Transportation Engineering

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11888/3187

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The Use of Traffic assignment Modeling Technique in Evaluating & Testing Transportation Policies and Projects Nablus City : Case Study
(2000) Rania Mustafa Darwish Douleh; Dr. Sameer A. Abu-Eisheh
Transportation is a key sector in industrialized as well as developing countries. Although the level of technology in transportation varies and the needs and demands are expressed differently, the movement of people and goods is essential for human activities and production. Therefore, transportation has to be treated as an integral and basic component of any comprehensive development plan. The existing underdeveloped transportation infrastructure and poor transportation services provided in Palestine are inadequate to satisfy both the current and increasing demand for transportation and to facilitate the socio-economic development. Lack of proper transportation infrastructure facilities and services can be an obstacle to the development of the various economic sectors and may hinder the entire development efforts. However, the provision of proper transportation system is also an essential pre-requisite condition for development.
Developing A Safety Management Tool Using A Geographic information System (GIS)
(2000) Fawz Khader Mouhammed Kobari; Dr. Sameer A. Abu-Eisheh
Road safety is an important issue as it involves large numbers of people, vehicles and road sections, and as such is a complex issue to understand and to manage. The collection and analysis of data accidents are fundamental to the design of safe roads and proper traffic control measurement programs. Using such data helps in understanding why accidents occur, identifying accident prone-location, and aiding in the choice of proper safety programs or countermeasures. ln this study, a geographic information system (GIS)-oriented database using TransCAD software was developed as a tool in improving quantitative accidents data analysis. The database was applied for a two-year study period (1997-1998) for Nablus City. This database is of great use in road safety improvements and management. This study included a number of phases: establishment of detailed database with information on accidents, traffic characteristics and physical road data; integration of these databases into a GIS; and definition and development of GIS-based applications to road safety and management. The results of this study clearly showed the applicability and potential of using GIS as a tool in road safety management and improvement.
Analysis of Major Benefits and Costs for Pedestrian-Overpass Case Study : Nablus City
(2000) Banan "Mohamed Rima'a" Saleem Jadallah; Dr. Osama A. Abaza
Pedestrian-overpasses are appropriate when there is high speed and/or high traffic flow, where there is considerable pedestrian delay or a high pedestrian accident problem. Proper evaluation of these parameters resulted in identifying the most appropriate locations for installing pedestrian—overpasses. An economic analysis was proposed in this study for the purpose of reasonable evaluation of the required parameters that justified the installation of such costly structures. The economic analysis was interpreted in terms of benefit-cost ratio. The later considered the savings of pedestrian accidents and pedestrian delay as the benefits that will be achieved after the installation of overpasses, on the other hand, construction and maintenance costs were considered. Based on this analysis three different guidelines were developed. Accident guideline, pedestrian delay guideline, and combination of guidelines. Cases with different assumptions can be applied, based on the proposed modification process. The developed guidelines are applied for unsignalized urban areas. The comparison with currently used warrants implied that the developed guidelines are more specific and flexible.
Developing A Pavement Performance Function for Palestinian Roadway Network : Case Study : Nablus Province
(2001) Lana Khaleel Naseh Shahein; Dr. Osama Akram Abaza
Successful implementation of a pavement management system requires the necessary simulation tools, among which pavement performance prediction models form an important part. The measurement and prediction of pavement performance condition is an essential component of any pavement management system. The pavement performance life provides information on how long a particular pavement type will typically last before it needs maintenance or rehabilitation that is important for overall planning and budgeting activities. In this study, a performance evaluation method for Palestinian roadways was developed. Estimating the flexible pavement performance life for maintenance and rehabilitation was also presented. Data for model development was collected based on pavement evaluation methods that were offered by World Bank for developing countries. Performance model development in this study was based on evaluating various deterministic and probabilistic models using surveyed data for arterial and village-access roadways in Nablus Province. In this study, various mathematical models for predicting pavement performance were used including deterministic regression polynomial model of second degree, deterministic logistic growth model, and probabilistic Markov model. The pavement performance models were developed based on calibrating surveyed pavement condition rating data. The results of the analysis showed tl1at polynomial model of the second degree performed well in fitting the calibrated data using logistic growth model. The major-maintained arterial roadway system had longer average performance life than the resurfacing arterial and village-access roadway system. This study shows the importance of establishing pavement performance curves for applying maintenance and repair in the slow rate of deterioration phase so as to reduce the life cycle cost of pavement.
