Abstract:

The uncontrolled growth in urbanization and motorization generally contributes to an urban land use
and transportation system that is socially, economically, and environmentally unsustainable. This paper
uses Peshawar urban areas as a case study, which is one of the largest urban and economic center of
Pakistan, passing through an uncontrolled phase of rapid urbanization and motorization. The aim of this
research is to model traffic flow on university road Peshawar by estimating Passenger Car Unit (PCU) or
Passenger Car Equivalents (PCE) of various vehicle classes at different volume levels in a level terrain
using the micro-simulation model, VISSIM. This work also aims to assess capacity of university road
Peshawar and to study the effect of vehicle composition on PCU values. It has been found that PCU
drops with increase in volume-capacity ratio regardless of vehicle type. The study also discovered that at
a given volume level, the PCU of a given vehicle type drops when its own proportion in the flow
increases.

Heterogeneous traffic flow is causing a serious problem in urban areas of developing countries because
different classes of vehicles have different static and dynamic characteristics. In addition, the
astonishing growth of vehicular traffic has resulted in very low speeds, increased travel time, longer
delays, and other safety-related traffic issues in urban areas. Until recently, methods based on
mathematical and statistical theories have been used. These methods are established on basic
assumptions such as Poisson-distribution of traffic streams, fixed critical gaps and move-up times, and
constant traffic volumes. These assumptions appear improbable for heterogeneous traffic flow
conditions. These difficulties can be improved with the help of simulation. Traffic simulation is a vital
instrument for transport planners and traffic engineers. VISSIM is a microscopic, behavior based multi-
purpose traffic simulation software to analyze and optimize urban traffic flow.

Overview of Peshawars Urban Development:

Peshawar is described by an accelerating rate of suburban growth. Its growth rate has been
astonishing as shown in Table 1. The city has seen a 35-fold increase in its population and an
almost 16-fold increase in its spatial expansion since the emergence of Pakistan. Moreover,
estimates are that by the year 2015, the city may reach a population of 19.2 million with an
annual growth rate of over 5%