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Roads in developing countries carry mixed traffic with wide variations in static and dynamic characteristics of vehicles. The traffic flow is also generally devoid of lane discipline, with vehicles occupying any available road space ahead. In such a regime of traffic flow, the phenomena of merging of vehicles at intersections of two roads is complex, warranting further study. The merging maneuvers at T-intersections under congested traffic conditions were studied microscopically through video-recording. In congested situations, the merging vehicle attempts a complex merging maneuver to enter the main traffic stream. Two unique merging processes are commonly observed in mixed traffic: group and vehicle cover merging (these are generally not observed in countries such as US). The author is using these words first time in this study. These reflect the different types of driver behavior - merging in groups, and by taking cover of another vehicle. Probabilistic models for group and vehicle cover merging are developed that capture this unique merging behavior. Comprehensive microscopic data collection and extraction were carried out to study the merging process at T-intersection under congested conditions. Merging models were then estimated using maximum likelihood method with disaggregate data that was collected for a case study T-intersection in Chennai city, India. Such models can find applications in simulation of highly congested traffic flow in a realistic manner under mixed traffic conditions. They can also give insights on devising better traffic control measures at such intersections. � 2015 Elsevier Ltd.

In 2012, the World Bank signed five agreements with MRDPA for advisory services, out of which one relates to the growth poles policy and to its improvement for the programming period 2014-2020. This agreement has three components: 1) an analysis of the growth poles policy, 2) energy efficiency studies for each growth pole; and 3) a review of the Integrated Development Plans prepared by the growth poles for the period 2007-2013. In this context, South Muntenia Regional Development Agency, through the coordinator of Ploiești Growth Pole, requested the World Bank, under a project funded by ERDF through the Technical Assistance Operational Program 2007-2013, to support the Growth Pole in implementing the recommendations stemming from the previous analysis with: 1) updating the Integrated Development Plan for 2014-2020; and 2) proposing an improved institutional framework for coordinating the planning, implementation and monitoring of projects under this plan. The current document of the Integrated Development Plan belonging to Ploiești Growth Pole was developed during the period 2008-2009 and approved and submitted to South Muntenia RDA in April 2010. It contains a total number of 93 projects with a total value of RON 5,136,143,583.91, out of which 762,515,322.81 are EU funds, and the remainder comes from the national budget and the beneficiaries’ own contribution. In the process of updating the plan, the implementation status of these projects will be studied further, while attention will be also given to the unimplemented projects in order to see whether they will be included in the documentation, depending on their response to the new development conditions of the growth pole.

As part of efforts to curb road deaths and serious injuries, the World Bank Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) invited the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) to work with the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (Departamento Nacional de Infraestrutura de Transportes, DNIT) to assess the safety of Brazilian roads. During this second assessment of Brazilian roads, approximately 3,400km of roads were assessed. This technical report describes the road assessment project and includes details on data collection, the methodology used and a summary of the results. The infrastructure-related risk assessment involved detailed surveys and coding of 50 road attributes at 100 meter intervals along the network and creation of Star Ratings, which provide a simple and objective measure showing the level of risk on the road network. The star ratings show that 1 percent of road length is rated as 5-star, 9 percent is rated as 4-star, 58 percent is rated as 3-star, and the remaining 32 percent is rated as 2-star and below for vehicle occupants. For motorcyclists, no roads were rated as 5-star, only 3 percent of road length is rated as 4-star, 47 percent is rated as 3-star, and the remaining 50 percent is rated 2-star and below. For pedestrians less than 1 percent is rated as 4-star and 5-star, 2 percent is rated as 3-star and the remaining 13 percent is rated 2-star and below. For bicyclists less than 1 percent is rated as 5-star or 4-star, 5 percent is rated as 3-star and the remaining 14 percent is rated 2-star and below. The project also involved the creation of a Safer Roads Investment Plans, which draws on more than 90 proven road safety treatments, ranging from low cost road markings and pedestrian refuges to higher cost intersection upgrades and full highway duplication.