Assessment of Intercity Public Transportation Demand and Elasticity in The West Bank
(2001) Abdel Majid Mohammed Hamuda Sadeq; Dr. Khaled Al-Sahili
The ability to predict and evaluate the intercity public transportation demand has become increasingly important in recent years. In the Palestine Territories, as the country is developing, it needs such a project to determine the relations between travel demand and factors affecting it. This study concerned with transportation planning in Palestine. It was undertaken to find the relationship between the public transportation demand and both operating and socioeconomic variables that influence demand. Therefore, the results obtained can be used to assess the intercity public transportation as well as for a basis to predict its future ridership demand. There are two main objectives of this study. The first is to develop the intercity bus ridership demand model. Socioeconomic and operating data in the Northem and Central Governorates were used in developing the model. in total six govemorates were studied including Nablus, Ramallah, Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilia, and Salfit. A madiematical equation for intercity bus ridership demand was developed using five independent variables. These independent variables were; origin city population, destination city population, bus fare, and the percent of employees and students in both origin and destination cities. The correlation coefficient of the suggested aggregation model, R2, was 0,84. The second objective was to collect information about the public transportation ridership behavior using two different questionnaires for bus riders and shared taxi riders. The sampling size was 410 for the intercity bus riders, while the sampling size for the shared taxi riders was 158, which accomplished for five percent of the population of riders. Both questionnaires contain questions about personal characteristics of the riders, about the trip itself; and about changing mode preference for a change in bus fare or waiting time. These questionnaires were analyzed and the ridership demand elasticity toward the change in bus fare was estimated. As a result of bus ridership questionnaire, the elasticity of the bus ridership toward the bus fare change was estimated to be -1.83. This means that for every l percent increase in bus fare, there is an expected decrease in bus ridership by l.83 percent. The shared taxi questionnaire showed that the elasticity of riders towards the bus fare change was estimated to be 1.34. Cross—tabulations were conducted to examine the relationship between ridcrs characteristics and mode change based on changing bus fare, bus waiting time, or express bus service. The examined riders' characteristics were riders` job, monthly income, trip purpose, and the number of weekly trips. It was found that employees and students were the most sensitive to mode change based on fare change, reducing the waiting time, and availability of express bus services. They almost make daily trips and they try to save money and time. It was concluded that the study results could be used in evaluating the existing public transportation, and forecast future demand as a function of the suggested variables. It is recommended for future research to extend such efforts for the rest of the West Bank governorates and Gaza Strip.
Aspects of A Traffic Safety Program in Palestinian Cities
(2001) Hussein Nor El-Deen Abu Zant; Dr. Khaled Al-Sahili
In recent days, limited efforts were applied to improve highway safety in Palestinian cities. Establishing highway safety programs is essential to achieve this purpose. The main component in such programs is planning. The main process in the planning component is the collection of accident data to form the accident database. Then, the analysis of such database will identify the hazardous locations. Effective countermeasures should then be applied at these hazardous locations. These countermeasures should eliminate or minimize the hazards of these accidents. Therefore, the application of such highway safety program will result in safety improvements. The police accident report form is the most important source to create the accident database. A new comprehensive police accident report was designed in this study. A new computer program "Accident" based on Microsoft Access Software was also developed in this study. This program is designed for a computerized data recording and tiling. lt is user friendly. It also provides options for data retrieval and analysis. In this study, the outline of the proposed safety program for Palestinian cities as discussed. Accident data in this study were based upon accident records of years 1997 and 1998 for the Nablus City. Threshold values for identifying hazardous locations were established based on these data. According to the established threshold values, Al-Hesba Intersection was one of the most hazardous locations in Nablus City. A detailed study was conducted for this intersection. Proper countermeasures were specified at this intersection such as retime signal, police enforcement, and repainting all pavement markings. The results of this research showed that Palestinian cities are in dire need for the implementation of such a program. Therefore, developing the highway trafhc safety program in Palestine is recommended.
