The study of traffic congestion in Barake-Maidan Road, Kabul, Afghanistan

Abstract

One of the most complicated and challenging issue facing Kabul is the traffic congestion. It makes the life in Kabul uncomfortable for people. In Kabul, development in the number of roads and transportation infrastructure is not enough to fulfil the rapid increase in the number of vehicles. There are many reasons behind the issue of traffic congestion in Kabul such as intersections, non-designated bus stops, illegal parking and street vendors. There were other factors that also contributed to traffic congestion in the city such as vehicle growth, population growth, not following the traffic laws, Very Important People movement (government officials), movement of people on the road and to some extent improper drainage system (during snowy and rainy seasons). All these factors lowered the road capacity, disturbed the traffic flow and led to traffic congestion. In this dissertation the study of traffic congestion (causes, effects, and preventive strategies) was done in Barake – Maidan road to find out the traffic volume, level of services and to figure out the possible solution to the issue of traffic congestion. Level of services was calculated based on the Maximum Volume/Capacity Ratio and Maximum Service Flow Rate (Pc/l/h). Therefore, the level of services in Barake-Maidan road based on traffic counting was B in Barake Traffic Road, Old Taimani-Saleem Karwan road and Saleem Karwan- Shaheed road and C in Traffic-Old Taimani road and Shaheed-Maidan road. The traffic counting was done in order to find out the traffic volume in peak hour and non-peak hour, then it was converted to passenger car equivalent. Also, the questionnaire survey was also done to better understand the cause and effects of traffic congestion in Kabul. Finally, recommendations are put forward to improve the road capacity and maximize the traffic flow.