Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 11 (2021) 100435

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Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives

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research-interdisciplinary-perspectives

Assessment of traffic congestion scenario at the CBD areas in a developing

city: In the context of Khulna City, Bangladesh
Md. Asaduzzaman Noor a, b, Sultana Ashrafi a, Md. Abdul Fattah a, *, 1, Syed Riad Morshed a,
Saima Rahman a
a
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna, Bangladesh
b
Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies. University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Central Business Districts (CBDs) are impeccable areas of traffic attractions exacerbated by the increase of rapid
Central Business District population density, enormous urbanization, and increasing economic and commercial activities. Traffic
Road Segment Congestion Index (RSCI) congestion in the CBD areas is a perpetual problem for sustainable urban development. This study detailed the
Traffic congestion
traffic congestion states and the factors influencing traffic congestion in the CBD areas of Khulna City. In this
Khulna City
regard, spot speed, journey speed, running speed, and volume of all types of vehicles in the four CBD areas during
peak and off-peak hours on both weekends and weekdays have been measured through manual counting and
video recording methods. The traffic congestion state in the study area has been assessed through Level of
Service, Speed Performance Index, Road Segment Congestion Index. The outcome of these indices revealed the
worst congestion state in all CBD areas with breakdown flow. The Active Road Performance Index explained that
inadequate parking facilities, illegal road occupancy by roadside vendors, and on-street parking decreased the
road efficiency by 32 to 82% in different areas. The regular road users believed that congestion occurs mostly
between 6.00 PM and 9.00 PM. This study found that rapid increase in vehicle population, poor public transport,
pedestrians’ behavior, illegal road occupancy, and fragile enforcement of laws are leading the traffic condition of
Khulna towards an unsustainable future. The outcome of this study will provide useful information for urban
planners, policymakers, and practitioners to devise appropriate strategies for reducing congestion that would
help to ensure a sustainable urban transport system.

1. Introduction
The urban transportation problem is a complex bundle of interre­
lated problems (Dimitrion, 1992). The provision of transportation ser­
vices for the population is becoming increasingly difficult due to the
dynamic expansion of urban areas (Koźlak and Wach, 2018). Currently,
traffic congestion is considered an extensive global problem, result from
high population concentration, expansion of infrastructure, motor ve­
hicles, and increase of rideshare and delivery service activities (Afrin
and Yodo, 2020). It causes unfavorable impacts upon the society,
economy, and environment of any urban areas by wasting energy and
time, decreasing productivity, and causing pollution, stress and restricts
stable urban economic growth (Huang et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2019).
Many large and medium cities of South Asia, especially the central
business districts (CBD) are facing this challenge and are severely
affected by this mobility problem (Wen et al., 2019). For the sustainable
economic development of any city, congestion alleviation and ensuring
an excellent transport system in the CBD areas is one of the most
important tasks (Klitz, 2012). The economic development has been
leading urban traffic states to more critical situations and cities in
developing countries like Bangladesh are facing this problem the most
(Das et al., 2019; Chakrabartty and Gupta, 2015). Traffic congestion is
very frequent and has become a normal phenomenon in the cities of
Bangladesh. A good transportation system, and its rapid growth of
economic, manufacturing, trade, etc., is very important for sustainable
urban development.
Traffic congestion can be defined as the mutual obstruction of traffic
by the vehicles because of the current interrelation between the volume