Three Dimensional Finite Element Modeling for Thin Layer of High Performance Portland Cement Concrete Pavements : Analysis and Design
(2002) Fawzy Ahmad Mahmood Awaise; Dr. Osama Akram Abaza
English Abstract Not Available
Developing a Roughness Criterion as a Basisfor Performance Measurement of Palestinian Roadway Network
(2004) Ma’amoun Awni Mahmoud Al-Ghalieh; Dr. Osama Abaza
Well known fact states that a good roadway network has strong and positive relationship with the national economy. Therefore, research is applied in most countries and academic institutions to find a suitable approach to evaluate pavements so as to develop a pavement management system “PMS”. The pavement evaluation should be measured objectively and not subjectively. The main objective of this thesis is to develop a machine utilizing roughness criteria as a basis for PMS program. The proposed machine will have the capability of reading the road coordinates. A mathematical model was developed to measure those parameters that form the basis for the software developed for processing the input data. The serviceability can be determined by the use of the static profile. The new machine determines the road level every 0.64m, and with using rating systems such as the International Roughness Index “IRI”, the decision can be made to find out the maintenance strategy needed. Based on the results obtained in this thesis, the mathematical model developed in association with the machine designed for implementing this model reflects the true coordination of pavement structure from the point of view of performance and road profile.
GIS as a Tool for Route Location and Highway Alignment
(2005) Emad Basheer Salameh Dawwas; Prof. Sameer A. Abu Eisheh
Selecting best route location and highway alignment process is a complicated one, due to the many variables that must be taken into consideration for achieving the best results. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can easily model such variables, including topography, environment, built-up areas, and geology variables. This study took advantages of GIS capabilities that offer the ability to overlay maps, merge them, and perform spatial analysis on various layers of information in either two or three dimensions. In this study, a GIS model for route location and highway alignment was developed and used to generate alternate highway route applications. After these alternatives were preliminarily designed using CADD software (Softdesk 8.0), the model was used to analyze, evaluate, and then select the alternative with least impacts on environmental, economical, and political aspects. In this study, the GIS model was tested on an application that aims to select the best alternative of three suggested highway alignments. This selected highway is supposed to connect two major cities in the north of the West Bank (Nablus and Jenin). In this application, the advantages of the developed model was clear in the preliminary stage of alternatives generation where it was possible to avoid impacting of the different sensitive areas. In addition, a lot of information can be concluded once the user identifies a suggested route because the profile can be developed and drawn immediately. In final stages of analysis and evaluation, the model showed high capabilities in analyzing the impacts of each alternative, using buffering and spatial relations between the different features and the suggested alternatives, and then evaluating these impacts. The results of this study clearly showed the applicability and potential of using GIS as a tool in route location and highway alignment with least potential impacts.
