Commonwealth Avenue “Killer Highway”

The Commonwealth Avenue has been tagged as “The Killer Highway” for quite some time because of the greatest number of road crashes among motorists as well as pedestrians resulting to remarkable number of deaths that happen along this corridor. 24 January 2010 Monday, however, marked the start of the MMDA campaign to introduce some traffic regulations and monitoring to improve and lessen the number of road accidents in Commonwealth Avenue.

Prior to the campaign, Commonwealth Avenue is a 9-lane wide and very long stretch of corridor where vehicles are free to move, swerve, and travel at desired speeds. There were few designated bus/jeepney stops, pedestrian overpass, and several u-turn slots which were not strictly followed by road users. Notable accidents that have occured involved motorcycles, buses, private cars and jaywalkers run over by vehicles. It is important to note that the high occurence of road accidents here may be due to lack of traffic regulations and monitoring on the part of concerned government agencies, lack of discipline among motorists, inadeaquacy in the physical design and signages of the road, and several other factors.

The MMDA, this week, introduced several changes both in the physical design and traffic regulation, monitoring and management. The physical improvements include a yellow lane on the two outermost lanes designated for PUVs/PUJs, the five middle lanes are for private cars and the two innermost lanes will be used to access the U-turn slots. A speed limit of 60kph was also imposed for the motorists. Several traffic enforcers using speed guns were assigned at certain parts of the corridor to monitor and apprehend overspeeding motorists.

It is hoped that through these improvements the Commonwealth Avenue will no longer be tagged as the killer highway. Yet better and safer road environment will only be achieved when the motorists comply and whole-heartedly follow the traffic rules and regulations, the MMDA, with utmost integrity, would maintain good physical design with adequate signages and continue in its traffic monitoring and implementation, and the pedestrians will only use the pedestrian overpass in crossing the highway. Assessments should also be done six months or a year after the implementation to measure the effectiveness of the changes introduced.

Would the improvements really change the nickname, “killer highway,” to something like “safest highway”? It is surely worth noting in the future what Commonwealth Avenue had become when all stakeholders actively have taken part to make it better and safer road corridor. Till the next post on Commonwealth Avenue!

Thursdays: Traffic Engineering Terms

Thursdays of the week is the time to enrich your knowledge in traffic engineering. The following definitions of traffic engineering terms were taken from Dr. Ricardo Sigua in his book Fundamentals of Traffic Engineering, as such, they are quoted below.

"AADT – annual average daily traffic; it is estimated as the total volume counted over one year divided by the number of days in the year.

ADT – average daily traffic; obtained by averaging traffic volume over a number of days at least 2 days and less than 365 days.

Blackspots – hazardous or accident-prone locations.

Broken back curve – a curve characterized by a short tangent between two subcurves in the same direction.

Capacity – the maximum hourly rate at which persons or vehicles can reasonably be expected to traverse a point or uniform section of a lane or roadway during a given time period under prevailing roadway, traffic, and control conditions."

Other terms will be posted next week. So, wait and learn more!

Jr./Traffic Engineer or Jr./Transport Planner at Parsons Brinckerhoff Philippines, Inc.

Parsons Brinckerhoff Philippines, Inc. is in urgent need of Traffic Engineer/Transport Planner or Jr. Traffic Engineer/Jr. Transport Planner.