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: sultanaashrafi1409@gmail.com (S. Ashrafi), mafattah.kuet@gmail.com (Md.A. Fattah), riad.kuet.urp16@gmail.com (S.R. Morshed), rahman.
saima@urp.kuet.ac.bd (S. Rahman).
1
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8477-4446.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2021.100435
Received 14 April 2021; Received in revised form 26 June 2021; Accepted 2 August 2021
Available online 14 August 2021
2590-1982/© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Md.A. Noor et al.
of flows and the moving vehicle speed in the case of the depletion of
infrastructure capacity. It is also defined as the level of vehicle traffic
that exceeds a road’s capacity, resulting in a reduction in moving vehicle
speed or complete obstruction of free movement (Koźlak and Wach,
2018). Congestion is caused by a mismatch between travel demand and
transportation system supply. The demand arises from the spatial and
temporal concentration of travel. The historical shape of the infra­
structure, the level of investment, transportation management, and
operating methods all constrain supply. The rapid urbanization and
economic growth potential in the urban areas result in the need for large
transport activities, and when these needs are met, traffic congestion
occurs at the same time (Agyapong and Ojo, 2018). Congestion has
become a major issue in many cities throughout the world, and it is a
difficult challenge to overcome. It interrupts sustainable social, eco­
nomic, and environmental development and increases the costs of
transport (Ye, 2012).
The efficiency of an urban transportation system is strongly deter­
mined by its traffic control system, traffic management is critical for
efficient road transport operations (Wu and Deng, 2013). The city center
or CBD area is the important area of the city because of different types of
activities such as commercial, administrative, public, religious, recrea­
tional, and residential (Rahaman and Hossain, 2009). The CBD area is
considered the main commercial and administrative center of the city.
Due to the location of various government and private offices, banks,
and shopping centers, it became the busiest area of the city with a large
traffic volume (Yaguang, 2011; Liu and Ma, 2020). Hence CBD is most
likely for agglomeration of traffic and should be subject of special
attention to traffic management (Zang and Su, 2018). The traffic cir­
culation status of the cities of Bangladesh is very poor. The transport
system of Dhaka City is regarded as one of the most chaotic in the world.
The residents suffer from physical stress and financial losses due to the
lack of hours during working days (Mahmud et al., 2012). Trade and
personal life are also hindered by this problem. Besides economic and
health, the traffic congestion problem also causing serious environ­
mental degradation (Nigar Neema and Jahan, 2014; Sharmeen and
Houston, 2019; Khan et al., 2018). The transportation systems of other
cities of the country are worse than that of Dhaka city (Shamsher and
Abdullah, 2013).
Over the last decade, Bangladesh has had one of the world’s fastest-
expanding economies. Extensive infrastructural development is being
carried out throughout the country in various sectors including trans­
portation for the economic progression and achieving the title of the
developed country (Yeasmin, 2019). Still, traffic congestion is very
frequent and has become a normal phenomenon in the cities of
Bangladesh (Sharmeen and Houston, 2019). The assessment of traffic
congestion, identification of the causes, and mitigation strategies are
crucial for alleviating traffic congestion and sustainable transport
planning (Afrin and Yodo, 2020). A limited number of researches
focused on the traffic congestion of Khulna City. Previous studies in
Bangladesh have been concentrated mostly on the traffic state of Dhaka
and Chattogram City. Hossain and Imam (2019); Shamsher and Abdul­
lah (2013) described the traffic congestion in the Chattogram city and
their findings demonstrated the poor traffic flow status in Chattogram. A
similar traffic congestion status is also seen in Pabna (Hossain and
Hasan, 2019), Rajshahi (Rahman and Hasnat, 2018; Islam et al., 2019),
and Rangpur city (Prothan et al., 2017). To establish a good communi­
cation system in all regions of the country, many bridges, flyovers, and
roads were constructed and increased road width in the last ten years
(Centre for Research and Information, 2019). But the internal traffic
condition of the cities is deteriorating day by day. Roads in Khulna City
Corporation (KCC) are not free from these problems (Das et al., 2019).
Several researches have been conducted over a period of time. Shuaian
et al. (2018) described the influence of the rise of fares on traffic
congestion of congested commuter rail stations at the CBD. Several
models are used by different researchers including (Xiangqian, 2012; Li
and Wu, 2008; Kohan and Ale, 2019; Wen et al., 2017) to identify the
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Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 11 (2021) 100435
reason and consequences of traffic congestion in some developed cities
around the world. Dakbangla Mor and adjacent areas like Ferighat Mor,
Thanar Mor, and Picture Palace Mor are considered as the main CBD
areas of KCC (Rahaman and Hossain, 2009). The traffic flow inside the
main city was not consistent at all street intersections (Tasnim and Khan,
2018). Das et al. (2019) calculated the economic loss due to traffic
congestion in KCC. Mondal and Hossain (2016) assessed the traffic
congestion level in a traffic node in KCC using the Level of Service (LOS)
index. Rahaman and Hossain (2009) addressed the physical factors
which cause traffic congestion in KCC. Haque et al. (2018) evaluated the
public transport system in KCC. To the best of the authors’ knowledge,
no previous studies have assessed the congestion state and causes of
congestion in the CBD areas of Bangladesh and the study focused on the
congestion considered mainly LOS index to evaluate the traffic conges­
tion state. This study fills these aforementioned research gaps by solving
these issues for the CBD areas of Khulna City: (i) to assess the traffic
congestion using multiple indices (ii) to assess the traffic congestion
state based on road user perception and (iii) to assess the influences of
different factors in traffic flow. The outcomes of the study will assist
policymakers, government, and responsible authorities with planning,
understanding, assessing, and decision making to improve the conve­
nience and efficiency of road use and transportation systems.
2. Methods and materials
2.1. Study area
Bangladesh is a developing country, aimed to reach the high-income
country status by 2041. In this regard, the government has taken many
initiatives to ensure effective and sustainable transportation systems
across the country (Centre for Research and Information (CRI), (2019)).
Khulna, the 3rd largest city and 2nd port entry of Bangladesh has been
developed in an unplanned manner (Fattah and Riad Morshed, 2021). It
is the administrative center of the southwestern part of the country
(Haque et al., 2020). Urbanization is taking place with the increase in
population. The number of vehicles is increasing every day to serve the
growing population. But the road conditions are not improving
accordingly to the need (Tasnim and Khan, 2018). This has been influ­
encing traffic congestion, road accident, and other mobility challenges
(Das et al., 2019), which adversely affect the ultimate goal of people’s
mobility mostly in CBD areas. In this research, the four major CBD areas
of Khulna City Corporation (KCC) named Ferighat Mor, Dakbangla Mor,
Picture Palace Mor, and Thanar Mor are chosen as the study area
(Table 1). Truck, bus, car, motorcycle, auto-rickshaw, tempo, van, bi­
cycle, and Mahindra, etc. vehicles are seen on these roads whereas
Mahindra is used as public transport which can carry only 5 people at a
time. Fig. 1 represents the study area map. Most of the land use type in
these areas is commercial area and these are the city centers. KCC,
Khulna Development Authority (KDA), Road and Highway Department,
Railway station and other important administrative offices of Khulna
district are located here. In this regard, it is important to ensure free
traffic flow and excellent traffic and transportation systems in these
areas. The effective transport system and excellent traffic conditions in
the CBD areas are essential for the economic development of the
southwestern part of the country. A productive circulation system is
urgent in the CBD of Khulna to cope with the potential growth and
development of the city and subsequently to increase trade. In this
communication, the CBD areas of KCC have been chosen as the study
unit for this study.
Commercial land use is the dominant land use of CBD areas. Fig. 2.
This shows that 64% of the areas of CBD areas of Khulna are used for
commercial activities. Other lands such as residential, administrative,
recreational and streets share respectively 6%, 3.2%, 3.8% and 23% of
the total CBD areas of KCC. Most of the retail and wholesale markets,
shopping centers, administrative and public buildings, office buildings,
social services-oriented structures, etc. of the city are located in the CBD
Md.A. Noor et al. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 11 (2021) 100435