Analysis and Short-Term Future Vision for the Transportation Plan in Jenin City
(2006) Ahmad Hasan Mohamad AL-Mosleh; Dr. Khaled Al-Sahili
There is a lack of urban and transportation planning in Jenin City. This study addresses the short-term planning for the transportation systems in Jenin City to reach at appropriate solutions for the transportation problems in the city. In addition, the study addresses other detailed objectives for the various transportation systems in the city. This study includes statistical data collection from its various sources and field surveys (traffic volume studies, parking studies, and inventory studies). The thesis includes a study of existing transportation systems (description and evaluation), traffic analysis of studied intersections (capacity, level of service, and signalization). The analysis includes existing and future conditions (after five years), which depend on projected number of vehicles based on natural population growth for Jenin City, as the number of vehicles during the last ten years was not regularly registered and licensed. The importance of this thesis is that there is a need for regularly conducting such studies every five years to update such plans taking into consideration several changes taking place in this city. Most of these changes come from political and economical reasons, in addition to the changing traffic conditions in the transportation network and the existing and proposed transportation systems resulted from the Jenin Master Plan. Based on the analysis, the study reached at several recommendations for the existing and proposed road network conditions, which form the transportation master plan for the city. The proposed changes include plans for the studied intersections and roadways, parking, public transportation, truck routes, pedestrian areas, and the institutional structure. The study concluded that only one intersection is warranted for signalization in the future, which is An-Naffa Intersection.
The Impact of Ministry of Transport Policies on Public Transportation in Palestine
(2006) Amjad Zohdi Fathi Issa; Prof. Sameer A. Abu Eisheh
The evaluation of the Ministry of Transport (MOT) policies regarding public transport sector and studying the impacts of these polices is an important issue. The public transport sector in the Palestinian Territories suffered in general from deregulation and the absent of enforcement on the ground in many aspects. The number of permits granted for shared taxis was more than enough. The public transport operators charged about 50% of fares identified by the MOT. The local bus companies did not apply the conditions of the exclusive rights they have. As a result, it was necessary to conduct a study that concerns with the evaluation of the impacts of these policies and to provide the proper tools and recommendations for the MOT to help them in regulating this vital sector. The main issues that were analyzed are: the current number of operating shared-taxis operating and the number of issued permits, the public transport fares equation and its components, and the exclusive rights awarded for bus companies and the related conditions. The study area was Nablus Governorate. Thirty three external sharedtaxis routes, which link Nablus city with the surrounding villages and towns were studied. The related data needed was calculated based on the MOT, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), and field survey. The main results of this study were: 1. A mathematical single equation linear model for calculating the number of shared-taxis on a certain route based on demand. The statistical analysis of the model was run using LimDep version 7.0 software. The exogenous (independent variables) in the model were; private cars, distance, number of services establishments, and employment. 2. The large number of shared-taxis permits granted by the MOT was analyzed. The MOT justified that the large number of permits was due to the hard economic conditions during the second Intifadah and the increase of the unemployment rate. However, the study recommended that the number of permits resumed should be based on the real demand and need. 3. The public transport service applied by the local bus companies is also studied and analyzed in this research. The results show that this service is not satisfactory. In general, the bus operators did not apply the exclusive rights conditions, the fleet in general is old, the quality of service is partially satisfactory, no clear schedule and frequency, etc. It is recommended that the MOT should regulate and ensure that bus companies apply the conditions in the exclusive rights.Therefore, MOT should warn the violating companies and re-tender the exclusive rights of the violators for competition. 4. Finally, public transport fare is another issue, which is stated and analyzed in this study. In general, the MOT fare formula is considered good. However, the fuel prices, maintenance costs, driver wages, average monthly earnings, and the cost of [rice index, should be taken into account on the annual increase or while reviewing the public transport fares. The study output (recommendations) is not considered worthy unless the related official bodies adopt it and follow the international procedures in regulating and organizing this vital sector (the public transport sector).
