A Case Study on Reducing Traffic Congestion–Proposals to Improve Current Conditions

Traffic congestion has been considered one of the most serious global issues confronting all nations in recent years. Basrah City’s highways in general, and particularly the highways surrounding and leading to the University of Basrah, the campus of Bab Azzubair, and the college complex, have experienced traffic congestion and higher delays. The focus of this study is to propose some solutions to mitigate traffic congestion and higher delays on these highways. Field traffic data and questionnaires where SPSS was used to analyse the collected data, and Highway Capacity Software (HCS 2010) was used to assess the level of service (LOS) on the highways. The results showed that the LOS reaches level F on Baghdad Street, while other streets range from level B to level C. Two proposals have been suggested to improve the LOS on Baghdad Street: (1) applying a park-and-ride system; and (2) widening Baghdad Street by adding two lanes in each direction. The LOS for both proposals has been evaluated, and the results showed that the first proposal performed better. The analysis of the collected data also showed that public transportation services are very limited on the highways surrounding and leading to the Bab Azzubair campus. Therefore, public transportation services should be promoted and enhanced in Basrah City. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-10-07 Full Text: PDF