Table 1 conducted in the selected CBD areas of KCC and collected vehicle traffic
The scenario of road geometric elements of the study area road. volume data, spot speed, travel time, delay time data. Traffic volume
Location Road name Circulation Right Carriageway Footpath data were collected through the manual counting method and also used
of width (ft) width(ft) Manual Counting Method has been conducted to count the volume of the
way traffic on weekdays at five different times (Three peak times and two off-
(ft)
peak times) and weekend day at one time (5:00 pm–6:00 pm). Three
Ferighat Khan-E- Two-way 72 60 12 peak times are 8:30 am-9:00 am, 12:00 pm–1:30 pm, and 5:30 pm–6:00
Sabur Road pm. The two off-peak hours are 10:30 am–11:00 am and 3:00 pm–3:30
Khan-E- 41 31 10
Sabur Road
pm). To check the accuracy of the data, data were also collected through
Khan Jahan 60 42 8 video recording and further justified the data with the outcome of some
Ali Road previous studies. All the surveys have been conducted in January 2019.
Dakbangla Khan-E- 72 60 12 Data were collected about traffic congestion and people’s perception
Sabur
and experience from 100 correspondents (50 drivers and 50 road users)
Lower 41 35 10
Jessore Road through the questionnaire-based survey. The sample size has been
Clay Road 20 20 0 estimated through the following equation (1).
Cemetery 29 29 6
road N × Z 2 × σ2
n= (1)
Picture Lower 60 35 10 (N − 1)d2 + Z 2 + σ 2
Palace Jessore Road
(Dakbangla)
Lower 60 35 10
Jessore Road
Old Jessore 30 30 0
Road
Sir Iqbal One-way 33 27 0
Road
Thanar Clay Road 20 20 0
Mor

areas of Khulna.

2.2. Methodology

2.2.1. Data collection

Several congestion indicators were introduced to quantify the traffic
congestion level and were categorized into five categories such as (i)
travel time (ii) speed, (iii) level of services (iv) delay and (v) congestion
Fig. 2. Land use status of CBD areas in Khulna.
indices. To fulfill the objectives of this study, field surveys have been

Fig. 1. Study area map showing the selected traffic nodes.

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Md.A. Noor et al. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 11 (2021) 100435

