A Model Proposal for Determining Heavy Vehicle Parking Capacities in Rural Areas: A Case Study of Izmir

Abstract

Effective planning of heavy vehicle parking areas is a significant factor in providing accessibility in urban and rural areas. Because of unplanned or unqualified planning of heavy vehicle parking areas, heavy vehicles park in undefined areas within the city instead of parking facilities. Such areas are freight-transported facilities, urban gaps, rural areas and most importantly trackside. Roadside parking of heavy vehicles in rural and urban areas causes many transportation problems. The aforementioned type of parking creates traffic safety and traffic capacity problems. Traffic accidents and congestion are increasing due to roadside parking on winding and fast roads between districts and villages in rural areas. At the same time, those parking movements slow down the traffic and reduce accessibility. While there are many studies on capacity and location selection of heavy vehicle parking areas in urban areas in the literature, methods for determining the capacity of heavy vehicle parking areas in rural areas are insufficient.In this study, the capacities of heavy vehicle parking areas in rural areas have been estimated undervarious assumptions by utilizing the data of the Izmir Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan-Logistic Analysis and Suggestions Report for Rural Development Regions. The non-transit heavy vehicle volumes in the districts were calculated from the traffic assignments made within the scope of the plan, while the rates of heavy vehicles in the districts, roadside parking rates and post-operative waiting times were also calculated using roadside driver surveys. With the generated approach, heavy vehicle parking requirements in rural areas defined within the scope of the mentioned plan were determined based on districts.