Effects of speed limits on capacity and service level on intracity highway network: Ankara case

The records of vehicle passing time and speeds obtained -during the speed limit and control studies to ensure traffic safety and regulation- by means of City Security Management System (KGYS) located at Ankara Anadolu, Dumlupınar and Mevlana Boulevards, are used as main data of this study. A new study database is generated by rearranging main data with respect to different time periods such as yearly, quarterly, seasonal, monthly and daily for each boulevards, direction and lanes. By use of this new database, primarily peak hour factors later fundamental traffic characteristics such as time headway, average speed, flow and density are studied, analyzed and evaluated for each boulevard. Then level of services for each boulevard, direction and lane are determined. These analyses or studies provide or help to get information about future traffic flow characteristics and traffic flow estimations for different time periods at related Boulevards.