Compliance of Access Management Techniques on Urban Arterials in Nablus City
(2006) Yazan Farid Abdulhadi Issa; Dr. Khaled Al-Sahili
Transportation services provided in Palestine are inadequate to satisfy both the current and increasing demand for transportation. Due to the increasing limitation of spaces and resources in most cities, there has been a growing trend in the management of the existing traffic system rather than building new facilities. Traffic management is a low cost improvement while constructing new facilities is capital-intensive and may be faced with the limitations of space and financial resources. The objective of this project is to evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of some access management measures on two urban arterials in Nablus City. Proper evaluation was performed for Rafidia-Yaser Arafat Street and Faisal-Haifa Street. The methodology of this research is based on the following items: i) Review existing international access management processes. ii) Explain the functions and the importance of access management measures. iii) Collect the related access management data about the studied streets. iv) Select the steps, techniques, and adopt access management standards which suite the Palestinian cities. v) Evaluate the effect of these techniques on the street network. vi) Survey the public's opinions on drivers, pedestrians, and business owners on the two studied arterials, by doing face-to-face interviews with these groups. The access management measures that will be discussed in this research address the following areas: intersection spacing, driveway spacing, median treatments and median openings, turning lanes and auxiliary lanes, street connections, and parking management. The main results of this study were: • There are no specific guidelines or standards that are universally adopted for some access management measures. • The level of compliance of the arterials in Nablus City with access management measures is relatively acceptable. • It is difficult to apply access management measures on urban arterials, especially near the CBD area, where space is limited and the need for accessibility is high, while it is much easier on rural arterials. • Closing some driveways and openings or prohibiting some movements improved traffic movements and level of service, and reduce delay on the main arterial streets in Nablus City. • LOS for signalized intersections was improved from (D-F) to (C-E). The unsignalized intersections, which operate at LOS (F) were improved to LOS (C). After the discussion of the applicability of access management strategies, it is concluded that these measures can be applied on Nablus arterials. For the two studied streets, some measures are easily applied, others can be applied with limited geometric improvements, and some measures could not be applied because they need large space.
Modeling Pedestrian Behavior on Pedestrian Crosswalks
(2007) Zahir Wasfi Tawfiq Abu Sa'a; Dr. Osama Abaza
Ever since the revitalization of the central city area has become an urgent issue, especially for the countries where motorization accelerates the urban sprawl and the center of the city, there has been a tendency to emphasize the importance of studying the walking behavior and environment of pedestrians. Insight into walking behavior is essential for theory and model development describing the behavior of pedestrians on pedestrian crosswalks. In turn, combined models (Birth-Death process) can be used to test and compare different infrastructure designs, both from the perspective of efficiency and safety. To calibrate these models, simple data is required such as pedestrian arrival rate and pedestrian departure rate. This thesis deals with an approach to estimate the actual green time for pedestrian signal. The objective relates to the management of the pedestrians crosswalks to enhance utilization of traffic signals, which is considered one of the main issues facing transportation system especially inside the congested cities. A mathematical model was made to describe the behavior of pedestrians at and during the crossing of the roadway at signalized crosswalks. The queuing theory was utilized to model this process. The proposed model was derived and developed for CBD areas based on actual field measurements of key parameters at crosswalks in the urban area of Nablus-Palestine. The model was tested and calibrated on other locations in the city and the CBD area of the city of Ramallah and showed that it can be applied with significant efficiency which eventually will be reflected in the design of pedestrian signal.
Utilization of Olive Husk as a Replacement of Fine Aggregate in Portland cement Concrete Mixes for Non-Structural Uses
(2007) Iyad Jameel Ahmad Bani Odi; Dr. Osama Abaza
This research aims at partially solving the environmental problem of olive oil wastes (husk & ash) by utilizing this waste in non-structural concrete mixes. On the other hand, this research aims at studying the effects of using olive oil wastes (husk & ash) on the physical properties of Portland cement concrete. To achieve the purpose of this thesis, the following methodology will emphasize and express the physical characteristics of Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) when olive oil waste (Husk) and Burned Husk (Ash) are used in the production of lightweight concrete, the following tests were done: sieve Analysis and specific gravity for coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, olive husk, olive ash. Different percentage replacements of olive husk or ash were used (0, 25, 50, 75, 100) % for concrete grades (PCC150,PCC200, PCC250, PCC300, PCC450), for each grade four samples for each proportion were done to test slump, density and compressive strength. In addition, three samples were prepared for testing absorption, abrasion, noise insulation, and thermal insulation. Results for all percentage replacements of olive husk and ash for all grades were ranging from (23-29) mm for slump. For olive husk and ash (density & compressive strength) are decreased as percentage replacement increases. For water absorption, as percentage replacement by olive husk and olive ash decrease, water absorption increases. For abrasion test, losses in weight due to abrasion increase as a percent replacement of olive husk or ash increases. For noise insulation, sound reduction increases as the percentage replacement of olive husk or ash increases. For thermal insulation, it increases as percent replacement of olive husk increases; however, it decreases as percent replacement of olive ash increases. Key words: Portland cement concrete, olive oil waste, husk, burned husk, ash, utilization, non-structural concrete.