China Railways Corporation (CRC) is considering new ways to attract capital to support the strategic development of the railway sector. Currently, government is the predominant equity financier, with debt being supplied by domestic bank credits and limited amounts borrowed from International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Considering its high level of accumulated debt and liabilities (RMB 3.7 trillion on an asset base of 5.7 trillion), CRC wishes to explore equity investment mechanisms, to increase cash flow from its core and non-core activities, and to use different financing channels as a way to leverage the value of its assets and introduce market-based business models to the sector. CRC is seeking to attract investment from both the private sector and from public sources such as local governments and state owned enterprises. It refers to these sources of capital as ‘social capital.’ This report examines how companies in China and railways in seven other countries, China, France, India, Japan, Poland, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, have attracted capital and made capital budgeting decisions to support their strategic development.

As part of a long-term partnership between the World Bank and Brazil, the Federal Government of Brazil sought the World Bank’s assistance to review road safety management capacity in Brazil, building both on past experiences in the country and international best practices. This National Road Safety Management Capacity Review, therefore, was prepared by the World Bank, with the support of the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF). The primary objective of the review is to evaluate the multi-sectoral capacity of road safety management in Brazil, identifying possible road safety challenges and presenting recommendations to address these challenges. The methodology of the review, in accordance with the guidelines of the World Bank Global Road Safety Facility, focused on examinations of key functional aspects of road safety, including institutions, legislation, financing, information, and capacities at all levels of government and among non-government actors. The review was prepared mainly based on interviews of key road safety stakeholders at the federal, state, and municipal levels, members of parliament, NGOs, and the private sector, in addition to direct inspection of roads and on-road behaviors, and the analysis of published research and reports on road safety. In addition, information and understanding gained from previous reviews of the states of São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Bahia were also incorporated.

The objective of this paper is to study and quantify the possible impact of provision of exclusive bus lane under heterogeneous traffic condition. The quantum of increase in level of service of bus due to introduction of exclusive bus lane was determined using a simulation model of heterogeneous traffic flow. The impact of introduction of an exclusive bus lane is measured in terms of reduction in speed of other categories of motor vehicles, due to the consequent reduction in road space, over a wide range of traffic volume. The main finding of the simulation experiment is the quantification of the maximum permissible volume to capacity ratio that will ensure a level of service of C for the traffic stream comprising all the motor vehicles, except the buses, on a typical six-lane and eight-lane divided urban roads. This study is also concerned with estimation of the probable shift of the personal vehicle users to bus due to provision of exclusive bus lanes. � 2010 Springer-Verlag.

Romania faces today the critical need to enhance the coordination of public investment programs and projects in order to ‘do more with less,’ maximizing development impact given limited financial resources available. In this context, ‘value for money’ is the key guiding principle of public investments, making this final report is both critically important and timely. Romania’s preparations for the 2014-2020 EU programming period are in full swing, with multiple operational programs recently approved. In parallel, the Government is working on revamping instruments financed entirely from the state budget. The core focus is on the National Local Development Program (PNDL), the main state-budget-funded investment program for local infrastructure development, though findings and recommendations may be extrapolated to other state-budget-funded instruments (e.g., the Environment Fund) and, indeed, as decentralization and regionalization may evolve in the future, subnational governments may also apply the lessons of this work. The main goal of this work is to recommend and facilitate the adoption of prioritization and selection criteria that enhance coordination at the level of infrastructure programs and the projects they finance.

