The International Journal Of Engineering And Science (IJES)

|| Volume || 3 || Issue || 4 || Pages || 51-57 || 2014 ||

ISSN (e): 2319 1813 ISSN (p): 2319 1805
www.theijes.com The IJES Page 51
Evaluation of Park&Ride Facility inside the PINAVIA Junction
from the Perspective of Sustainable Development
Aurius Juozapaviius, Stanislovas Buteliauskas
1, 2,
Dept. of Engineering Management, the General Jonas emaitis Military Academy of Lithuania

---------------------------------------------------------ABSTRACT-----------------------------------------------------------
The article deals with the issues of Park & Ride - a tool to decrease the amount of private cars in favor of
public transport in order to improve the modal split. A new type of road junction is introduced with a
possibility to easily access its center area. A generalized framework of sustainable development by AlQahtany
et al. is used to evaluate the new junction with a Park & Ride facility placed inside it. Advantages of this
integrated system are described by comparing it to a conventional junction with a Park & Ride nearby it.

KEYWORDS - Park and Ride (P&R), PINAVIA road junction, sustainable development, urban planning.


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Date of Submission: 15 April 2014 Date of Publication: 30 April 2014
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I. INTRODUCTION
Transport plays a major role in modern economies. Simultaneously it also creates problems. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that it is very likely the tropospheric warming during the
last 60 years is caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gases (IPCC, 2013). The main contributors to the global
CO2 emissions are energy sector (electricity and heat generation) with a 41% share, and transport with a 22%
share (IEA, 2012). Close to three quarters (74%) of the transport generated CO2 emissions in 2010 come from
road transport (IEA, 2012). Accordingly, International Energy Agency encourages policies favorable to more
efficient vehicles, public transportation (or other low-emission modes) and low-carbon fuels. Indeed, if vehicle
ownership per 1000 residents in China would increase from 58 in 2010 to the levels found in US, i.e. 800
(Sousanis, 2011), it would double the world population of vehicles. Even if their engines are twice more
efficient by that time, road congestion may remain the largest problem of transport in cities offsetting the
engine improvements. Currently annual costs of congestion in European Union (EU) are reaching almost 2%
of GDP, while total external costs of transport amount to around 4% of GDP (CE Delft, 2011).

The role of public transportation is ever more important in decreasing the number of cars and
subsequently - emissions of greenhouse gases. Calculation of average external costs for different transport
modes in EU shows that costs of a bus (34 EUR per person per 1000 km) are almost twice lower than that of a
car (65 EUR); and rail (15 EUR) is twice more efficient than a bus (CE Delft, 2011). Accidents (mostly road
accidents), air pollution, and climate change costs constitute the largest part of the external transport costs.
Noise costs, up- and down-stream processes, costs for nature and landscape play a somewhat smaller role,
comparable in size for all motorized transport modes. Keeping in mind the data, one could expect a modal split
in favor of rail transport, and private cars taking up the smallest part. However, the differences in external
costs of the transport modes are not represented in the modal split in most European cities, with 34% of the
share taken by private cars, 36% by soft modes, and 31% by public transport (EMTA, 2012). If suburbs are
also taken into account, then the share of private cars rises to 49%. The situation is even more dramatic in the
faster developing cities around the world, e.g. more than 85% of journeys are being made using private car in
Kuwait (UNDP, 2009), evidenced by the congestion map in Fig. 1. Recently authorities of many European
cities have recognized the role of railway transport, as it is visible in the growth of transport supply: e.g. during
the 2006-2009 the supply of bus transport increased by 8%, metro by 13%, and suburban railway by 17%
(EMTA, 2012). This public transport supply growth is larger than increase of population in the corresponding
cities during the same time, but it is not enough to solve the congestion problem, because number of cars per
capita remains almost constant (Sousanis, 2011), so the total number of cars on city streets is still increasing.

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The dominance of private cars in the modal distribution of transport may be due to the "automobile
dependency" (Litman & Burwell, 2006), which is encouraged by such governmental policies as dedicated
funding for highway facilities, free roads and parking, and other market distortions in favor to motorists. Also,
if city planning is focused primarily on private cars - as it was usual in the United States (US), it is very
difficult and costly to introduce public transport later on (Mntynen, 2007).