Traffic Engineer / Transport Planner Qualifications: • Graduate of BS Civil Engineering or BS Architecture • Knows basic transportation engineering • 2-5 years experience in urban planning or related field such as economics and environmental planning • Computer literate • With comprehensive knowledge on CAD • Has excellent communication skills • Can start immediately Interested applicants may send their updated and comprehensive resume either by mail, fax or e-mail to the address below: Human Resource Department Parsons Brinckerhoff Philippines, Inc. 19F OMM-Citra Building, 39 San Miguel Avenue Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1605 Telephone No.: 687-1061 to 64 Fax No.: 687-4183 Website: www.pbworld.com E-mail: xxxxxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx Date: 21 January 2011 City/Town: Ortigas Center, Pasig City Location: Manila Wage/Salary: Negotiable Start: Immediately Duration: Performance contract Type: Full Time How to apply: Interested applicants may send their updated and comprehensive resume at xxxxxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx. You may also drop by our office at the address indicated in this ad Company: Parsons Brinckerhoff Philippines, Inc. Contact: Diohson Cenita Phone: 687-1061 Fax: 687-2778 Email: Jr. Traffic Engineer / Jr. Transport Planner Qualifications: • Graduate of BS Civil Engineering or BS Architecture • Computer literate • With knowledge on Basic CAD • Has good communication skills and capable of writing reports • Willing to be trained and can work in teams • 0-2 years experience required • Professionals with experience in related fields such as economics and environmental planning may also apply • Can start immediately Fresh graduates are encouraged to apply. Interested applicants may send their updated and comprehensive resume either by mail, fax or e-mail to the address below: Human Resource Department Parsons Brinckerhoff Philippines, Inc. 19F OMM-Citra Building, 39 San Miguel Avenue Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1605 Telephone No.: 687-1061 to 64 Fax No.: 687-4183 Website: www.pbworld.com E-mail: xxxxxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx Date: 21 January 2011 City/Town: Ortigas Center, Pasig City Location: Manila Wage/Salary: Negotiable Start: Immediately Duration: Performance contract Type: Full Time How to apply: Interested applicants may send their updated and comprehensive resume at xxxxxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx. You may also drop by our office at the address indicated in this ad. Company: Parsons Brinckerhoff Philippines, Inc. Contact: Diohson Cenita Phone: 687-1061 Fax: 687-2778 Email:

SLEX Toll Rates at Nichols Gate (01/23/2011)

Yesterday, we happen to pass the South Luzon EXpressway (SLEX) since we came all the way from Caliraya Resort in Lumban, Laguna. SLEX have improved a lot since last year or during the rehabilitation phase of some road sections where it brought about heavy traffic. It was quite a relief to experience better road travel along this highway.

In line with the improvements, however, the toll rates have dramatically increased. Last year's toll rates can be seen in my previous post. The updated toll rates at Nichols gate is shown below.

Entry Point | Class 1 | Class 2 | Class 3 |

Bicutan | 30 | 60 | 90 |

Sucat | 48 | 96 | 144 |

Alabang | 65 | 130 | 195 |

Filinvest | 65 | 130 | 195 |

Susana Hts. | 78 | 155 | 233 |

San Pedro | 82 | 164 | 246 |

Southwoods | 92 | 185 | 277 |

Carmona | 97 | 193 | 290 |

Greenfield City - Unilab | 104 | 207 | 311 |

Sta. Rosa | 110 | 220 | 330 |

ETON City-Greenfield City | 119 | 238 | 357 |

Cabuyao | 125 | 249 | 374 |

Silangan | 128 | 257 | 385 |

Calamba | 141 | 282 | 423 |

Macababbad and Regidor. GPS-Based Travel Time and Delay Survey Methodology and Traffic Data Analysis.

R.J.R. Macababbad and J.R. Regidor. GPS-Based Travel Time and Delay Survey Methodology and Traffic Data Analysis. Proceedings of the 5th ERDT Conference, Manila, Philippines, 10 Sept 2010.

Abstract taken directly from texts and as such, quoted below:

"Travel time and delay studies are used to evaluate traffic conditions, determine levels of service and to plan for improvements. Transportation planners and engineers of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) still employ the manual or stop watch method using a test car in obtaining travel time and delay data. This method is labor intensive and is prone to human errors as well as biases inherent in the conduct of the field surveys. Thus, it is necessary to develop and demonstrate a more efficient method using tools for assessment of road traffic conditions. This paper presents a Geographical Positioning System (GPS)-based travel time and delay survey and data analysis methodology. It presents the development and application of a methodological framework and also data analysis and presentation through the use of digital maps. The use of GPS in this research provides fundamental inputs towards the development of a probe car system for use in travel time and delay studies in the Philippine cities."

