A modeling framework for large-scale traffic networks

加拿大运输部在其上一份关于计划和优先事项的报告中指出，需要更好地实现多式联运一体化，并进行连贯一致的运输基础设施设计和修复，以维持加拿大对提高生产力和总体经济增长的需求。 最近为加拿大交通部进行的一项研究的结果表明，加拿大9个大都市地区每年的交通拥堵总成本在20亿至34亿美元之间（按2002年美元计算）。 准确可靠的交通建模工具的可用性影响交通管理当局在解决国家和区域道路基础设施的安全性、保障性和有效利用方面的有效性。 目前，国家的最先进的大规模交通网络建模工具，尽管最近在这一领域的实质性发展，混合成功之间的简单性，通用性，效率，全面性和灵活性建模的交通网络。 拟议的研究计划的长期目标是开发一个综合的建模框架，集成各种交通建模工具。 该框架将包括一系列专门用于各种交通设施（高速公路，干线，交叉口等）的交通分析的理论模型。 此外，还将开发一个综合软件包，以便以模块化方式整合拟议模型。 这一功能将促进未来的发展超出范围的第一个五年任期的拟议研究计划，如专门的交通模拟器，地理信息系统接口，存储库数据库，分析仿真器等这项研究计划的主要好处是双重的。 首先，该计划将为交通专业人士社区，从业人员和研究人员提供强大的综合支持，以实现一系列目的。 第二，本研究也将提供交通工程专业学生在应用和基础研究两个层次的教育活动的支持。

The Canadian Transport Ministry identified in its last Report on Plans and Priorities the need for a better inter-modal integration and consistent transportation infrastructure design and rehabilitation in order to sustain Canada's needs for productivity gains and overall economic growth.  The release of a recent study performed for Transport Canada, that investigated the cost of roadway urban congestion in Canada, shows that for nine metropolitan areas of the country the total annual congestion costs ranges between 2.0 and 3.4 billion (in 2002 dollars).  The availability of accurate and reliable traffic modeling tools impacts the effectiveness of traffic management authorities in addressing safety, security, and efficient utilization of national and regional roadways infrastructure.  Currently, the state-of-the-art of large-scale traffic network modeling tools, in spite of recent substantial developments in this area, have mix success in striking the balance between the simplicity, versatility, efficiency, comprehensiveness, and flexibility of modeling the transportation networks.  The long term goal of the proposed research program is to develop a comprehensive modeling framework that integrates various traffic modeling tools.  This framework will encompass a collection of proposed theoretical models specialized in traffic analysis of various transportation facilities (expressways, arterials, intersections, etc.).  In addition, a comprehensive software package will be developed in order to integrate the proposed models in a modular approach.  This feature will facilitate future developments beyond the scope the first five-year term of the proposed research program, such as specialized traffic simulators, GIS interfaces, repository databases, analysis emulators, etc.  The major benefit of this research program is two-fold.  First, this program will provide transportation professionals communities, practitioners and researchers, a robust and integrated support that serves an array of purposes.  Second, this research will also provide support in educational activities of traffic engineering students at both levels, applied and basic-research.