= 95 ≈ 100 Table 3
SPI value indicating different traffic state.
where n = Sample size, Z = Z value for 95% confidence interval (1.96), SPI Traffic congestion Description
N = Population size (4631), σ = expected standard deviation, d = level
selected accepted error (10%). 0–25 Heavy congestion Low average speed, poor traffic
c state
2.2.2. Level of services (LOS) 25–50 Mild congestion Lower average speed, moderately poor traffic
LOS is used to assess how effectively a transportation facility works state
50–75 Smooth Higher average speed, better traffic state
from the viewpoint of a traveler. LOS has been very popular in practice
75–100 Very smooth High average speed, excellent traffic state
due to its simplicity. LOS can be calculated by utilizing several traffic
quantities, such as vehicle speed, density, maximum service flow rate
and volume to capacity (V/C) ratio (Wan et al., 2018). In this study, V/C tnc
ratio has been applied which is the ratio of vehicles passing a point in an Rnc = (5)
Tt
hour (V) and the maximum number of vehicles that can pass in that
point (C) i.e., the ratio of vehicle volume and road capacity (Banerjee where Ri is the RSCI value, Rv is the average SPI value, Rnc is the pro­
et al., 2018). The V/C technique is used to determine LOS and how well a portions of non-congestion state, tnc denotes the duration of non-
road is performing. This indicator can inform transportation operators of congestion state (minute), Tt denotes the length of the observation
the road sections where traffic mitigation measures are needed. Six period (minute).
service levels are specified, each of which is given a letter designation
from A to F (Table 2). LOS A indicates the best operating conditions and 2.2.5. Active road performance Index (ARPI)
LOS F the worst condition of traffic flow (Ameri et al., 2013). LOS of the The active portion or percentage of road width is determined by
road segment has been calculated by using data from the traffic volume ARPI (Arasan and Koshy, 2005). The usable road width reduces due to
survey. The equation for the LOS calculation is the simple equation of illegal parking, street hawkers and other similar reasons. This makes the
volume/capacity ratio. road narrower and obstructs the flow of vehicles at the designed speed.
Active road width reduces and influences traffic congestion (Hasan
LOS = V/C (2)
et al., 2018). This study used ARPI to determine the active road per­
centage at the selected traffic nodes. The higher the value of ARPI, the
2.2.3. Speed Performance Index (SPI)
lower the road width occupied by illegal parking or other purposes
The SPI is developed to assess the condition of urban road traffic
(Arasan and Koshy, 2005). This study used ARPI to define the active
congestion. SPI is the ratio of the vehicle’s average speed and maximum
road performances in percentage for every road.
permissible speed (Eq. (3)) on a road section (He et al, 2016; Afrin and ( )
Yodo, 2020). The value of SPI varies between 0 and 100 and this value RW bo + RW op + RW rb
ARPI = 1 − × 100 (6)
range is divided into four classes (Table 3), each of which indicates a RW t
different traffic state. There was taken 65 m segment for three locations
(Ferighat to Dakbangla, Dakbangla to Picture Palace and Picture Palace where RWbo = Road occupied by informal business, RWop = Road width
to Thanar Mor). The speed of all vehicles available on the specific road occupied by on-street parking, RWrb = Road width occupied by roadside
has been measured for both Northbound and Southbound of each road buildings and RWrb = Total Road width.
during peak hour and off-peak hour. The speed of these vehicles during
different times (Peak and Off-peak hours) and intersections has been 3. Analysis and findings
converted to average vehicle speed for each intersection. Considering
Vavg as the average vehicle speed and Vmax as the maximum permis­ 3.1. Assessment of traffic congestion scenario
sible speed, the SPI value can be calculated through Eq. (3).
3.1.1. Level of services
Vavg. The LOS of each traffic node is summarized in Table 4. The designed
SPI = × 100 (3)
Vmax LOS of these roads indicates that the roads are suitable for stable traffic
flow, not free flow. Table 4 shows that the LOS for four CBD areas is F
2.2.4. Road Segment Congestion Index (RSCI)
which represents forced to breakdown flow condition, though the LOS in
The state of road segment congestion was measured by utilizing the
regards to total capacity differs from each other. The state of traffic flow
duration of regular road segment state and non-congestion state during
at Dakbangla Mor (V/C = 1.77) and Thanar Mor (V/C = 1.74) is in the
the observation period (He et al., 2016). The RSCI is used to describe the
worst condition and relatively good at Picture Palace Mor (V/C = 1.03).
degree of traffic congestion on any traffic node. The RSCI value ranges
Fig. 3 and Table 4 shows that the volume to capacity ratio at every
between 0 and 1 and the smaller the RSCI value, the more the road
intersection is higher than 1 whereas this ratio at Dakbangla in­
segment is congested (Li et al., 2016; He et al., 2016). The equation for
tersections and Thanar Mor are higher than the other two intersections.
RSCI is as following:
The Level of Service for these two intersections is at F which indicates
Rv
Ri = × Rnc (4)
100
Table 4
LOS of different intersections.
Table 2
Intersection Name Volume Capacity V/C LOS
LOS and V/C ratio describing different traffic state.
Ferighat Mor 1939 Designed 2100 0.9 D
V/C ratio LOS class Traffic state
Active 1500 1.29 F
0–0.60 A Free flow Dakbangla Mor 1240 Designed 1500 0.8 C
0.61–0.70 B Stable traffic flow, speed is unaffected Active 700 1.77 F
0.71–0.80 C Stable traffic flow, speed is affected Picture Palace Mor 774 Designed 1200 0.7 B
0.81–0.90 D Stable flow with high vehicle density Active 750 1.03 F
0.91–1.00 E Low speed Thanar Mor 678 Designed 1000 0.7 B
>1.00 F Breakdown flow Active 390 1.74 F

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Md.A. Noor et al. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 11 (2021) 100435

1.6 1.74
1.29 1.77

1.2 1.03

0.8

0.4

0
Ferighat Dakbangla Picture Palace Thanar Mor

Fig. 3. Volume to capacity ratio.

the unstable flow. There is excessive traffic flow, but the road capacity
does not permit it. As a result, vehicles face unstable flow and conges­
tion. However, the higher V/C ratio indicates that there is a possibility of
these road sections moving to the more severe congestion level in the
future. These areas should be the major concern for the improved traffic
management system.
ranking method, it is seen that Picture Palace is less congested in com­
parison to the other two areas. Dakbangla is the most congested area of
the study area with an RSCI value of 0.063. It is because the road width
at this intersection is less than other intersection, as a result whenever
motorized vehicles try to enter the Clay Road and other vehicles try to
take turns, it creates congestion.

