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Eco-routing has been shown as a promising strategy to reduce emissions. However, during peak periods, with limited additional capacity, the eco-friendliness of various routes may change. We have explored this issue empirically by covering about 13,300 km, in three different areas, using GPS-equipped vehicles to record second-by-second vehicle dynamics. This study has confirmed the importance of the eco-routing concept given that the selection of eco-friendly routes can lead to significant emissions savings. Furthermore, these savings are expected to be practically unchanged during the peak period. However, some potential negative externalities may arise from purely dedicated eco-friendly navigation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Urban traffic emissions have been increasing in recent years. To reverse that trend, restrictive traffic measures can be implemented to complement national policies. We have proposed a methodology to assess the impact of three restrictive traffic measures in an urban arterial by using a microsimulation model of traffic and emissions integrated platform. The analysis is extended to some alternative roads and to the overall network area. Traffic restriction measures provided average reductions of 45%, 47%, 35%, and 47% for CO2, CO, NOX, and HC, respectively, due to traffic being diverted to other roads. Nevertheless, increases of 91%, 99%, 55%, and 121% in CO2, CO, NOX, and HC, respectively, can be expected on alternative roads. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The characterization of atmospheric emission is essential to air quality studies, in particular in urban spaces like Oporto city.The results of the emission inventory show that road traffic is responsible of more than 50% of local area emissions. VCI, an important urban highway that crosses the entire city, emits about 16% of total road traffic emission of the municipality, being light passengers cars are the main responsible of the verified emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]