Utilization of Waste Tires in the Production of Non-Structural Portland Cement Concrete
(2007) Saleem Mohammed Saleem Shtayeh; Dr. Osama Abaza
This thesis, generally, aims to explore the potential utilization of waste crumb tires in various Portland Cement Concrete categories for the production of non-structural Portland cement concrete to study the structural behavior of concrete, and to help partially solving environmental problem produced from disposing waste tires. Raw materials of coarse and fine aggregate used in this thesis were tested, fine aggregate (sand) was replaced using volumetric method by waste crumb tires with 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% replacements for the various PCC categories of B-150, 200, 250, 300, and B-450 kg/cm2. Several tests were made on fresh and hardened concrete, like compressive strength, slump, water absorption, density, modulus of elasticity, noise and thermal insulation tests, and abrasion resistance, Compressive strength, density, and modulus of elasticity decreased as the percent replacement by waste crumb tires increased; water absorption initially decreased and started to increase after an increasing in the percent of replacement, slump showed no significant change. Abrasion resistance, noise and thermal insulation increased as the percent replacement increased. Finally it is recommended to use waste crumb tires for non-structural Portland cement concrete, such as floor rips, partitions, back stone concrete, concrete blocks, and other non-structural uses. Key words: Portland cement concrete, waste crumb tire, physical properties, utilization, non-structural concrete.
Application of Superpave System for Binder Selection Based on Local Conditions
(2008) Ala'a Shafiq Lutfi Abdullah; Dr. Osama Abaza; Dr. Khaled Al-Sahili
This thesis generally, aims to apply the Superpave system in West Bank regions. This system was developed in the U.S.A during period 1987- 1993. The temperature data for West Bank regions was obtained from Directorate of Meteorology at the Ministry of Transportation. The latitude for each city was obtained from geographical maps. The analysis of data showed that most of Palestinian areas require one Type of binder which is PG 64-10 excluding Jericho, which requires PG 70-10. According to a study conducted in Jordan about the properties of local binders, which is the same type of binder used in the West Bank, it appeared that it has the same properties of PG 64-16. Therefore, the local binder can be used in all West Bank regions excluding Jericho. In this thesis several special cases were studied as such as slow traffic, standing traffic, and heavy traffic volume. The optimum binders for these cases were determined accordingly. Finally, it is recommended to use Superpave system in the West Bank because it has better performance over the Marshall mix design, as found by several studies.
