International Transportation (69) 1 | 2017 36 PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS Business Line Solutions in a nutshell Overview of selected mobility solutions PPP-project: MiniMetro to relieve traffic congestion in Pisa W ith the official opening of the Mini- Metro PisaMover on 18 March 2017 the Tuscan city of Pisa starts into an new sustainable era of mobility. The 90,000-inhabitant city currently suffers from immensely high levels of traffic, with commuters, tourists and students doubling the population figure. The new PisaMover ropeway will reduce plenty of commuter road traffic, and will play an important role in local transport and improve connections to the existing public bus network. It takes passengers from Galileo Galilei airport to the main train station in the city center. Together with a new commuter car park and an improved network of bike paths, MiniMetro will reduce road traffic and make Pisa a more attractive and better place to live. In Pisa, the route from the airport into the city center is particularly at risk of congestion. The PisaMover can reduce flows of traffic on this critical route, shortening the travel time between Aeroporto Galileo Galilei at the southern outskirts of Pisa and Stazione Centrale to just five minutes. Each of the two trains consists of three connected cabins, and offers space for 107 passengers. Both the vehicles of the electrical Mini- Metro and the stations were designed by Italian star architect Adolfo Natalini. The bogy on which the vehicles run is also a special new development: It was developed in cooperation with the University of Pisa and makes the ride particularly comfortable. As a result, PisaMover is another example of the successful use of urban ropeway installations. Marco Filippeschi, Mayor of Pisa, is convinced of the new means of transportation’s advantages: “It is a model of innovative urban mobility that will have a positive impact on the entire city”. Behind this innovative installation is a joint publicprivate-partnership project of Leitner ropeways and Condotte d’Acqua S.p.A., one of Italy’s largest construction companies. In addition to planning and construction of the ropeway, the PPP project also entails operating the MiniMetro and the commuter car park at the midway station. The overall costs of the project totaled EUR 72 million, with 21 million provided by the EU, and the remainder by Leitner ropeways and Condotte d’Acqua S.p.A.. The two companies will operate the system and car park under a licensing arrangement for 33 years, after which everything will be transferred to the municipality of Pisa. The new MiniMetro in Pisa is the first ropeway of its kind equipped with the gearless drive system Leitner DirectDrive. Its outstanding features include low consumption and emissions, as well as low noise levels. The two vehicles shuttle back and forth, with each travelling on its own line. The entire ropeway is operated fully automatically and can be controlled flexibly. The operators expect to serve roughly two million passengers each year. From 2020 on, this figure is expected to increase to roughly 2.6 million. The Park&Ride service is also to reduce road traffic in the city, with a commuter car park for 1,400 cars near the midway station. Situated close to an important and large highway exit, commuters from the region can park their car for EUR 2.5 per day and travel to the city center conveniently in a few minutes. The ropeway is part of a comprehensive infrastructure concept: A new network of bike paths was built, pedestrian walkways were improved, new rotaries were added and a dangerous railroad crossing was removed. www.leitner-ropeways.com New smart system to reduce queues at roundabouts L ong queues at certain approaches to some roundabouts could be reduced using magnetic detection devices under the road surface, which would activate a traffic metering signal at another, less congested approach. Researchers at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Spain) have released a guide for technicians to implement this intelligent traffic system, already used on roundabouts in Australia and on various highway on-ramps. Roundabouts allow for motorists to cross intersections without the need to stop before crossing in a safe and more efficient way. However, where traffic flows are not balanced, there can be delays and long queues of vehicles at certain roundabout Photo: Leitner ropeway International Transportation (69) 1 | 2017 37 Business Line PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS approaches, infuriating motorists. As a solution to this problem, engineers tend to enlarge the roundabout and the number of lanes, build direct right turn bays upstream the intersection, convert the roundabout into a complete signalized intersection and even create grade-separated interchanges. However, not all the situations allow for these constructive solutions and often they cannot be implemented due to environmental or budgetary limitations. In these situations, the researchers have proposed the implementation of an intelligent transport system based on the ramp meter already used on ramps on some foreign motorways and highways to “ration” the number of vehicles from side streets and minor roads joining the main road when the latter is congested. The researchers’ proposal is to apply this to roundabouts using an ad-hoc methodology. Queues reduced by up to 60% “One of the main approaches which provides higher demand would be monitored using what is known as queue detector, a magnetic device installed inside the asphalt which detects cars. This is in turn connected to a smart traffic signal at a second, less congested approach which is impeding the former to cross the intersection,” explained Marilo Martín-Gasulla, the main author of the paper. “In this way,” she added, “we can use programming to generate longer gaps on the roundabout that can be used by drivers, mainly on the congested approach but also from other approaches to the roundabout, smoothing traffic flow and improving the overall operation of the roundabout. In this way, delays can be reduced by up to 60 %.” To carry out the study, published in the journal ‘Transportation Research Record’, the authors used real traffic data recorded at a roundabout in El Saler (Valencia) and microsimulation techniques. Next, they developed a graphical model and a guide for engineers and road managers to implement the smart system, already being used in Australia and on some roundabouts in North- America. The system costs around EUR 14,300. The paper’s authors stress that the system is not based on creating a signalized roundabout; it only uses signals on one particular approach to regulate traffic on the roundabout according to the needs of the specific moment. The system is optimized by programming minimum green (or blank) and red times, and a maximum red time, in order to prevent excessive delays for motorists on the metered approach. The system is only activated when it is determined by the traffic volume. Reference: Marilo Martin-Gasulla, Alfredo García, and Ana Tsui Moreno: Benefits of Metering Signals at Roundabouts with Unbalanced Flow. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2585, pp. 20-28, 2016. DOI: 10.3141/ 2585-03 Contact: marilomartingasulla@gmail.com Supporting transport planning in Europe M obility of people in Europe is increasing, as are the challenges faced when planning transport. Planning is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, counteract congestion in cities, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mitigate air pollution and noise, improve traffic safety, and support trans- European transport networks. As decisions in transport planning have effects lasting for decades, it is even more important to plan actions in the long term and to assess their consequences at an early stage. The HIGH-TOOL model simulates transport policy measures and their impacts on the computer. HIGH-TOOL (strategic high-level transport model)is the result of a meanwhile completed EU project and models transport policy measures and their impacts. With this tool, the Directorate- General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) of the European Commission is provided a quantitative instrument to assess the impact of transport policy measures on economy, society, and the environment for decades. HIGH-TOOL can be applied to strategically assess options and to preselect options for analysis using more detailed models. “The perspective of HIGH-TOOL is global. The focus, however, lies on Europe and in particular on the EU Member States,” explains project coordinator Dr. Eckhard Szimba, who heads the respective working group at the Chair for Network Economics of KIT’s Institute of Economics (ECON). “The forecast period is divided into steps of five years each and extends until the year of 2050.” Apart from modules for demography, economy and resources, vehicle stock, passenger and freight demand, as well as environment, and safety, HIGH-TOOL comprises a comprehensive data inventory and a user interface. HIGH-TOOL is available as open-source software and characterized by user-friendly application. Any strategy simulation is accompanied by an assessment report that lists major results in the form of Excel tables and diagrams. Input and output indicators of HIGH- TOOL are largely based on major European strategy papers, such as the “White Paper on Transport,” the “Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050,” and the “EU reference scenario 2013,” a collection of long-term prognoses until 2050. The project consortium already presented HIGH-TOOL at several large conferences on transport research and organized workshops for future users. Currently, the model is being used among others to assess strategies for shifting transport from road to rail. More information is available at www.high-tool.eu Source: Mariló Martín-Gasulla et al./ UPV Source: KIT