3.1.2. Speed Performance Index

3.2. Traffic state in road user perspective
Table 5 shows that the designed vehicle speed of these is more than
50Km/hour. During the field survey, a poor traffic state has been
3.2.1. Congestion level and time at different CBD areas
observed. The outcome of SPI has been presented in Table 5. Analysis
The congestion level in the different CBD areas of KCC has been
shows that the SPI for all CBD areas is between 0 and 25 in both north
evaluated through LOS, SPI, RSCI, etc. indices. To justify the result of
and southbound during peak and off-peak hours. This indicates heavy
these indices, road users’ opinions were taken through a questionnaire
congestion at each road with lower average speed and poor road traffic
survey. The regular road users gave their own opinion about the most
state (Priambodo et al., 2019). Though off-peak hour SPI values are
congested areas of the study area and ranked the areas. Respondents
higher than peak hours, they are close to zero. The worst traffic state has
ranked different areas from 1 to 5 in terms of congestion. In this regard,
been found in the Dakbangla Mor with SPI values 7.82 and 7.94 for
five values have been assigned for five traffic states (1 for Freeflow, 2 for
northbound and 6.66 and 9.36 for southbound. While the designed
stable flow, 3 for low speed, 4 for moderate congestion and 5 for
speed at Ferighat Mor road was 65 Km/hour, but the average vehicle
breakdown flow). A higher score indicates a more congested state.
speed was observed between 6.07 and 9.74 Km/hour. The average
Although according to the respondents, almost all the CBD areas have
vehicle speed at Dakbangla Mor and Picture Palace Mor was observed
been seen similar traffic stats, maximum respondents faced the worst
much lower than the designed speed of these roads. This has been
traffic state at Dakbangla Mor. The percentage of road user opinion
greatly reduced the effectiveness of road use.
about the traffic congestion state in the five CBD areas are Dakbangla
Mor 27.69%, Ferighat Mor 25.96%, Picture Palace Mor 24.53%, Thanar
3.1.3. Road Segment Congestion Index
Mor 21.82% (Fig. 4). Excessive commercial activities, illegal on-street
RSCI indicates the degree of traffic congestion in a road section. The
parking and illegal possession by hawkers are responsible for the poor
lower value of RSCI indicates a more congested state. The analysis tries
traffic state.
to define the road segment congestion index to analyze traffic conges­
Traffic congestion in the CBD areas of KCC is a daily phenomenon.
tion for every road segment. The average congestion time in the CBD
Most of the respondents claimed that traffic congestion occurs every day
areas in Table 6 indicates the poor traffic flow in the study area. It has
but it varies from time to time. In this regard, the congestion time profile
been observed that there is an average of 10 to 15 min of traffic
(Fig. 5) has been made through respondents’ opinions. According to the
congestion in every one hour of peak-hour. Table 6 shows that the
road user, traffic congestion is less in the morning and as time pro­
congestion time is more on weekends than on weekdays because people
gresses, traffic congestion also increases. According to the respondents,
go to shopping centers on the weekend rather than on weekdays. By the
from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm is the most congested time and it is about 80%.

Table 5
SPI value at different CBD areas of KCC.
Location Designed maximum speed (Km/h) Direction Average Speed (Km/h) SPI Traffic State Level

Peak Off peak Peak Off peak

Ferighat Mor 65 North 6.47 8.85 8.09 11.06 HC

South 6.07 9.74 7.59 12.18 HC
Dakbangla Mor 50 North 3.91 3.97 7.82 7.94 HC
South 3.33 4.68 6.66 9.36 HC
Thanar Mor 48 North 5.42 9.13 7.53 12.01 HC
South 5.98 9.45 8.01 12.12 HC
Picture Palace Mor 50 North 4.88 5.45 9.76 10.9 HC
South 4.19 5.29 8.38 10.58 HC

HC = Heavy congestion.

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Md.A. Noor et al. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 11 (2021) 100435

Table 6
Road Segment Congestion Index for different intersection.
Road segment Duration of non-congestion state Observation period, (minute) Rnc Rv RSCI

Monday Thursday Friday Avg.

Ferighat Mor 46 35 55 45.33 60 0.76 9.74 0.074

Dakbangla Mor 50 32 60 47.33 60 0.79 7.95 0.063
Thanar Mor 48 42 55 48.33 60 0.81 9.17 0.079
Picture Palace Mor 50 48 55 51.00 60 0.85 9.91 0.084

Table 7
Change in congestion scenario in the study area.
Criteria Frequency

Reduced 4%
Not reduced 20%
Slightly increased 16%
Moderately increased 26%
Highly increased 34%

and lack of planning, management and fragile enforcement of traffic law

for this poor situation. While 20% of the respondents said that there has
been no change in traffic level in the study area.

Fig. 4. Traffic congestion level at different CBD areas in road user’s

3.3. Factors influencing traffic congestion
perspective.
3.3.1. Increase of vehicular population
Khulna is the 3rd largest and one of the fast-growing cities of
2% Bangladesh. The rapid urban expansion and increase of population
growth rate and economic activities triggering the vehicular activities in
6%
12% Bangladesh, so as in Khulna. Fig. 6 shows the vehicular increasing trend
in Bangladesh. Every year, thousands of new vehicles are being intro­
50% duced, and therefore the number of road vehicles number in Khulna City
is increasingly saturated. In Khulna City, the current vehicle increasing
30% rate in 1.71%. But the roads are not being repaired in line with the in­
crease in traffic volume and population, which declining the road effi­
ciency. As a result, traffic congestion and associated problem are
worsening day by day and has been leading towards an unsustainable
future. The average speed of the vehicles in most of the roads of Khulna
6:00 AM - 9:00 AM 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM ranges between 5 Km/h to 20 Km/h during the peak hours.