Global problems created by extensive growth of transport in particular and by all human economic
activity in general makes city planners embrace broader views when considering plans for specific projects -
decisions are being based on the ideas of sustainable development. Many organizations define sustainable
development in their own way, even though the main ideas remain the same: the development should be fair to
current and to future generations, regardless of time or space (Litman & Burwell, 2006). The problems arise
when specific weights need to be given to different criteria used to evaluate a project, and even the selections of
the criteria differ in different frameworks of sustainable planning. AlQahtany et al. discussed three
internationally recognized frameworks of sustainable development at urban planning scale - CASBEE of
Japan, BREEAM of the United Kingdom, and LEED of the US (AlQahtany, Rezgui, & Li, 2013). The authors
addressed the weaknesses of these frameworks and proposed an improved model, which gives more emphasis
on the planning issues, in particular - land use and public transport. The framework of AlQahtany et al. is
more general and free of regional differences, so we will use the framework to analyze our proposals.

An efficient tool of city authorities for reducing number of private cars inside cities is provision of
Park & Ride (P&R) services. In 1990s it was "viewed as one of the principal means of addressing transport
problems in urban areas" (Cairns, 1998). Clearly, if a dedicated parking space is allocated in city suburbs close
to major rail or bus lines and some motorists switch from their cars to the public transport, then part of the
traffic in the city center is eliminated, a possibility to reduce central parking supply arises, and also some first-
time users of the public transport may completely switch the mode later on if they like its quality of service
(Parkhurst, 1995). It takes however more careful planning in order for the P&R to work as intended. In some
cases, it may fail because of lack of interest, as it happened to the first P&R facilities, which were build in
Oxford, UK - probably because the concept was too new, or the quality of bus service was unsatisfactory
(Cairns, 1998). In other cases, some bus-only users start using P&R, so that the overall kilometers per capita
ratio increases with the total negative environmental impact of the P&R (Parkhurst, 1995). This is usually
justified by local authorities because the traffic increase happens in less congested suburban areas (Cairns,
1998), or it can be solved in several ways: by carefully introducing pricing policies (Habib, Mahmoud, &
Coleman, 2013), or by choosing a correct P&R placement model, such as "Hub-and-Spoke concept" (Meek,
Ison, & Enoch, 2011). As a result, P&R remains a powerful tool in the hands of transport planners. In fact,
calculations show that if the space of parking nearby a fast public transit route would be used for housing
development (many new walk-and-ride travelers are introduced), the ridership on the public transport would
decrease (Duncan, 2010).

Despite the attractiveness of P&R, choosing the right location can be problematic. In the UK the
"right" location of the P&R "should be on the edge of the built-up area, close to a major radial approach route
and to a ring road or bypass, and located before the traffic congestion begins" (Cairns, 1998). In the US, apart
from the mentioned criteria, additional elements related to security and satisfaction of the users are listed, such
as ambient lighting, security, maintenance and possibly nearby commercial developments - theaters, stadiums,
shopping malls, and hotels (MassHighway, 2006). Land costs may be one of major obstacles - a study of P&R
nearby light rail stations is the US shows that P&R places are less likely to be found where land costs are high
(Duncan & Christensen, 2013). Larger P&R could provide a larger public transport ridership, but then
additional problems may arise due to entry and exit roads: they either interfere with the bypassing traffic, or
they are laid out in a complicated manner with lots of additional structures - small overpasses and/or tunnels,
as it is illustrated in Fig. 2, where the territory of 877 parking places is comparable to the territory taken by all
entry and exit roads nearby it.
II. PINAVIA PARK AND RIDE
We propose an alternative placement option for the P&R - inside a road junction. This becomes
possible with some modifications of a recently invented junction called PINAVIA (Buteliauskas, 2012).

