Decision Support System for the Analysis of Traffic at a Crossroad in the City of Oporto Using Simulation

Due to the current high levels of traffic in the city of Oporto (Portugal), a Decision Support System, based on a simulation modelling approach, has been developed to allow the users to obtain different results by changing several parameters related to the Urban Traffic Network. The system also allows the achievement of the desired scenarios: the speed of the agents involved, acceleration, the number of vehicles circulating on the road, the possibility of choosing routes to follow, and the signal times of traffic lights. The goal is to make the tool available to any ordinary user interested in this study, who will then be able to change the different variables, according to what the user intends to investigate. Accordingly, the decision-maker will know whether the changes carried out during simulation have met the expected objectives. Simulation is increasingly applied worldwide to a wide range of sectors, with the support of a growing number of programs and applications available to ordinary users.