3:00 PM - 6:00 PM 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM 3.3.2. Illegal road occupancy

Fig. 5. Congestion profile showing the congested time of day.
Section 3.1 and 3.2 demonstrate the poor traffic congestion state in
the CBD areas of KCC. The increase of population and vehicles in the
study area has influenced this poor traffic state. This study marked the
Besides the time of 6:00 pm – 9.00 pm is the most congested time within
decrease of active road width due to illegal road occupancy as a major
the area and it is about 50% of the whole time. The reason behind the
influencer in this regard. During field observation, it is found that the
most congested time is that people come to the area most of the time for
street vendors occupy a large portion of the roads and the footpath
shopping at this time and the roadside vendors also set up shops from
which reduces the effective usage area of the road. Table 8 shows the
noon to night. Besides after the office hour, they go home during this
maximum portion of road width illegally occupied by roadside vendors
hour, which makes the area more congested during this time.
and street parking. About 49.17% road width at Ferighat Mor, 67.71% at
3.2.2. Comparison of the congestion scenarios
The population of Khulna city has been increasing, so as the urban
activities. To serve the growing population, many vehicles have been
introduced over the last few years (Road and Highway Department,
2019). The frequency and state of traffic congestion increase with the
increase of vehicles. The change in congestion scenario in the five years
prior to the study year has been evaluated by taking road users’
perception to see the influence of the increase of vehicles, population,
and other factors on the congestion state in the study area.
Table 7 shows that about 76% of respondents believe that the traffic
congestion state and the frequency of traffic congestion have been
increased in the five years prior to the study year. About 34% of re­
spondents agreed to highly increase in congestion level and frequency at
KCC. They blamed the increased population, increasing vehicle number Fig. 6. Motorized vehicle registration scenario during 2011–2019
in Bangladesh.

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Md.A. Noor et al. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 11 (2021) 100435

Table 8 has been calculated for Thanar Mor (18%) and Dakbangla Mor (22%). In
Influences of illegal road occupancy on road capacity. the other two areas ARPI values were also found lower (Table 8).
Location Total Road width occupied Active ARPI During the field survey, the number of roadside vendors observed
Road road less in the morning. As the day progresses, the number of vendors in CBD
width width areas continues to rise and after 4.00 PM people find it difficult to walk
(ft) (ft)
freely. Moreover, the offices are closed after 5.00 in the afternoon.
Vendor Street Total
(ft) parking That’s why road occupancy increases at this time so as traffic conges­
(ft) tion. The driver parks their vehicles on the street whenever and wher­
Ferighat 60 19 10.5 49.17% 30.5 50.80%
ever they want. On average 40 to the highest 120 vehicles are parked in
Mor different CBD areas. The maximum number of vehicles parked in Dak­
Dakbangla 35 12 11.7 67.71% 11.3 22.00% bangla and Ferighat Mor, that’s why the road width reduces mostly in
Mor these two places. At Picture Palace, the number of vehicles parked
Thanar Mor 22 11 3.8 67.27% 7.2 18.00%
(40–50) per hour is less than any other intersection, because there is no
Picture 27 5 5.0 37.04% 17 68.00%
Palace provision of movement of Mahindra here. The road is also less wide than
Mor the other road. So, the traffic polices have much concern about not
allowing parking on this road. But the reckless behavior of the driver of
the different vehicles is beyond the control and on-street parking is
Dakbangla Mor, 67.27% at Thanar Mor, and 37.04% at Picture Palace occurring here randomly.
Mor, i.e., the maximum portion of road occupied illegally by roadside
vendors (Fig. 7) and street parking (Fig. 8). As these are the major 3.3.3. Violation of building setback rules and insufficient parking capacity
commercial areas of KCC and many people visit these areas, public ve­ CBD areas are the busiest areas of the city with dense populations,
hicles wait long for a long time to pick up passengers. Again, being the commercial and administrative buildings, and urban activities. The
major commercial area, the number of roadside vendors here is much important offices and shopping centers of the city are located in the CBD
more than in other places in KCC. This reduces the effectiveness of the areas, so vehicular activities are relatively high here. For pedestrian-free
road. Table 8 shows that the ARPI values of the CBD areas muchly movement and circulation, sidewalks/ footpath with sufficient width is
reduced due to illegal occupancy. The worst active road performance

Fig. 7. Spatial mapping of illegal road occupancy by roadside vendors.

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Md.A. Noor et al. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 11 (2021) 100435

Fig. 8. Spatial mapping of illegal road occupancy for on-street parking.

essential. According to “Building Construction Rule 1996, there should
be a minimum of 10 ft space in front of roadside commercial buildings.
But during the field survey, no buildings have found with 10ft space.
About 70% of the buildings are just along the road, 18% have space less
than 5 foot and there is more than 7-foot free space in front of 2% of
buildings (Table 9). Moreover, only a few buildings have parking lots.
There are only ten buildings in the study area which have their parking
lots. Parking in these lots, there is parking provision for cars, motorcy­
cles, and cycle. It is seen that only Khulna Shopping Complex has
parking provisions for all these three vehicles (12 cars, 200 motorcycles,
and 150 cycles are allowed to park. It is found that only two buildings
follow the standard dimensions. All other buildings exceed the standard
capacity level of parking provision. The most violating building is
Khulna Shopping Complex, which exceeds the capacity level (almost
double of the standard capacity). Due to the lack of parking facilities,
most of the portion of the road width in front of the buildings and
shopping centers is used for parking. This reduces the active road width
and interrupts smooth traffic flow.