This report provides a diagnostic and a set of recommendations for the coordination of infrastructure investments in three main sectors in Romania: roads; water and wastewater; and social infrastructure (education, health, culture, and sports). The proposals formulated are targeted primarily at the main client of this work, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration (MRDPA) and specifically at the Directorate General for Regional Development and Infrastructure (DG RDI), which manages the most important state-budget-funded program for local infrastructure investments – the National Local Development Program (PNDL). Other key stakeholders include the Center of Government (CoG), the Ministry of Public Finances, the Ministry of European Funds, other central authorities in charge of EU and/or state-funded investment programs, Regional Development Agencies, and county and local councils. While customized for the PNDL, the recommendations that follow can be replicated across all state-budget-funded investment programs. This report presents multiple instruments for promoting coordination: dedicated platforms, harmonization of investment programs (design, financing criteria, producers), and knowledge sharing of good practices at the local level.

Road networks are essential for economic, social, environmental, and security reasons. Road networks are therefore considered critical networks according to the consequences of their disruptions (Tacnet and Mermet 2012). Flooding poses an important threat to roads, and can lead to massive obstruction of traffic and damage to road structures, with possible long-term effects (Buren and Buma 2012). Flooding leads to significant repair costs for road control authorities, access difficulties for emergency services (Versini, Gaume, and Andrieu 2010a), and disruption for road users and the community at large. The consequences for businesses and the economy in general can be very significant (Brabhaharan, Wiles, and Frietag 2006). Because of the time and costs required for rebuilding, sustainable and long-term planning is crucial; therefore, the consideration of flood risk constitutes an important input for decision making in planning this type of infrastructure. Flood risk analysis for road networks allows plans to be carried out in an appropriate manner, allocating resources for prevention, mitigation, and restoration (Balijepalli and Oppong 2014; Jenelius and Mattsson 2014). This report summarizes the main concepts and methodologies that are used to assess flood risk for road networks. The report presents references and examples, and is intended to be a starting point for practitioners in the field.

The Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) update identifies priority actions in support of the Government of Sudan (GOS) commitment to increase trade and diversify the economy. The current study builds on the earlier 2008 DTIS by identifying the major factors holding back the increase of agricultural exports and economic diversification. The report identifies a package of measures that will support Sudan to more effectively realize its economic potential. The DTIS Update presents an updated action matrix that summarizes the recommended policy reforms. This matrix was validated with a wide variety of stakeholders in Khartoum in September 2014. Together, the action points will contribute to reducing trade costs, thereby enabling Sudanese enterprises and farmers to compete more successfully in regional and global markets and realize the GOS objectives of expanding and diversifying exports for increased economic growth. The recommendations accept that any changes in tariff schedules should be ‘revenue neutral,’ given the existing challenging fiscal situation.

The introduction of semiautomated vehicles designed to operate with manually driven vehicles is a realistic near-term objective. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects on traffic-flow characteristics and environment when semiautomated vehicles with automatic vehicle following capability (in the same lane) operate together with manually driven vehicles. We have shown that semiautomated vehicles do not contribute to the slinky effect phenomenon when the lead manual vehicle performs smooth acceleration maneuvers. We have demonstrated that semiautomated vehicles help smooth traffic flow by filtering the response of rapidly accelerating lead vehicles. The accurate speed tracking and the smooth response of the semiautomated vehicles designed for passenger comfort reduces fuel consumption and levels of pollutants of following vehicles. This reduction is significant when the lead manual vehicle performs rapid acceleration maneuvers. We have demonstrated using simulations that the fuel consumption and pollution levels present in manual traffic can be reduced during rapid acceleration transients by 28.5% and 1.5%-60.6%, respectively, due to the presence of 10% semiautomated vehicles. These environmental benefits are obtained without any adverse effects on the traffic-flow rates. Experiments with actual vehicles are used to validate the theoretical and simulation results. © 2003 IEEE. 4 4 173 188 Cited By :62

Auto manufacturers have begun to market an adaptive cruise control system (ACCS) as an option that promotes driver safety. This paper examines how the presence of vehicles equipped with ACCS affect...

