maximum 15 minutes flow. (pcu) Maximum Service Flow rate. ( pcu/h) Maximum Service Flow Rate at LOS E. Number of lanes. entry angle measures the conflict angle between entering and

Overseas Road Note. proportion of weaving traffic. Proportion of Bus. Passenger car. passenger unit per hour per lane. passenger car unit per hour. Passengers car units from A bound doing B manoeuvre.

p:
PB: PC or pc: pc/h/ln: pcu/h or PCU/h: PCUA,B :

Where A can be West(W) or South (S) or North (N) or East (E) and B can be Straight ahead(St) or Right turning (Rt) or Left turning (Lt).

PCUB: PCUG: PCUM: PCUV: PG: PHF: PM:

Passenger car units of Bus. Passenger car units of Good-Vehicles. Passenger Car units of Motorcycle. Passenger car units of Van. Proportion of Good-Vehicles. Peak Hour Factor. Proportion of Motorcycle.
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PTSF: PV: q: Qc : Qe : r: kerbline on entry. S=

Percent Time Spent Following. Proportion of Van. capacity of the weaving section in pcu/h Flow in the circulatory area in conflict with entry ( PCU/h) entry capacity of roundabout (pcu/h) entry radius indicates the radius of curvature of the nearside 1.6(e v)/l

S: Sharpness of flare indicates the rate at which extra width is developed within the entry flare.

tc :
tD =

critical gap in second (s) 1 + 0.5/(1+M) follow-up time in second (s) Transport Research Board. Transport Research Laboratory. University of Mauritius. United State Department of Transport. volume to capacity ratio.

tf :
TRB: TRL: UOM: US DoT: V/C:

v: approach half-width- measured along a normal from a point in the approach stream from any entry flare. V: V15: Service Volume (pcu/h) 15 minutes traffic count. conflict circulating traffic ( veh/h)

vc :

VE, Lt: Traffic count for left turning manoeuvre coming from East Bound (East entry arm of roundabout. VE, Rt: Traffic count for right turning manoeuvre coming from East Bound (East entry arm of roundabout.
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VE, St: Traffic count for straight ahead manoeuvre coming from East Bound (East entry arm of roundabout) VE, T: Total Traffic count from East Bound (East entry arm of roundabout) Vmax: Maximum number of vehicles. VN, Lt: Traffic count for left turning manoeuvre coming from North Bound (North entry arm of roundabout VN, Rt : Traffic count for right turning manoeuvre coming from North Bound ( North entry arm of roundabout) VN, St : Traffic count for straight ahead manoeuvre coming from North Bound ( North entry arm of roundabout) VN, T : Total Traffic count from North Bound (North entry arm of roundabout) VO: VOS: Vp: Vpeak-15min : Vehicle Occupancy. Vehicle Occupancy Survey. Two way flow rate. (pcu/h) Peak 15 minutes flow.

VS, Lt: Traffic count for left turning manoeuvre coming from South Bound (South entry arm of roundabout VS, St: Traffic count for straight ahead manoeuvre coming from South Bound (South entry arm of roundabout) VS, T: Total Traffic count from South Bound (South entry arm of roundabout) VS,Rt : Traffic count for right turning manoeuvre coming from South Bound (South entry arm of roundabout VTN, T: Total vehicle count entering North Entry. Vtotal: Total number of vehicles. VW, Lt : Traffic count for left turning manoeuvre coming from West Bound (West entry arm of roundabout VW, Rt: Traffic count for right turning manoeuvre coming from West Bound (West entry arm of roundabout.

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VW, St: Traffic count for straight ahead manoeuvre coming from West Bound (West entry arm of roundabout. VW, T: Total Traffic count from West Bound (West entry arm of roundabout) VX, T: Total vehicle count passing weaving section X (appendix 5) w: width of weaving section. X2= v + (e v)/(1 + 2S)

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List of Terms used: For the purpose of this report, the following terms were used: Average travel speed (ATS): The length of a segment divided by the average travel time of all vehicles traversing the segment including all stopped delayed time. (TRB 2000, p5-3) Base Percent Time Spent Follow (BPTSF): see PTSF Capacity: It is maximum number of vehicles or passengers, or the like, that can be expected to traverse a point or uniform section of a lane in a specific period under a given geometry, traffic, environmental and control conditions. It is expressed in terms of vehicle per hour or passenger cars per hour. (TRB 2000, p.5-2)

Critical-gap: The minimum time in seconds, between successive vehicles in the circulatory roadway of roundabout that all entering drivers (at the entry leg) of similar locations will accept. Delay: Additional travel time by vehicles. (TRB 2000, p.5-4) Density: The number of vehicles on a roadway segment averaged over a given space or distance. It is normally expressed in terms of vehicles per km or vehicles per km per lane Follow-up time: It is defined as the time span between two queued vehicles entering the circulating stream in the same gap. (Flannery & Datta 1996) Free-flow speed (FFS): The speeds (km/h) at which vehicles travel when density is zero. (TRB 2000, p.5-6) The FFS should also be the highest safe speed to operate. Headway: Time gap between two successive two vehicles as they pass a common point on a roadway. Highway capacity manual (HCM): HCM is a manual developed by Transport Research Board (TRB) that gives capacities for different highway facilities and methodology to evaluate level of service (LOS). The capacities had been derived on road located in USA, under certain geometric and traffic condition. The Transport Research Board (1985 and 2000) has made research on factors that affect capacity their effects were quantified and other findings were also published in
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HCM. The efficiency of a transport system depends mainly on the driver perception of the roadway in front of him or her. As such, the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) considers LOS base on the operational traffic condition from the point of view of the road user and it designates LOS ranging from to A to F (Appendix 1), with level of service A representing the best operating conditions and level of service F the worst. (TRB 1985 cited by Mannering & Kilareski 1990, p.169-170) HCM considers quality of service to be a function of speed, travel time, freedom to manoeuvre, comfort, and convenience and delay in case we are dealing with interrupted flow. Level of service (LOS): Level of service (LOS) is an American approach use to evaluate the performance of highways. It gives an indication of the quality of traffic service offered to drivers. Multilane highway: A highway with at least 2 lanes exclusive for the use of traffic in each direction with no control or partial control of access but may have signalised intersection spaced at more than 3.0 km ( TRB 2000, p.5-10) Percent Time Spent Follow (PTSF): PTSF is defined as the average percentage of time vehicles must travel behind slower vehicles due to the inability to pass (TRB 2000)

Queue: In case of an intersection, it refers to the line of vehicle waiting to be served at the intersection. It is normally given in terms of the number of vehicles. Roadway or Road segment: A portion of road in a road network. Roundabout: It is a junction configuration which sets up a circle traffic island at the centre of the intersection and drivers must run around it in one direction. One feature of the roundabout is that gives priority to vehicles that are in the circulatory roadway. (Nakamura & Mabuchi 2007) Space mean speed: The average speed of vehicles in a given space (at one point in time). It is computed by dividing a unit distance usually 1km by the average travel time of vehicles. (O Flaherty 1997, p.275) Time mean speed: It is arithmetic average of individual vehicle speeds passing a point on a roadway or lane. (TRB 2000, p.5-16)

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Two-way, Two-lane highway: A roadway with two lanes, one lane for each direction of flow and it may have a passing zone where passing manoeuvre is done on the opposite lane. (TRB 2000, p.6-10) Vehicle Occupancy (VO): The number of persons in a vehicle.

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