Table 9
Parking capacity of different buildings in comparison of standard condition (KDA, 2019).
Name of the building Current condition Standard condition Capacity level

Plot size Parking capacity Plot size Parking capacity

m2 m2

Prime Bank Ltd. 209.1 5 (car) 150–200 1 (car) Exceeded

New Safe Hotel 146.3 6 (car) 200 1 (car) Exceeded
Khulna Shopping Complex 483.3 12 (car), 200 (motorcycle), 150 (cycle) 40–50 1 (car) Exceeded
AC Market 204.5 2 (car), 8 (cycle) 40–50 1 (car) Normal
Janata Bank 371.8 10 (car) 150–200 1 (car) Exceeded
IFIC Bank 251 6 (car) 150–200 1 (car) Exceeded
Hotel Ajmol International 232 1 (car), 3 (motorcycle) 200 1 (car) Normal
Soanali Bank 453.1 25 (car) 150–200 1 (car) Exceeded
Rupali Bank 357.9 10 (car) 150–200 1 (car) Exceeded
Uttara Bank 302.1 5 (car) 150–200 1 (car) Exceeded

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Md.A. Noor et al. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 11 (2021) 100435

3.3.4. Poor public transport mode

The presence of many types of vehicles with significantly variable
performance characteristics in the traffic stream adds to the complexity
of heterogeneous traffic flow. One of the major causes of traffic
congestion in the study area is the public transport mode of Khulna City.
Table 10 shows that the motorized three-wheeled vehicles such as
Mahindra and Easy-bike share 52% of the traffic volume of the traffic
stream, where the buses are 4% of the total volume. Mahindra and Easy-
bikes are the main public transport mode in Khulna City. But the ca­
pacity of Mahindra and Easy-bikes is much lower than that of buses,
although the difference in width between buses and Mahindra or Easy-
bikes is lower. This is why more trips are generated which reduces road
efficiency and causes traffic congestion.

3.3.5. Pedestrians’ behavior

Fig. 9. Correlation between pedestrian density and traffic flow.
To assess the influences of pedestrian flow characteristics on traffic
flow, a detailed study on pedestrian flow, density, vehicle speed, and
their relationships are important. This study found that pedestrian insufficient traffic policies and poor traffic signaling is responsible for
density in the study area roads has severe impacts on traffic movement. the violation of traffic rules and traffic congestion in the study area.
Fig. 9 shows that the maximum vehicle speed (1.5 m/s) with the mini­
mum pedestrian density (2 person/m2) and steady-state more than 6 4. Discussion
person/m2 during the congested period in the CBD areas of Khulna City.
The R2 value 0.8918 indicates the severe impacts of higher pedestrian Road traffic congestion continues to be a serious issue in most cities
density on vehicle speed. Insufficient sidewalks and illegal occupancy of around the world, particularly in the CBD areas of developing countries,
these sidewalks by hawker forces pedestrians to use the main road for causing significant delays, increased fuel waste, and financial losses.
walking, which interrupts in traffic flow and causes traffic congestion. Because of the concentration of economic potential and population in
During peak hours, the pedestrian density increases and increases the CBD areas, very significant transportation needs arise in a spatially
congestion time. constrained region, and when these requirements are filled at the same
There is a variation have been observed in the effects and tendency of time, traffic congestion arises. As traffic congestion has become a com­
pedestrian road crossing behavior in each CBD areas. Pedestrians are mon and serious problem and has been increasing in scope, size, and
observed crossing the road relatively much with Picture Palace Mor, complexity, the assessment of the causes of traffic congestion in order to
which reduces the free flow speed of the vehicles in this intersection. take mitigation strategies becomes urgent. This study illustrated the
This indicates that, along with other factors, there is a significant effect traffic states in the major traffic nodes of Khulna City and documented
of pedestrian movement on the traffic flow. the factors influencing the traffic flow.
The rapid increases in vehicle number in addition to poor urban
3.3.6. Fragile enforcement of the law planning, transport planning, poor road effectiveness, inadequate road
Most people disobey traffic rules which is one of the major reasons space and parking space, pedestrian attitudes, etc. cause serious traffic
for traffic congestion in the cities of Bangladesh (Mahmud et al., 2012). congestion (Agyapong and Ojo, 2018; Yeasmin, 2019). In the CBD areas
Because of this lack of knowledge and unwillingness, people violate of Khulna City, the main cause of traffic congestions is the poor road
traffic regulations and cause traffic congestion. However, in maximum network, inadequate road space and parking space, illegal possession of
cases, people break the rules because the law is not strictly applied. roads, violation of building construction rules, pedestrian obstructions,
Sometimes unscrupulous political leaders illegally occupy the road and and bad attitudes, and fragile enforcement of laws.
help hawker’s set up shops in these areas and collects money from them. The LOS F indicates the breakdown traffic flow in all the roads of the
For this, police cannot evict them (Sharmeen and Houston, 2019). In the selected CBD areas which is consistent with the outcome of the literature
CBD areas of KCC, illegal road occupancy and on-street parking are Das et al. (2019), Fattah and Riad Morshed (2021). The designed LOS of
mainly responsible for the poor traffic state. The onstret parking is not the roads of the study area (B, C, D) indicates the stable traffic flow with
allowed in the study area. The drivers illegally park on the road and affected and high vehicular density i.e., poor effectiveness of the roads.
reduces the effective road width and take advantages of the poor The SPI and RSCI indicate the heavy congestion during both peak and
enforcement of the laws. Although the police sometimes evicted the off-peak hours in the study area. Though the roads of Khulna City were
hawkers through eviction raids, they re-occupied the street and re- constructed at a designed maximum speed of 50 Km/h (KDA, 1998), in
establishes shops. Moreover, insufficient traffic police along with reality, the average speed is much lower than this. The road networks of
Khulna City have constructed long ago and the roads were not expanded
to meet the increased volume of vehicular activities (Tasnim and Khan,
Table 10 2018). Moreover, poor transport planning for the major traffic nodes
Vehicle composition of the study area. also responsible for this miserable traffic condition. Tasnim and Khan
Transport mode Frequency Passenger capacity Dimension (m) (2018) reported that the ineffectiveness of roads and informal parking
Length Width activities are the two major causes of traffic congestion in Khulna City.
In this regard, the rapid urban dynamics in Khulna City exert a high
Mahindra 23% 5 2.6 1.7
Easy-bike 29% 4 2.7 1.4
demand for road infrastructure and transport services.
Bus 4% 35 10.3 2.5 It was found that the traffic congestion becomes severe at peak hours
Truck 2% 2 7.5 2.5 on the weekdays. The traffic congestion levels also vary at different
Car 2% 4 4.0 1.6 times of the day and the congestion has been found highest between 6.00
Motorcycle 24% 2 1.9 0.5
PM and 9.00 PM. Illegal occupancy of road areas by roadside vendors
Micro 3% 6 5.0 1.9
Van 3% 3 2.2 1.4 and on-street parking, no front in front of commercial buildings reduces
Rickshaw 6% 2 2.2 1.4 the active road width which is responsible for the poor traffic state in the
Cycle 5% 1 1.9 0.5 study area. ARPI values 50.80% for Ferighat Mor, 22.00% for Dakbangla