9th EASTS Conference

The 9th Eastern Asia Society of Transportation Studies (EASTS) Conference will be held in Jeju, Korea on 20-23 June 2011.

Submission for practical paper has already opened meanwhile feedback for submitted academic papers need to be waited until early February.

For more details, please click here.

Lim, Abesamis, Miranda, Chua and Lee. Generating Trip Plans Using Public Transportation Routes

Lim, Abesamis, Miranda, Chua and Lee. Generating Trip Plans Using Public Transportation Routes. Proceedings of the 5th ERDT Conference, Manila, Phils. 10 Sept 2010.

Abstract taken directly from texts and as such, quoted below:

“It is not simple to travel in a city because of the new routes being followed, new buuildings or landmarks being established, and new roads being constructed. Moreover, commuting or travelling using public utility vehicles is complicated especially in Philippine cities like Manila and Quezon City. This paper talks about iTour, a web-based applications that can generate routes and trip plans from a source to multiple destinations.”

This research is also practical though more information should be inputted in the database for it to fully function as intended for route generation and trip planning. The system would be more useful if it will be set up in the web for everyone to utilize it for free.

Lai, Leong, Ortuoste, Yu and Ong. Vision-based Intelligent System for Traffic Analysis (VISTA).

Lai, Leong, Ortuoste, Yu and Ong. Vision-based Intelligent System for Traffic Analysis (VISTA). Proceedings of the 5th ERDT Conference, Manila, Phils. 10 Sept 2010.

Abstract taken directly from texts and as such, quoted below:

“Vision-based Intelligent System for Traffic Analysis (VISTA) is a computer-based vision system that captures video footages of roads for analysis of traffic parameters. Problems with existing technology have led researchers to venture into the use of computer vision. VISTA consists of a dadta acquisition, data processing and result generation modules. The input of the system is a video footage of a roadway taken with a still digital video camera. The input is then converted into an image sequence. Each image is then processed to segregate entities on the road that contribute to traffic from those that do not. Once these entities are identified, pertinent traffic parameters are then computed based on the image sequence. The output of the system can be used as the necessary traffic parameters for traffic management and information systems.

This paper presents the design and implementation of the Codebook sub-module, which is responsible for segregating foreground and background segments of an image. It also outlines performance analysis and evaluation of the sub-module.”

This is one of the good researches that will surely help improve traffic data collection through the use of video cameras and computers. A lot of video image processors for traffic analysis are already being used in other countries. This, however, is locally developed and thus, local application would be much easier, cheaper, and appropriate.

On a note, errors are inherent from devices or personnel performing the data collection. Thus, the system errors present for VISTA is normal. In the conducted on-road object tests, the obtained error can be factored in the traffic flow computations such that more accurate estimates can be achieved.

In the advent of increasing use of surveillance cameras in most cities in Metro Manila, it would be much more wise to include the capabilities of VISTA to maximize the benefits that can be obtained from these. Giving attention to the critical issues of VISTA also would further ensure the accuracy of traffic flow computations. As a transport expert, I highly commend the researchers for producing a practical and valuable tool for traffic analysis to address traffic congestion in the metropolis. This tool should be explored by the MMDA for their real-time traffic surveillance in order to improve the agency’s traffic management and operations.

Happy New Year!

Hello dear readers,

2010 has been a wonderful year of learning, adventure, and experience for Engineer Einjel in the field of transportation! It has been a year of "busyness" that he failed to write and share in this blog.

A new year, however, gives another opportunity to make time with this blog, a new season of learning, adventure, and experiences to share with you. This year is gonna be awesome! So hang in there and together, we'll enjoy more exciting posts.

Hugs and cheers to a blessed new year!

Regards,

engineer-einjel