Impact of the Current Transportation System on Poverty in the West Bank (Case Study: Nablus)
(2008) Nizar Shehadeh Othman Atawi; Dr. Khaled Al-Sahili; Dr. Faisal Za’noon
One of the stated objectives of various international development organizations is “to reduce poverty through sustainable economic development.”Therefore, the question is how can transport systems best contribute to poverty alleviation? There are no direct and easy answers for this question. There are considerable changes in the transport system operations in the West Bank during the years of the Intifadah and due to the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) measures on the road network. So it is important to study the impact of the current transportation system on poverty and standards of living. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the impact of current conditions of the transport system on the socio-economic aspects of the Palestinian life, particularly poverty and quality of life (in terms of transport accessibility, expenditures on transport, travel time and cost, affordability of public transportation, and access to markets and employment). The methodology of this research is based (a) reviewing related studies at the local and international levels, (b) surveying related existing conditions (related transport and socio-economic indicators), and (c) field surveying of transport and living conditions of selected communities. Nablus City was taken as a case study in this project. The main findings of this project are: 1. West Bank is facing great numbers of IOA measures, which had a devastating impact on the life of Palestinian people (economic, social, service, and other sectors). 2. Travel time and cost increase in the West Bank are results of closures and checkpoints, which have lead to income decrease and high levels of poverty rates in the Palestinian society. 3. Economic and social issues of the Palestinians have greatly been affected by these measures. 4. Poverty rates have sharply increased during the years of the Intifadah due to multidimensional reasons of unemployment, income decrease, and inaccessibility to work opportunities. 5. The field survey analysis indicates an increase in travel time and cost, decrease in income, change in home style, increase in transport expenditure, and difficulties in access to hospitals, educational institutions and general services. All were results of the closures regimes imposed by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). 6. Drivers were also affected by the imposed measures. Less daily trips were made, income has decreased, vehicle maintenance frequency and cost has increased, and travel routes have constantly been changed to pass by the IOF road blocks and closures. 7. The Separation Wall has destructive effects on Palestinian life; isolating communities of each other, inaccessibility to work places, and access difficulties to social and service sites. Based on these results, it is recommended to continuously consider these closures in negotiating with the Israelis. The Palestinian Authority should continue working hard to remove Israeli checkpoints. Furthermore, the Palestinian Authority should establish measures to counter these effects on Palestinians. The Palestinian Ministry of Transport should also consider supporting the transport sector and re-establishing public transport fares to make the public transport more affordable. Nablus City was hardly hit by these closures. Therefore, every effort should be made at the official level to encourage investment in the city to strengthen its economy and reduce these effects.
Modeling Relationship between Geometric Design Consistency and Road Safety for Two-Lane Rural Highways in the West Bank
(2014) Mohammed Ghassan Dwikat; Dr. Khaled Al-Sahili
The objectives of this study are to investigate and quantify the relationship between design consistency and road safety for two-lane highways in the West Bank. This study produced speed prediction method using real time traffic speed data obtained from Google Earth maps, which were used to estimate the 85th percentile speed along an alignment that includes both horizontal curve sections and tangent sections. A comprehensive crash and geometric design database of two-lane rural highways has been used to investigate the effect of several design consistency measures on road safety. Previous studies showed that the most promising consistency measures identified in previous research fall into four main categories, namely: operating speed, vehicle stability, alignment indices, and driver workload. Five crash prediction models, which relate design consistency to road safety, have been examined. The generalized linear regression approach has been used for model development. All models adopted in this study showed acceptable levels of goodness of fit and over-dispersion. The developed models verified that the main design consistency measures have an important impact on safety. The consistency measures used in model development are: variation between the design speed and the operating speed, absolute difference of the 85th percentile speeds between successive design elements, difference between side friction supplied and demanded, average radius of curvature, average tangent length, maximum radius of curvature to minimum radius of curvature, curvature change rate, ratio of individual curve radius to average radius of the section, and visual demand of familiar drivers of the section. Validation step was performed; the goal was not only to compare the accuracy of different models developed, but also to evaluate the overall accuracy of Crash Prediction Models for use on rural two-lane highways in the West Bank. Validation requirement was to demonstrate that a model is appropriate, meaningful, and useful for the purpose for which it is intended. The models can be used as a quantitative tool to evaluate the impact of design consistency on road safety. An application is presented where the effectiveness of crash prediction models, which incorporate design consistency measures, is compared with those, which rely on geometric design characteristics. The study concluded that models, which explicitly consider design consistency, can identify the inconsistencies more effectively and reflect the resulting impacts on safety more accurately than those which do not. Finally, a systematic approach to identify geometrically inconsistent locations using the safety consistency factor has been proposed.
