Twin Cities Metro-Wide Traffic Micro-Simulation: Feasibility Investigation

Principal Investigator:

Panos Michalopoulos, Department of Civil Engineering

Research component:

Exploring Implications of Alternative Transportation and Land Use Systems

Sponsors:

Hennepin County; Minnesota Department of Transportation

Status:

Active

Project Summary:

This objective of this research project is to explore the feasibility of developing an area-wide simulation model for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. Such a model would provide reliable travel time estimates, which are essential for assessing accessibility to various destinations via a range of different transportation modes. In order to determine feasibility, is first necessary to determine the data requirements for designing, coding, and calibration of a metro-wide microscopic simulation model. In cases where the data are not currently available, the minimum requirements for a successful simulation must then be identified. Because data requirements are closely tied to the choice of simulation application, it is also important to identify the most appropriate application currently on the market, based on necessary features, utilities, and simulation characteristics. For one or more candidate applications, this research will also determine the information necessary for building the model, specify what efforts are required to obtain the information from different organizations and jurisdictions, and determine the difficulty of integrating the data with the simulation application. Based on prior experience in other locations as well as the answers to the aforementioned questions, an identification of the pros and cons of a metro-wide simulation project will be presented.