The Greenprint 2030 is a resolute attempt on the part of MMDA to engage all stakeholders in a process to create a common vision for the region’s future. For the first time, all 16 cities and one municipality comprising Metro Manila are linked under one vision that sets developmental priorities for the region and provides direction to achieve those priorities. The vision is formulated within the wider Mega Manila context, considering the shared challenges and opportunities with adjacent provinces. Like other metropolitan plans, Greenprint 2030 starts with a vision. However, it differs from the comprehensive metropolitan planning exercises in that it focuses on developing strategic areas of opportunity. Through the vision process, connectivity, inclusiveness, and resilience emerged as the key entry points for strategic engagement. Based on the vision the Greenprint 2030 will provide metropolitan wide spatial guidance, demonstrate coordination mechanisms, and identify areas for catalytic investments. The green in Greenprint goes beyond trees and open spaces green is efficient transportation, affordable housing, and more resilient infrastructure. It emphasizes sustainable urban development as the underlying principle across the three themes of inclusivity, connectivity, and resiliency. These sectors work together to enable more efficient use of resources and to create a livable urban environment. The Greenprint 2030 offers the strategic direction which informs comprehensive spatial and development plans prepared by national and local government agencies, related to Metro and Mega Manila. Through this process, more options for metropolitan governance will also be examined. The aim is to equip the metropolitan area to compete globally and to provide its citizens a safe, resilient, and green environment.

Bu çalışmada karayollarında gerçekleşmesi muhtemel olay ve durumların tespit edilerek aynı güzergâh üzerinde belirli mesafede hareket halinde bulunan diğer sürücülerin bilgilendirilmesi veya uyarılmasına yönelik bir çalışma yapılmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında, karayollarında hareket halinde iken aynı güzergâhtaki diğer araçlar, yol şartları ve hava şartları hakkında bilgi toplayabilecek taşıtlar için gerekli donanım ve yazılım geliştirilmiştir. Alınan bilgiler, geliştirilen olası durum senaryolarına göre belirli kurallar kapsamında filtrelenerek aynı güzergâh üzerinde belirli mesafede hareket halinde olan diğer araçlara, bu araçlarda bulunan bilgi ekranında çalışmak üzere geliştirilen mobil yazılım yardımı ile internet üzerinden aktarılmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında geliştirilen olası durum senaryolarında NEDC standardına göre 70 km/h sabit taşıt hız sınırı belirlenerek; pürüzsüz asfalt, bozuk asfalt ve stabilize yol şartlarında ani hızlanma, ani yavaşlama, ani şerit değiştirme gibi olası kaza oluşumuna sebebiyet verebilecek sürüş durumları değerlendirilmiştir. Aynı zamanda geliştirilen yazılım ile gerek duyulduğunda kullanılmak üzere seyir halinde olan taşıtlardan alınan bilgiler çalışma kapsamında oluşturulan web sunucuda depolanmaktadır. Farklı yol ve hava şartlarına göre geliştirilen senaryolar doğrultusunda belirli mesafedeki araçlar arasında olası kaza oluşumuna sebebiyet verebilecek durumlar için iki farklı uyarı seviyesinde (kırmızı ve sarı) semboller oluşturulmuştur. Her bir şart için geliştirilen sembolün, sürücü bilgi ekranında bulunan yol haritası üzerinde anlık olarak belirmesi sağlanmıştır.Çalışma kapsamında; geliştirilen donanım ve yazılım kullanılarak yapılan yol testlerinde, belirtilen kaza senaryolarına uygun olarak olası kaza oluşumuna sebebiyet verebilecek durumlar, sürücü bilgi ekranında uyarı düzeyine göre seyir haritası üzerinde aynı noktada farklı sembol ve renklerde sistem tarafından otomatik olarak çok kısa bir süre farkı ile belirmiştir. In this study, to be informed or stimulating of other drivers who is located in motion at a defined distance on the same route about likely to happen on the highways of events and situations are determined study was conducted. In the study, hardware and software to collect information about road conditions and weather conditions may be necessary other vehicles on the same itinerary have been developed. Received information filtered according to predetermined rules' specified case scenarios. Data transfers other vehicles at the same route and specified distance over internet. At the end, transferred data are shown in screen of developed mobile software. In the developed possible situation scenarios in the scope of study, 70 Kmh constant vehicle speed was determined related to the NEDC standard. Driving situations that could cause an accident such as sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration and sudden lane change was evaluated in smooth asphalt, broken asphalt and gravel road conditions. At the same time, collected data gathered from cruising vehicles by developed software stores on web server for use when necessary. Two different alert level symbols (yellow and red) was created according to developed scenarios under the terms different road and weather situations for transferring information that could cause an accident among vehicle in certain distance. Appearance of each symbol that designed for each rule was provided on the road map placed in driver information screen.In the scope of the study, in the tests made with developed hardware and software, situations that could cause to an accident was shown in the driver information screen as different symbol and color automatically by the system in a short time. 192

