Investigation of traffic congestion and possible remedies; a case study of at Harambee Hotel Intersection, Kirkos sub city, Addis Ababa

Abstract

Transportation plays an important role in economic growth and development, though most of the time cause air pollution, traffic congestion and utilize large amount of land. Nowadays traffic congestion is increasing and becoming a challenge in the transportation sector. There are many reasons to mitigate traffic congestion, like: delays time, wastes money, accidents and emissions. But the most serious consequence of traffic congestion is increase emissions of greenhouse gases and accident. Nowadays it is common to see traffic congestion at junctions in Addis Ababa, particularly during rush time. Intersection at Harambe hotel was one which affected by traffic congestion especially during rush time. The objective of the research was investigating traffic congestion and possible remedies in general and particularly, quantifying level of congestion (indicators Capacity and LOS), possible causes of traffic congestion, effects of traffic congestion and possible remedial measures to reduce traffic congestion. The study area was at the center of Addis Ababa, Kirkos sub-city intersection at Harambe hotel and Filwuha. Population under study was vehicles, geometric features, traffic police, drivers and passengers. Tools used to investigate traffic congestion were manual and video camera for traffic counting, questionnaire for the perception of traffic police and road users, and HCM 2000 for analysis. The data collection period was traffic count 7 days for each intersection, questionnaire 2 days and geometric features measurement 1 day. The results of the research were level of service (LOS) F for both approaches and intersection, and jam density for all approaches and level of service (LOS B) for un-signalized intersection at Filwuha. Overall, the research was investigated traffic congestion, causes of traffic congestion, its effect and possible mitigation measures to reduce traffic congestion. Finally, the possible remedies of the research to reduce traffic congestion were grade separation and congestion pricing policy.