Abstract
For urban intersections, grade separations have been deemed a way of mitigating traffic congestion. However, the environmental impact of various grade separations, especially on pedestrian exposure to traffic-related air pollution, is unknown. Particulate matter of 2.5 µm or less (PM2.5) near roadsides comes mainly from vehicle emissions and has negative respiratory health effects. Pedestrian PM2.5 exposure at ground level at different types of intersection and are studied and compared here. Based on realistic survey data at a current at-grade intersection, and reasonable assumptions about traffic speed and volume changes, MOVES modeling software used the highest resolution approach of operating mode distribution to calculate PM2.5 emission inventory for three scenarios: at-grade intersection, overpass grade separation, and underpass grade separation. Pedestrian PM2.5 exposure concentrations were estimated using the AERMOD model. The results of the case study show that both underpass and overpass intersections largely decrease pedestrian PM2.5 exposure, at almost the same amplitude. From the viewpoint of regional environmental impacts, however, the underpass-type intersection is recommended for replacing the at-grade intersection, in order to both reduce traffic congestion and better contain pollution. The findings of this research indicate that, as three-dimensional urban transportation design is becoming a more popular measure for relieving traffic congestion, environmental analysis will become an increasingly critical part of intersection design.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded project (No. 2013M532006), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (0009-2014G1221022), and Shaanxi Province Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded project.
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Qiu, Z., Peng, X. Investigating the impact of urban grade-separation on pedestrian PM2.5 exposure. Clean Techn Environ Policy 17, 1917–1927 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-015-0909-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-015-0909-x