The Tool for Rapid Assessment of City Energy (TRACE) is used for conducting rapid assessments of energy use in cities. It helps prioritize sectors with significant energy savings potential, and identifies appropriate energy efficiency interventions across six sectors-transport, municipal buildings, water and waste water, public lighting, solid waste, and power and heat. It is a simple, low-cost, user-friendly, and practical tool that can be applied in any socioeconomic setting. This report is based on the implementation of the TRACE tool in Constanta in July 2013 and it outlines ideas on what the city could further do to improve its energy efficiency performance. It details the analysis carried out and the recommendations derived as a result, for district heating maintenance and upgrade, non-motorized transport, public transport development, parking restraint measures, municipal building benchmarking program, municipal buildings audit and retrofit, street lighting timing program, energy efficiency action plan and strategy, and awareness raising campaigns.

The average delay caused to vehicles at signalized intersections is an important criterion in the evaluation of performance at these intersections. Various models have been developed to estimate delay to traffic at signalized intersections. All the models are based on homogeneous traffic conditions; these models may not estimate the delays satisfactorily under heterogeneous traffic conditions. A probabilistic approach based on first-order second-moment method has been adopted to estimate the saturation flow and the delay caused to traffic, at signalized intersections, under heterogeneous traffic conditions. Here, the interaction between the different types of vehicles are incorporated in the modified 1958 Webster model by considering the intercorrelation between different vehicle groups. The input data required for these models and the data required to validate the calculated values were collected by conducting extensive traffic surveys. Results showed that the delay estimated using the probabilistic approach was close to the observed values of delay. ? ASCE.

Between 2000 and 2005 infrastructure made an important contribution of 1.6 percentage point to Benin's improved per capita growth performance, which was the highest among West African countries during the period. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by about 3.2 percentage points. Benin has made significant progress in some areas of its infrastructure. The rural road network is in relatively good condition, and about 30 percent of the rural population has access to an all-season road, a level above the country's peers. Air transport connectivity has improved. Also, important market liberalization reforms designed to attract private capital to the water and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors have boosted performance. In particular, increased competition in the ICT market has contributed to the rapid expansion of mobile and Internet services. Addressing Benin's infrastructure challenges will require sustained expenditures of $712 million per year over the next decade, with heavy emphasis on capital expenditure. Almost half of the total relates to the transport sector. At 16.6 percent of Benin's 2005 gross domestic product (GDP), this effort is almost at the level of other Sub-Saharan African countries. Benin already spends around $452 million per year on infrastructure, equivalent to about 10.5 percent of its GDP. Almost $101 million a year is lost to inefficiencies of various kinds, associated mainly with under pricing in the power and water sectors; poor financial management of utilities; and inefficient allocation of resources across sectors. If Benin could raise tariffs to cost-recovery levels, and reduce operational inefficiencies in line with reasonable developing-country benchmarks, it could substantially boost flows to the infrastructure sectors. Comparing spending needs with existing spending and potential efficiency gains (and assuming that the inefficiencies are fully captured) leaves an annual funding gap of $210 million per year. By far the largest share of the gap can be traced to the water supply and sanitation sectors. Benin has the potential to close this gap by adopting alternative technologies in water supply, transport and power. Savings from alternative technologies could amount to as much as $227 million per year.

