Mitigation of Road-Users Interactions in the Wake of Snowstorms: A University Case Study

摘要

Urban universities have to address problems related to safety, security and operations of activities occurring within the perimeter of their campuses. The complexity of the problem increases especially for campuses located in an open access neighborhood such as Concordia University in Montreal. A microscopic simulator is used to evaluate potential benefits of building a new underground tunnel in the downtown campus of Concordia University. It was found with 95% confidence that the average delay of vehicles is considerably reduced for all approaches. Also, it was found that total pedestrian travel times can be reduced by up to 90 minutes within the peak 15-minute period under the assumption that half of the pedestrian activity is re-routed through tunnels. In general, it can be concluded that the availability of the underground pathways has operational and safety benefits, by minimizing pedestrian-vehicle interactions and providing a more convenient environment for pedestrian activity within the campus perimeter.