Toward an urban transport sustainability index: an European comparison

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INTELLI 2013, The Second International Conference on Intelligent Systems and Applications

The research of optimization techniques in the system of goods distribution from warehouses to final users (vehicle routing problem), made considerable savings on the total cost of transport and, consequently, on the final cost of goods, and produced the models applicable to other operating environments (e.g., transport for disabled people, school, municipal waste collection). The analysis conducted on the different models developed under the VRP highlights the support that these models can give on the infomobility of goods

Gap acceptance analysis in an urban intersection through a video acquired by an UAV

Purpose of this paper is to apply a methodology previously developed to achieve an accurate measurements of the real traffic condition thought the use of a video acquired by an UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and a probe vehicle equipped with a differential GPS. The used methodology is not invasive and thus, it doesn't influence the driver behavior. The used equipment must not be compared to the traditional techniques of traffic flow but it can be used for particular situations in which the installation of fixed detectors is not economic. In particular, we have analyzed the gap acceptance for an urban intersection between a main road with dual carriageway and two lanes in one direction, that connects the older town of Palermo with a main access roads (via E. Basile) and a secondary road used for local traffic and composed by a single carriageway with one lane for each direction (via U. Solarino)

A methodology to improve public transport system

The quality of pedestrian routes of access to public transport system (PTS) is an important aspect for the choice of transport mode, that can be evaluated also using some indicators as accessibility, comfort, frequency, etc... The policies for urban sustainable mobility must reflect the design and management of mass transit systems, but also the judgment of users in term of quality and perception of PTS. The purpose is reassess slow mobility encouraging the intermodal mobility between pedestrian and public transport. So the walking can be considered as alternative mode of urban transport and a moment of break from the chaos of modern life. It’s role should be considered as an important element for a new model of structuring the city. Using Geomatics it has developed a methodology for the assessment of accessibility to the PTS, that takes into account the quality of pedestrian path to reach the bus stop. Distance between bus-stops, human energy expended to reach the stops of the PTS etc.. are some elements analyzed in this study. The qualitative and quantitative data of the pedestrian network access have been managed in a Geographic Information System (GIS), proving a valuable tool that can handle a large amount of spatial and heterogeneous data. The results can be of support both at the planning /strategic level that also to the users, if inserted in the context of Web-GIS, making it competitive the integration between pedestrian mobility and PTS

New mobility strategies for the development of tourism in Sicily

Tourism and Transport is a well established and inseparable pair. An areas can increase the tourism in potentially own economy. This requires suitable accommodation and adequate transportation system. A positive synergy effects are induced to increase of the site. Transport is an important growth area for tourism and as a result. A better functioning of transport facilitates access to sites, decreases the cost of transport and increases tourist flows. In Sicily there are a wealth of artistic, archaeological and natural sites, generating a tourist flows during the year. Despite this, the network of connections and services is precarious. Residents and visitors are inaccessible to certain geographical areas. Often airport nodes are isolated for tourist as residents and connections to main destinations are by road transport, because rail is not competitive. Congestion of the main arteries increase negative externalities related to road transport and for tourists increases the negative perception of the journey. In this paper we propose guidelines for sustainable tourism, by analyzing the supply of mobility. The case study examines the reality of the stretch of waterfront in Western Sicily (Palermo to Trapani), introducing a faster shipping service to facilitate accessibility to tourist sites along the coast, with a network of connections that includes airports nodes

Urban traffic analysis through an UAV

In order to realize a precise and accurate traffic study, a method to evaluate the real traffic flow conditions in urban areas based on videos acquired by an UAV, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, is proposed. In this way it does not require additional equipment to earth and, not being invasive, does not influence the driver behavior. This paper presents the results obtained in terms of vehicular traffic flow along a way in the city of Palermo. The results have been compared to experiments using macroscopic simulation models and the eventually differences have been discussed

EFFETTI DINAMICI DELL’INNALZAMENTO DEL CARICO PER ASSE DI ROTABILI FERROVIARI PER TRASPORTO MERCI

Lo sviluppo di un sistema di trasporto ferroviario merci richiede di minimizzare i tempi di percorrenza e massimizzare la capacità di carico dei convogli. Questo obiettivo può essere raggiunto mediante tre diverse strategie, che possono essere adottate separatamente o in modo congiunto. Le strategie consistono sostanzialmente nell’aumento della capacità di carico del singolo carro, nell’aumento della lunghezza del convoglio e nell’aumento della velocità del veicolo. La possibilità di attuare simultaneamente le tre strategie è possibile solo disponendo di infrastrutture dedicate e utilizzando una progettazione specifica della linea e dei veicoli. Il lavoro illustra gli effetti di un innalzamento del carico per asse, oltre al limite attualmente consentito in Italia, sui principali indicatori utilizzati dalla norma UIC per l’omologazione del materiale rotabile. Le valutazioni sono state effettuate utilizzando un tracciato reale di buona qualità ed un modello numerico di un veicolo di tipo Y25

A Combination of Artificial Ground Freezing and Grouting for the Excavation of a Large Size Tunnel Below Groundwater

Within the Metro Line 1 extension project in Napoli (Italy), the service tunnel at Toledo station was one of the most critical sections of the project. The 13m wide, 17m high, 40m long tunnel is located downtown under a deeply urbanized area. It was excavated starting from an access shaft and from this tunnel four platform tunnels are under excavation. The geology of the site is characterized by volcanic soils: loose pozzolana silty sand and tuff. The underground works were carried out under a hydrostatic head of 27 m. In order to allow a safe and substantially dry excavation, soil/rock improvements were carried out by a combination of two different methods: cement and chemical grouting at the sides and invert (in tuff) and Artificial Ground Freezing (AGF) at the crown (in pozzolana). The treatments were carried out both from a drift located approximately 10 m above the crown and from the access shaft. The grouting process was controlled and monitored by a computerized system. To check the development and the efficacy of the freezing process, suitable sensors and automatic data acquisition and recording systems were installed. The variation of the temperature within the soil and the cooling fluids were monitored during the entire freezing operation

Pavement Management System model using a LCCA- microsimulation integrated approach

The maintenance and the rehabilitation of the urban road pavements are not often based on systematic program and scheduling but rather on emergency or on other not identified reasons. Moreover the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA), the only peculiar procedure for the management pavement, finds its own application for highway and motorway, even if it is possible to search the best investment for the urban interstate and arterials. By the light of the quantity of the involved resources, it seems necessary to define an operative methodology for programming the maintenance and rehabilitation activities for the urban pavement. The paper is oriented towards the development of a multidisciplinary approach to make decision on management of urban pavement using the basic concepts of the LCCA and micro-simulation model to define a scheme of work zone that minimizes the delay on the traffic flow. The best rehabilitation strategy should be characterized by the lowest users’ cost that depends on the time period of the work zone, which is conditioned by both own scheme and the provided treatment, and on “social cost” as increased travel time for queue generation . Different scenarios for different work zone plans were developed and a micro-simulation model was used to assess increased total travel time of a traffic flow within the maintenance area. In this work an analysis by means of the above mentioned approach was carried out on real scenario in the city of Palermo in order to point out the several frames of the adopted methodolog