There is no doubt that the traffic problem is one of the problems faced by universities in different intensities for roads, intersections, and parklands. The negative effects of traffic congestion and bottlenecks are clear; they include extension of long waiting lines and increasing the time of transport with the consequences of ill effects. The effective solutions placed to resolve these problems need specialized studies relying on scientific methods for collecting and analyzing relevant data and drawing effective conclusions, recommendations, and solutions. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the problems of traffic congestion in crowded institutions, with realistic application to an anonymous University in Saudi Arabia as a case study and to provide the best solutions to achieve fluent flow of traffic at the present time and in the near and far future. Due to the complexity of the problem and its huge data and to facilitate the analysis process, the problem has been divided into three main sections, and the data is collected in four different ways.
TopBackground
Importance of the Study
Traffic problems, whether congestion, bottlenecks, or accidents, are among the problems that crowded institutions suffer at different rates in roads, squares and waiting areas. It is known that the number of vehicles that frequent these places is steadily increasing and therefore it is expected to exacerbate the problem further if effective solutions are not found and implemented as soon as possible.
The negative effects of traffic congestion are clear to everybody, such as disrupting, wasting time, extending long queues to long distance, and increasing traffic times with the consequent bad effects and low level of traffic safety and subsequent accidents. In addition, the aforementioned factors will lead to increase in environmental pollution rates and the economic cost.
Effective solutions to these problems require specialized studies according to general methods of planning and implementation, Butuner (2019). These solutions should be based on scientific rules and foundations in collecting and analyzing field data and coming up with the best and most appropriate solutions. Solutions should be directed to solve problems in relation to traffic congestion, congestion in entrances and exits, crowded places as well as in parking spaces.
Problem Definition
Some gates, internal road network and parking lots of crowded institutions such as universities suffer from severe traffic congestion during peak times such as the morning and afternoon rush. This congestion causes disruption of the flow of movement and delays the arrival of faculty, staff, and students to their destination.
This situation not only affects the costs of traffic management and the increase in environmental pollution, but also causes boredom and discomfort to university employees, students, and visitors. There are many factors that help the emergence of this problem, the most important of which are:
- -
The significant annual increase in the number of students, especially in recent years.
- -
Reliance on private cars for lack of use of alternatives such as public transport and walking.
- -
Failure to organize teaching schedules so that the beginning and end of sessions are distributed, which provides for the distribution of student throughout the day hours and days of the week to prevents overcrowding at certain times.
The current traffic congestion at the time of rush hours does not only affect the entrances, internal rods, squares, and gates of the university, but the situation has crossed the roads surrounding the university, causing the disruption of transit traffic. This situation indicates that the problem of traffic congestion during peak times has begun to exceed its limits, and it is likely that the problem will increase in the future after adding new campuses to some colleges and expanding admission of larger numbers of male and female students in the future. This situation calls for studying the problem and providing appropriate solutions, so that it does not worsen in the future inside and outside the university campus.
Objectives of the Study
The main purpose of the research is to study and analyze the problems of traffic congestion in the main roads, squares, and parks of the institution, and to provide the best solutions for these problems.
This is done through exhaustive planning of the main and secondary roads network, squares, parking spaces, and entrance and exit gates of the institute, in order to achieve ease and flow of traffic at the present time and in the near and future times.
The study objectives can be summarized as follows:
Counting the number of cars passing through the gates, connections, inner squares, and parking lots during different days of the week and during different hours of the day.
Conducting the necessary statistical analysis of the data and estimating the traffic density.
- -
Determine the densest places and traffic problems in gates, internal connections, and parking lots.
- -
Design possible solutions to current and future traffic congestion problems.