Análise do tráfego em cruzamento semaforizado da cidade de Alegrete-RS sob influência da chuva

Abstract

The commuting system operation is linked to the way its structure interacts with its users. The traffic light's role is to control vehicles flow and to avoid conflicts on the roads. The number of vehicles growth requires the system to adapt to this demand and still maintain the quality of service. Climatic factors like rain can directly interfere with the performance and lead to the slower flux of vehicles, changing the behavior and the operational performance of intersections resulting in traffic congestion on the road. Thus, the present work will analyze the impacts the rain caused on the vehicle flow at the signalized traffic intersection of General Sampaio Street and General Vitorino Street in the city of Alegrete-RS, investigating through video to know the demand on days with rainy weather and the demand on days with good weather. Using Webster's method, the optimal cycle times for rainy and fair weather days were found, which were later compared to each other. We also quantified by video the number of pedestrians using the crosswalk on the day with and without rain and compared them. It was found that the influence of the rain at this intersection is not very relevant in terms of vehicle flow, since the rainy day had an increase of 3.6% and 2.5% respectively on cameras 1 and 2 compared to the good weather day. On the other hand, the pedestrian flow had a great influence by the rain, since the number of pedestrians reduced 50.4% and 45.8% respectively on cameras 1 and 2, compared to the pleasant weather day. Keywords: Weather influence, Webster method, Vehicle flow.