Abstract:
The uncontrolled growth of the population of Pakistan has led to several serious problems. As the population increases the consumption of resources also increases. Urban sprawl, which comes with a growing population, is one of the major concerns for the regulatory authorities. Islamabad, being the capital city, is the main attraction for migrants, and business hubs are facing rapid urbanization. Evidence being the number of unplanned housing societies in the vicinity of the metropolitan city. This increase in population and urbanization has led to a surge of vehicles on the road network. According to ETO resources, a significant increase with a growth rate of 4% in vehicles counts in Islamabad in two years, where the average growth rate of population was 3.5%. This rapid urbanization and motorization have stressed the transport network, leading to traffic congestions, blockage, and traffic incidents, affecting mobility. In this research, Islamabad is used as a case study, and Faisal Avenue was selected as a study area. As it passes through the most populated regions. It serves traffic from residential and commercial zones. The traffic data was collected from the critical location on the road segment. This data was then used to stratify the vehicles using the facility, and after analysis of the data collected the results obtained showed that the facility is operating at a LOS of F. The main reason behind the underperformance of the facility was found out to be the three U-turns provided on a strip of 3.6 km. These U-turns increases the intensities of the weaving motion, therefore, increasing traffic congestions and causing traffic accidents. HCM and Synchro software was used for analyzing, simulation, and optimization of the selected urban arterial.
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The research concluded that the facility is not operating at sustainable conditions, therefore, local authorities should take firm and resolute initiatives, comprising of managerial and policy changes, to provide a safe, efficient and sustainable road network. Keywords: Urbanization, operating conditions, U-turns, weaving intensities, traffic congestions, accidents, LOS, HCM, Synchro, sustainable road network.
