Evaluating Traffic-Calming-Based Urban Road Design Solutions Featuring Cooperative Driving Technologies in Energy Efficiency Transition for Smart Cities

Maria Luisa Tumminello (), Elżbieta Macioszek (), Anna Granà and Tullio Giuffrè
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Maria Luisa Tumminello: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze ed 8, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Elżbieta Macioszek: Department of Transport Systems, Traffic Engineering and Logistics, Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Krasińskiego 8 Street, 40-019 Katowice, Poland
Anna Granà: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze ed 8, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Tullio Giuffrè: Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, University of Enna Kore, Viale della Cooperazione, 94100 Enna, Italy

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-28

Abstract: Traffic-calming measures (TCMs) are non-invasive devices designed to improve road mobility and urban areas on a human scale. Despite their potential, they have been in use for a long time and now have to deal with the latest technological innovations in the automotive field, such as cooperative driving technologies (CDTs), to improve energy efficiency in cities. The goal of this study is to explore the safety and operational performances of TCMs featuring CDTs in urban areas. An urban-scale road network close to a seaside area in the City of Mazara del Vallo, Italy, was properly redesigned and simulated in AIMSUN to assess several design solutions, where connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) have been employed as a more energy-efficient public transportation system. Preliminarily, the fine-tuning process of model parameters included CAVs and human-operated vehicles (HOVs) flowing through the network up to saturation conditions. The safety of the planned solutions was tested by using surrogate measures. The micro-simulation approach allowed us to know in advance and compare the operational and safety performances of environmentally friendly solutions involving TCMs and CDTs. These results can also support urban road decision makers in pivoting urban-traffic-calming-based design solutions featuring cooperative driving technologies toward energy efficiency transitions for smart cities.

Keywords: traffic-calming measures; connected and autonomous vehicles; roundabouts; limited traffic zone; Aimsun Next; urban metabolism; energy efficiency; surrogate measures of safety; smart cities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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