Up to date PINAVIA is the only known junction with no intersecting traffic flows which is designed
on just two levels. In the sense of this functionality it is equivalent to the much more costly fully directional

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junction on four levels. Fig. 3 illustrates the basic concept of the PINAVIA junction: it has four tunnels (or
overpasses) but they are twice smaller than a usual tunnel or overpass, because they are needed for half the
road only. The roadways are arranged so that a safe and unobstructed flow is possible in any direction on any
road of the intersection without a need to change either lanes or driving speeds. An arbitrary number of lanes
may be chosen for any roadway in order to adjust the junction capacity parameters to the local distribution of
traffic, e.g. three lanes for turning left from the first road, while only one lane for turning left from the second
road etc.

The size of the PINAVIA junction directly depends on the projected driving speed. E.g. the diameter
of the junction is 322 m (1070 ft) for v=50 km/h (31 mph); D=660 m (2200 ft) for v=70 km/h (44 mph); and
D=915 m (3000 ft) for v=105 km/h (65 mph). Clearly, it is not suitable for speeds above 70 km/h, because of
the excessive left-turn distance, and its overall size. However, for smaller speeds it is comparable in size to the
usual "Clover-leaf" junctions.

A simple modification of the original PINAVIA junction - an addition of one more driveway on the
left side of the approach road - makes it possible to access the junction center area without any additional
elements (tunnels of overpasses). Fig. 4 illustrates the possibility, although the entry/exit roadway is visually
shifted away from the bypassing roadway to make it more evident. In practice, it could use the same entry
tunnel as the left-turning and through-passing lanes. The exit roadways from the center can also follow the
same path as the entry roads, just in the opposite direction, merging from the left the road after the junction.
Left turns from the left lane, and merging the road from the left would not be suitable for highways, but the
layout can be feasible for smaller category roads nearby a city.

Useful area inside the junction can be quite considerable in size - around 18 ha for the 70 km/h
junction. A possibility to enter this area from all four roads without any intersections makes it very attractive
for housing developers and businesses - shopping or logistics centers, theaters or stadiums, especially when one
considers the unobstructed evacuation into all four roads at once. Considering the location of the junction, it
cannot be located deep inside an urbanized zone because of its size, and neither it is efficient away from the
city where driving speed is high. Consequently, it should be located on the crossings of major radial roads and
city bypass roads - the so-called "ideal" location of a P&R. Easy access to its center makes it perfect for bus- or
metro-served P&R.

III. COMPARISON OF TWO ALTERNATIVES
In order to compare the two alternatives - an ordinary P&R nearby a conventional junction and a P&R
inside the PINAVIA junction of 70 km/h design speed - we use the relevant categories and criteria of the
sustainable urban planning development framework by AlQahtany et al. (AlQahtany et al., 2013). The
comparison is presented in the Table 1. In order for the objects to be comparable, we assume the conventional
junction has a nearby P&R facility of the same size as the one inside the PINAVIA. It is not so easy to decide
what kind of conventional junction to take for the comparison. E.g., fully directional interchange could be
comparable to PINAVIA in the sense of capacity, but fully directional interchange has an advantage of a
possibility of infinite speeds when going straight, while PINAVIA has only circular roadways whose radii limit
the driving speed. Other more popular and cheaper junctions - "Clover-leafs" - are limited in capacity because
of weaving and they have safety issues. We therefore choose not to specify exact parameters of the
"conventional" junction, assuming its overall size together with extra entry and exit roads of the P&R similar
in size to the chosen PINAVIA.
The comparison shows a clear advantage of the PINAVIA P&R over the conventional junction and
P&R. Most of it builds upon the specific geometry of the PINAVIA junction, which enables a perfect access to
a large area inside it.
There are several serious obstacles for the PINAVIA concept to be applied in practice. First of all, it is
a new idea, and it meets a natural resistance similar to all inventions. Secondly, the window of its applicability
is rather narrow: the traffic volume of the intersecting road should be sufficiently high, while the allowed
driving speeds sufficiently low. Even though it allows reclaiming part of the land it occupies, it takes up a
substantial territory during the construction phase. Finally, it works best as an integrated solution - not just as
a standalone junction, but as a junction with an additional infrastructure inside, such as P&R, a stadium, etc.
This last fact is especially problematic, because as a rule there are different authorities for each of these
elements, and a wider view and cooperation between them might be difficult to achieve (cf. Litman & Burwell,
2006).

