Path: utzoo!mnetor!tmsoft!dptcdc!torsqnt!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!sun-barr!newstop!sun!pepper!cmcmanis
From: cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis)
Newsgroups: ca.general,comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Freeway design?
Keywords: How to build an On/Off ramp
Message-ID: <120811@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: 10 Aug 89 22:49:50 GMT
Sender: news@sun.Eng.Sun.COM
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I have an interesting problem. At one point someone wondered if there 
were any traffic simulators around. It sounded like an interesting
project, sort of a battling robots kind of thing, but the "cars" would
be programmed with destinations and driver tendencies rather than 
weapons and hunting algorithims. I'm probably going to write it in 
Modula with co-routines for each car. But the interesting thing is
that where I can get freeways and highways, and vehicles drawn to 
scale, my On/Off ramps look "funny." and don't seem to be correct.
So I was wondering if there are some standards for building them
that make them all look about the same. Things like maximum degree
of arc, width, accelleration/decelleration lane lengths (although that
is one of the things I'll be varying in my simulation). The goal being
that I should be able to set up an "intersection" of some type and 
put car "feeders" and "meters" on it at the entrances to and exits
from the screen respectively. And see how many cars can get through 
my intersection. Then by varying things like meter lights, traffic
signals, ramp design I'd like to see how that effects my throughput.
Of course I'd also like to simulate some nearby intersection to see
how closely my model matches reality etc. Any pointers or hints would
be appreciated.


--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: cmcmanis  ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.
"A most excellent barbarian ... Genghis Kahn!"