9
Md.A. Noor et al.
Mor, 18.00% for Thanar Mor and 68.00% for Picture Palace Mor. No
identical differences are found between the outcome of the SPI and RSCI
indices and the respondents’ opinions regarding the congestion level
and time in the different CBD areas. About 76% of people believed that
traffic congestion has been getting worse day by day. A case study by
Rahman et al. (2016) reported the poor traffic condition at the different
roads of Khulna City, so as in 2010 by Rahman and Kabir (2010); the
similar outcome has been seen in some recent studies including Azmain
and Rahman (2018); Tasnim and Khan (2018); Das et al. (2019) and
Haque et al. (2020).
After analyzing the traffic congestion level in the CBD areas of
Khulna City, the present study has identified the factors which are
mostly responsible for the traffic congestion. The main cause of traffic
congestions is the poor road network, poor public transport mode,
inadequate road space and parking space, illegal possession of roads,
violation of building construction rules, higher vehicular increasing
rate, pedestrian obstructions, and bad attitudes, and fragile enforcement
of laws. The study found that illegal parking is one of the major hin­
drances in the traffic management system. Most of the buildings of the
study area have been found constructed by violating the building con­
struction rules and setback rules and have insufficient parking capacity.
As a result, traffic congestion in CBD areas in Khulna City has become a
common phenomenon. Furthermore, insufficient traffic police, inade­
quate traffic policies, and poor signaling arrangement are responsible
for the breaches of traffic rules and traffic congestion.
The current study assessed the microscale urban traffic congestion in
the CBD areas of a fast-growing developing city. Based on the discussion
so far, it is possible to conclude that the current condition of the traffic
state is worsening day by day due to the lack of proper planning,
monitoring, and enforcement of laws. The outcome of this study will
assist transport planners, urban policymakers, and responsible author­
ities to integrate building land use planning in transport planning for a
sustainable transportation system.
6. Conclusion
This study intends to illustrate the traffic congestion scenario in the
CBD areas of Khulna City in the microscale by using several congestion
indices. In this study, we provide the status of traffic congestion in all the
CBD areas for each index, which demonstrates the poor traffic states
with breakdown flow. The findings of the study revealed that the poor
capacity of the roads, vehicle increasing rate, onstreet parking, illegal
road occupancy by roadside vendors, violation of building construction
rules, pedestrian movement characteristics, fragile enforcement of laws
and poor public transport mode has turned traffic congestion a common
phenomenon in the study areas. Furthermore, insufficient traffic police,
inadequate traffic policies, and poor signaling arrangement are
responsible for the breaches of traffic rules and traffic congestion. The
responsible authorities must evacuate street hawkers, control pedestrian
free flow and vehicle increasing rate, improve and change public
transport mode, fix traffic signals along with provisioning pedestrian
walkway and parking lots, controlling vehicular flow through traffic
management and strong enforcement of traffic laws to overcome the
problem.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Md. Asaduzzaman Noor: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data
curation. Sultana Ashrafi: Software, Validation, Visualization. Md.
Abdul Fattah: Writing - original draft, Writing- review & editing,
Conceptualization. Syed Riad Morshed: Investigation, Visualization.
Saima Rahman: Supervision.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
10
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 11 (2021) 100435
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
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