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I. FIGURES AND TABLES


Figure 1: Congestion in Kuwait City at noon, 18 November 2013 (Google Maps)



Figure 2: Parking nearby Luxembourg City (Google Maps) close to a congested bypass road

Evaluation of Park&Ride Facility Inside the PINAVIA Junction
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Figure 3: Layout of the PINAVIA junction


Figure 4: PINAVIA junction with an internal infrastructure














Evaluation of Park&Ride Facility Inside the PINAVIA Junction
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Table 1: Comparison of Two P&R Facilities
Criterion PINAVIA 70km/h and P&R Conventional P&R and junction
PLANNING DIMENSION
Land Use PINAVIA has an advantage of a freed-up internal area
up to 18 ha in size. The area is easily accessible from
all four roads without crossing any lanes.
To create a corresponding P&R an extra
18 ha of land are needed nearby the
junction. The P&R is accessible from
just one road; otherwise, it takes an extra
overpass/tunnel to get to other roads.
Infrastructure The easily accessible area inside the junction is
attractive for creating additional infrastructure, e.g. a
stadium, office buildings, or any kind of business. A
considerable quantity of new working places can be
created (decentralization of the city).
If some infrastructure is built due to the
P&R, it is not so easily connected, and
tends to be limited in size.
Transport A natural hub for any kind of public or private
transport. If working places are present, then P&R
users are travelling towards the city, while some city-
center residents are travelling in the opposite direction
making private transport more efficient.
No specific advantages.
Management Easy to manage traffic flows - in case of need all or
part of traffic approaching the PINAVIA from any road
can be redirected to other roads or to the parking
inside it.
No specific advantages.
ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION
Pollution /
Resource /
Energy / Ecology
/ Climate
The compared objects are very similar in this respect.
However, PINAVIA may have an advantage
considering architectural pollution - its symmetrical
shape and very low vertical dimension have smaller
visual noise than an ordinary junction. Additionally,
each resident of the city taking public transport (let us
say - a bus) to a working place inside the PINAVIA
would effectively create an environmental impact
equal to zero travelled kilometers, because the bus
would have been driving anyway to return to the P&R
users.
As discussed previously, recent research
indicates the usual P&R shifts the traffic
from the city center towards the suburbs
with an overall environmental impact
close to zero.
SOCIAL DIMENSION
Health Due to perfect connectivity, PINAVIA center may
attract a health institution, especially if some other
working places (e.g. offices) are established.
No specific advantages.
Education Even though the location of schools or child-care
centers seems improbable inside a circle of a
continuously moving traffic, they may be removed
from it by up to 300 m of various other barriers, which
might be better than a location inside the city center.
No specific advantages.
Security Parts of the circular road can be on the same level as
the surrounding ground. Also the four designed exits
with small overpasses pose no large threat in case of
an earth quake. In case of other natural disasters there
is a possibility to evacuate into four main roads
simultaneously.
No specific advantages.
ECONOMIC DIMENSION
Sustainable PINAVIA has a possibility to become a hub of local
economy.
No specific advantages.
Growth New investments and businesses are very likely inside
the PINAVIA.
Any P&R attracts businesses to some
extent.
Employment Many new working places are probable and easily
accessible.
Some new working places are possible.
Productivity Due to the location of PINAVIA (in the suburbs) most
of the services will be cheaper than in the city center.
No specific advantages.

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IV. CONCLUSION
Park and Ride services are being implemented in order to decrease transport congestion in cities by
eliminating part of the private cars in its traffic. A unique location of P&R is suggested by introducing a newly
invented road junction PINAVIA. The symmetrical circular layout of the PINAVIA and its location on a
crossing of large roads creates these advantages: it uses the land efficiently and releases part of it inside the
junction; it is easily accessible by all transport modes; it is convenient to change transport modes there because
of small walking distances inside the junction; it creates a possibility to establish new working places and a
small center of local suburban economy. From the perspective of sustainable development PINAVIA junction
together with an inside P&R facility is advantageous over a stand-alone conventional junction and a separate
P&R.
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