Critical analysis of road capacity studies and a concept for the 21st century

• Autor(a) principal: Portugal, Licínio da Silva
• Data de Publicação: 2005
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista de Administração Pública
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.fgv.br/rap/article/view/6561
• topic: road capacity; environmental impacts; integration to the socio-economic environment.; capacidade viária; impactos ambientais; integração ao ambiente socioeconômico.

This paper identifies and characterizes the main aspects and concepts traditionally considered in road capacity studies aiming at: widening the analysis scope according to a more global focus, integrated to the socio-economic environment; establishing themes and dimensions that must be introduced and better tackled; expliciting the use of road capacity as a powerful tool, not only for optimizing traffic demand but also for establishing feasible public policies and improving the quality of life; presenting an information framework that will contribute to future developments in this area. The results of this research are based on an extensive bibliographic review, focusing on the Highway capacity manual — 2000 (HCM), considered the main reference in road capacity studies and also because it can be used as a model to new research aiming at knowledge systematization in this area, according to a more wide analysis context proposed by this paper and to the current trend in transport studies. The article considered the importance of contemplating in the analysis, besides service quality, the environmental impacts, in order to empower the decision-making process for the improvement of road network performance. It also observed the need to intensify and systemize capacity studies in terms of the highway network itself and also in terms of aspects related to the infrastructure administration as part of the road services supply.