The Baltic States; Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Poland are situated along strategic trade corridors within Europe, constituting the EUs eastern border with Russia and other CIS countries. EU membership has triggered rapid economic growth for the Baltic States and Poland due to the removal of trade barriers and reduced transaction costs. A heavy influx of EU grants has targeted development and improvement of transport infrastructure, and this support will continue until 2015. The EU grants are largely used for development of international corridors, which play a key role in strengthening the competitiveness of these new member states. Since their accession to the EU in 2004, these countries enjoyed remarkable growth. While the countries underwent varying degrees of contractions in 2009, signs of recovery are showing albeit with considerable uncertainty in the future. Growth in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in recent years has been unsustainable and was driven by a disproportionate increase in the non-tradable sector (construction, financial intermediation, real estate). This has had negative implications for competitiveness. The global economic crisis in 2009 has ended Poland?s fast economic expansion over the recent years, but in contrast to its neighbors Poland has avoided a decline in economic activity. Over the medium term, growth in Poland is expected to accelerate steadily in line with an improving external environment. The Baltic States and Poland are relatively competitive in trade logistics and have initiated reforms to facilitate trade, compared to their eastern neighbors, particularly Russia. Despite the plunge in 2008, freight transport and logistics development in the region has potential to continue to grow in the medium-term as some signs of recovery have begun to appear. The current economic situation has triggered a significant overcapacity of transport and warehousing which is characterized by very low prices for these services. While Poland remains relatively stable, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are exhibiting higher vulnerability to external shocks. The most critical bottlenecks of transport logistics in the Baltic States and Poland are found in the deteriorating condition of their transport infrastructure, particularly that of road networks, lessdeveloped intermodal connections, and inefficiency of custom processing at border crossing points. Deteriorating road condition in these countries is largely due to inadequate maintenance and a comprehensive asset management system, albeit improving. Intermodal connections that are often inefficient are partly attributed to institutional arrangement that lacks inter-agency collaboration at the level of policy development and public investment. Custom procedures are particularly cumbersome and inefficient at the borders to non-EU member states. Nevertheless, the Baltic States and Poland have relative strengths in efficiency of domestic transport/logistics, cost-efficiency of trucking industry, and price-competitive port operation. The report various recommendations for strategic policy priorities for the Baltic States and Poland to leverage their own strengths to respond to various opportunities and challenges.

Dynamic signal control is a complex phenomenon that includes both increasing intersection capacity and decreasing delays at the same time. New methods such as fuzzy logic and artificial intelligence are recommended for use in dynamic signal control. In this study, a Fuzzy Logic Multi-phased Signal Control (FLMuSiC) model for isolated signalised intersections has been developed. This model comprises two systems, which are based on fuzzy logic. One of these systems arranges phase green times (duration) and the other phase sequences using traffic volumes. The developed FLMuSiC model has been compared with the traffic-actuated simulation and the aaSIDRA vehicle actuated models with respect to the average delays of vehicles. Comparison of models was performed using simulation methods. An isolated four-armed intersection is selected to compare the performances of the models. Three and four phased controlling situations with equal and different traffic volumes on approaches of intersections are considered in comparisons. Results of comparisons show that the performance of the FLMuSiC is better than both the traffic actuated simulation and the aaSIDRA models one, especially in the case of the higher variability of volumes. In addition, the FLMuSiC model is compared with earlier studies. Encouraged results are obtained. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. C1 Pamukkale Univ, Dept Civil Engn, Fac Engn, TR-20017 Denizli, Turkey. Istanbul Tech Univ, Fac Civil Engn, TR-80626 Istanbul, Turkey.