Evaluating the Impact of Traffic Restrictions on Urban Traffic Parameters during the Corona Period (Case Study: Mashhad)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Armin Jarrahi 1
Hossein Saedi 2
Seyed Reza Tahami Nameghi 3
1 Assistant Professor, Civil Department, Engineering Faculty, Khayyam University, Mashhad, Iran.
2 Ph.D., Student, Engineering Faculty, Qazvin University, Qazvin, Iran.
3 M.Sc., Grad., Civil Department, Engineering Faculty, Khayyam University, Mashhad, Iran.
10.22034/road.2024.480347.2327
Abstract
In response to the emergence and spread of the corona virus around the world, governments have enacted and implemented various policies. An example of these policies and measures was banning the movement of cars at night. The question is whether banning traffic at certain hours of the night can lead to unforeseen issues such as traffic congestion or not? Also, can it cause drivers to rush and be careless in the hours leading up to the prohibition time or not? The present study has investigated the effects of the night traffic ban on some parameters of traffic flow and the number of accidents in Mashhad. This investigation has been done for the conditions before the traffic ban and during the restrictions and on sections of the two main routes of the city. In this research, the required data, including traffic volume, flow speed and the number of injury accidents on the roads of Mashhad, were collected for a period of 27 months (from April 2019 to the end of June 2021). The results showed that the average daily traffic volume decreased by 34% and the average hourly traffic volume decreased by 73% compared to the same time before restrictions were applied. Also, the results of the analysis showed that there were no significant changes in speed and accidents.
Keywords
Traffic Restrictions
Traffic Volume
Corona Virus
Speed
Accidents
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