STUDY OF TRAFFIC FLOWS IN THE CITY OF MAŽEIKIAI

Abstract

As the number of vehicles in the city of Mažeikiai grows, the intersections become increasingly congested. As the load at intersections increases, street congestion, the probability of traffic accidents, and environmental pollution, which harms human health and leads to climate warming, increase. The highest load and congestion at intersections occurs during the peak hours: the morning peak and the evening peak. The morning and evening peaks occur when people go to and from work, and the afternoon peak occurs when people go to lunch. On weekend days, traffic jams usually occur at various centers of attraction: shops, cinemas, various entertainment centers, etc. Therefore, in order to improve the travel conditions of traffic flows, it is necessary to study exactly how big the congestion is at intersections and roundabouts.

In order to adapt the intersections to the current traffic flows, it is necessary to reconstruct the current intersections. One of the ways is to increase the number of traffic lanes at intersections, but this is usually not possible because there are buildings, plants, and other objects at the intersections. Another way to increase the throughput of intersections is to adjust the traffic lights, choosing the optimal times of green, yellow and red signals, which helps to reduce traffic congestion at intersections. After finding out and analyzing the occupancy of traffic flows, solutions can be found to reduce congestion caused by traffic flows. The research revealed that in order for Žematijos - Naftininkų st. the throughput of vehicles at the intersection would be improved on Naftininkų Street at the intersection of Žemaitijos Street, the time of the green traffic light signal should be extended by 2 s - traffic congestion would be by 4 - 5% reduced. Meanwhile, on Žemaitija Street, if the time of the green traffic signal is extended by 7 seconds, vehicle congestion would by 20-22 % decrease.