Reality of Road Safety Conditions at Critical Locations in Nablus City with a Road Mapfor Future Interventions
(2014) Hozaifa Hasan Saad Khader; Dr. Khaled Al-Sahili
Nablus Governorate occupies the second level among the Palestinian governorates for the frequency of traffic crashes, while it was the first regarding the number of injuries resulting from traffic crashes during the years of this research, which are 2009, 2010, and 2011. This research aims to study the reality of traffic safety conditions at selected locations in the city of Nablus. Traffic crash data and information was collected based on crash reports from the Police Directorate in Nablus city for the study period. Data was collected at selected links and intersections in Nablus city, which are known as main and important locations in terms of their traffic conditions compared to other locations in the city. Analysis was done for several patterns of traffic conditions that may have an effect on traffic safety at these sensitive locations, such as crash rate, weather, lighting, road surface, road geometry, types and causes of crashes …etc. Studying the reality of traffic safety at these locations shows that certain conditions and patterns may contribute to the level of safety. Several results emanated from this thesis. For example, the highest intersection crash rates was at Al-Ghawi Intersection followed by the Western Graveyard Intersection and Al-Salam Mosque Intersection. As for streets, the highest rates were on Sufian Street followed by Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Street and Faisal Street. Furthermore, pedestrian crashes formed approximately 20 percent of all crashes, no problem of crashes involving pedestrians on Schools Street on the contrary to Rafeedia Street, less than 3 percent of all crashes involved old drivers, half of crashes on Al-Fatimah Intersection occurred during night lighting, less than 6 percent of crashes occurred in wet and cloudy weather conditions, female drivers were involved in only 6.6 percent of all studied crashes with 23.0 percent of crashes at the intersections of Rafeedia and Tunis Streets, and the highest percentage of crash causes (approximately 25 percent) was “failure to maintain safe distance”. This research and its results outline the realities of traffic crashes in Nablus city and form the road map for follow ups, further studies, and for improving traffic safety conditions in the city.
Developing Trip Generation Models Utilizing Linear Regression Analysis : Jericho City as a Case Study:
(2014) Alaa Mohammad Yousef Dodeen; Prof. Sameer Abu- Eisheh
The aim of this research is to develop trip generation models to predict the number of trips generated by households in the Palestinian areas considering Jericho City as the case study. The models are developed using multiple linear regression analysis, which establishes relationship between the number of trips generated by households and some socioeconomic attributes. The developed models include three types of models. The first model is a general trip generation model (i.e., a general model regardless of trip purpose and trip time). The second one includes trip generation models by trip purpose. These models include the work trip generation model, the education trip generation model, the shopping trip generation model, the social trip generation model, and the recreational trip generation model. Finally, five trip generation models by trip time are developed. The data consists of primary data, which was collected by conducting a household survey. The survey consists of 713 randomly selected households from Jericho City, the study area. The results indicated that the estimated general trip generation model has a good explanatory power. The R-square for this model is 0.69, indicating that the explanatory variables included in the model explain 69% of the dependent variable. The variables that mostly affect trip generation are found to be the number of persons receiving education in the household, the number of employed persons in the household, as well as the household monthly income. The work trip generation model has R-square value of 0.74. In this model, the number of employed persons in the household and the number of persons with age between 31 to 50 years are the variables that mostly affect work trips. The educational trip generation model has R-square value of 0.97. The number of persons who are receiving education in the household is the main factor in this model. The shopping trip generation model depends on the number of persons in the household and the monthly household income. The social trip generation model depends mainly on the number of females in the household and the number of employed persons in the household. Finally, the recreational trip generation model depends mainly on the number of persons receiving education in the household, number of persons between 51 and 64 years old, and the monthly household income.

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