Fall 2021/2022 Lecture 1

CVLE 463: Transportation Planning & Traffic Engineering

 Terms and Definitions
 Transport: is a science that concerns with the
efficient movement of people and goods that
is undertaken to accomplish objectives to
complete tasks that require transfer from one
location to another

 Transportation Engineering: The application

of scientific and technological principles to the
planning, design; operation & management
of transportation systems.
 Sub-speciality of civil engineering
 Inherently multidisciplinary overlapping
diverse fields as economics; psychology;
geography; city planning; public
administration; political science; industrial &
electrical engineering
Modes of Transportation
What is the Importance of Transportation?

“It helps shape an area’s economic health and quality of life”

Economy

Environment Land Use

Safety and
Social
Health
Equity

Mobility and Communities and

Accessibility Neighborhoods
 What is the Importance of Transportation?
EVERY FAMILY, EVERY COMMUNITY, AND EVERY BUSINESS
NEEDS INFRASTRUCTURE TO THRIVE.
12,000 3,000

10,000 2,500
Adjusted GDP (billions)

8,000 2,000

VMT (billions)
6,000 1,500

4,000 1,000

2,000 GDP 500

VMT

0 0
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
year
 What is the Importance of Transportation?
EVERY FAMILY, EVERY COMMUNITY, AND EVERY BUSINESS
NEEDS INFRASTRUCTURE TO THRIVE.
300 800
Total Road Network 700
250
Length
Length (thousand km)

GDP 600

GDP (billion USD)

200
500
150 400
300
100
200
50
100
0 0
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Year
 What is the Importance of Transportation?

“The number and extent of roads will expand dramatically this century . Globally, at least 25
million kilometres of new roads are anticipated by 2050; a 60% increase in the total length of
roads over that in 2010.”
International Energy Agency, 2013
Global Land Transport Infrastructure Requirements

A global strategy for road

building based on
Roadway (million paved

infrastructure investment
and innovation to answer
challenges related to
safety, security, reliability,
lane‐km)

sustainability, efficiency,
cost, and financing.

Year
 “The profession is challenged to rise to a new level of leadership and
professionalism—to be entrusted by society to achieve a sustainable
world and raise the global quality of life”
2025 Vision of Civil Engineering by the ASCE

Civil engineers from all backgrounds and at every career stage are asked
to implement performance-based standards, resilience, innovation, and
life cycle cost analysis towards the shared goal of reducing infrastructure
life cycle costs by 50% by 2025 and foster the optimization of
infrastructure for society
Major Disciplines of Transportation Engineering

Other Disciplines

Transportation Traffic Engineering Geometric Design Pavement Design

Planning •Safety of the public •Physical proportioning and Analysis  Public/Mass
of transportation
•Development of
comprehensive set of
•Efficient use of
resources facilities.
•Pavement Type Transportation
•Selection of Materials
action plan for he •Design, operation, and •Cross sectional
•Pavement structure
design, construction,, optimization of features, horizontal
and operation of transportation systems alignments, vertical
alignments, design of
•Drainage Aspects
 Financial and
transportation •Traffic Flow Analysis
facilities. •Study and analysis of
intersections Economic Analysis
•Development of travel demand
transportation model
which presents current
as well future  Environmental
transportation systems
Impact Assessment

 Traffic Safety

 Intelligent Transport
System
“Project Life Cycle” & “Specializations”
in Transportation Engineering

Planning

Design
(geometric, pavement, drainage..)

Construction

Operation, Maintenance,
Management
 Course Description

Introduction to urban transportation

planning, travel behavior, transportation
demand models, public transport planning,
line capacity, headways, operation
principles, traffic engineering principles,
traffic control, traffic management, traffic
safety, transportation infrastructure and
facilities, transport and the environment, air
pollution, traffic noise, energy consumption,
evaluating alternative transportation plans:
Technical, environmental, economic criteria.
 Overall Aim of the Course
The goal of this course is to prepare the student for either
employment or further study in
Urban Transportation Planning
and Traffic Engineering

 As the student gains experience, he/she may move into a

decision-making, project management, or advanced study role.

 The fundamentals of transportation planning, as learned in this

course, should continue to form the basis for the student’s
contributions to the process.
 Course Outcomes
 Outcome a: an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics,
science, and engineering
 Outcome b: an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well
as to analyze and interpret data
 Outcome d: an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
 Outcome e: an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering
problems
 Outcome h: the broad education necessary to understand the
impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic,
environmental, and societal context
 Outcome j: a knowledge of contemporary issues
Areas of Study
 Topics to Be Covered
1. Traffic Engineering and Operations
2. Urban Transportation Planning
3. Transportation System Evaluation
4. Public Transportation
Text Book and References
 Assessment
1. Individual assignments, classwork, and projects (20%)
2. Two 1 hour Mid-term exam (40%)
3. Final Exam (40%)
Assessment Tentative Dates
Quiz 1:Week 6: Monday October. 11th , 2021 for Debbieh section
and Thursday October 14th 2021 for Tripoli Section

Quiz 2: Week 11: Monday November 15th 2021 for Debbieh section
and Thursday October 14th 2021 for Tripoli Section

Projects:Last 2 weeks of classes

Final Exam:To be set later by BAU registrar.

 Course Policies
 Students are required to be prepared for their exams whose dates are assigned
since the beginning of the semester as shown above. Missing an exam for not
being ready for it is not an excuse.
If the student misses an exam, he/she is allowed to make up the exam only in the
case of having a valid excuse that needs to be judged genuine/reasonable by the
courses’ instructor. Medical reasons have to be supported by a valid note from a
medical doctor. If the excuse is deemed invalid, the student will be given a
failing grade on the missed exam. Makeup exams does not need to have the
same format as the missed ones and it will be scheduled as soon as the student is
no longer excused.

 Typically, homework will be due in 1-2 weeks from handout date.

 Assignments are due at the beginning of the class period.

 Course Policies
 Term projects might be done in groups of three or four. Each group member is
expected to share the proper amount of work load. The term project might be
assigned late in the semester, until you have sufficient knowledge to start working
on it. So, please consider this when planning your timing and effort for this and
other courses.

 Presentation quality of submittals: The submission of your work reflects the time
consumed on completing it. Emphasis will be placed on the clarity, organization,
and readability of your work.

 Course notes: Note-taking is absolutely necessary for this class.

 Final Term Project: You might have to make a presentation.

Course Communication/Correspondence
LET IT BE PROFESSIONAL

 Use a professional email address (ex: student@bau.edu.lb)

 Use a formal salutation (ex: Dear Dr. Y, Dear Ms. X, Dear Mr. Z…)
 Use a clear subject line (ex: CVLE463 HW#1, CVLE263 Project 1)
 Be clear and succinct
 Make sure your email is complete, no spelling errors, coherent
sentences, no part is written in all caps, do not use the social
media chatting language…
 Write in the language of teaching of teaching the course: English
 Sign off your email with a proper closure (ex: Regards, Sincerely…)
 Review your email before sending it
 If your email has an attachment, make sure it is included before
sending
 Use formal vocabulary
Course Communication/Correspondence

Source: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-emails/unit-4-starting-and-finishing-emails
https://elt.oup.com/elt/students/result/pdf/br_pre_emails.pdf
 Some Useful Resources for Transportation Engineering
 DOT - Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/

 American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO)…

https://www.transportation.org/

 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

http://www.asce.org/

 Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)

http://www.ite.org/

 Transportation Research Board

http://www.trb.org/

 Engineering Information, Inc.

http://www.ei.org/

 Austroads
http://www.austroads.com.au/
Road Map

Choose your road