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A traffic analysis zone definition: a new methodology and algorithm

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Abstract

This paper develops a comprehensive approach to the definition of transportation analysis zones (TAZ), and therein, presents a new methodology and algorithm for the definition of TAZ embedded in geographic information systems software, improves the base algorithm with several local algorithms, and comprehensively analyses the obtained results. The results obtained are then compared to these presently used in the transportation analysis process of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The proposed algorithm presents a new methodology for TAZ design based on a smoothed density surface of geocoded travel demand data. The algorithm aims to minimise the loss of information when moving from a continuous representation of the origin and destination of each trip to their discrete representations through zones, and focuses on the trade-off between the statistical precision, geographical error, and the percentage of intra-zonal trips of the resulting OD matrix. The results for the Lisbon Metropolitan Area case study suggest a significant improvement in OD matrix estimates compared to current transportation analysis practises based on administrative units.

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Notes

  1. Developed in Geomedia Professional 5.1 (INTERGRAPH).

  2. The thin plate spline is the two-dimensional analogue of the cubic spline in one dimension. It is the fundamental solution to the biharmonic equation. The name "thin plate spline" refers to a physical analogy involving the bending of a thin sheet of metal.

  3. This value was obtained for the case study after calibration using different size grid cells.

  4. The relative statistical error is presented in Eq. 2.

  5. This value was obtained for the case study after calibration using different size grid cells.

  6. The surrounding area size is a parameter of the algorithm that is defined by the user.

  7. The concept of influence area of local “highest peaks” is defined as the minimum size that an analyst establishes for the specific modelling problem.

  8. The core problem area parameter allows the analyst to establish different levels of relevance inside the modelling area, which does not need to be used. The default is the entire modelling area.

  9. Subset containing zones with a statistical average equal to or less than 50%.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been supported by the Portuguese National Science Foundation (FCT) since 2004. We thank the consultancy TIS.pt for providing support by making the LMA Mobility Survey (TIS, 1994) available and the software company INTERGRAPH for the Geomedia Professional 5.1 license.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CESUR, Department of Civil Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon Technical University, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal

    Luis M. Martínez & José Manuel Viegas

  2. Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, 19 Silver Street, Cambridge, CB3 9EP, UK

    Elisabete A. Silva

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  1. Luis M. Martínez
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  2. José Manuel Viegas
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  3. Elisabete A. Silva
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Correspondence to Luis M. Martínez.

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Martínez, L.M., Viegas, J.M. & Silva, E.A. A traffic analysis zone definition: a new methodology and algorithm. Transportation 36, 581–599 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-009-9214-z

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