An-Najah Staff

Summary: Because of recent Israeli military invasions to the City of Nablus, many parts of the city's infrastructure were destroyed including roadways and traffic control devices. There are efforts to rebuild the damaged parts of the city network and its elements such as pavements, sidewalks, islands, traffic signs, and signals.   In the midst of these reconstruction activities, the Municipality of Nablus has opened new roads and set up a new traffic circulation plan for the downtown area. In addition, a major Commercial Development Center is currently under construction in city center and the first phase is scheduled to be open in the near future. The city did not fully evaluate the traffic operations impact of these new changes.  A simulation-based evaluation of the existing traffic conditions for the study area of the city (before changes) was evaluated using CORSIM traffic micro-simulation model. The model was calibrated versus field conditions. Major problem locations within the study network were identified.   In the proposed new traffic circulation plans, some of the problem spots and key locations were changed by redesigning intersections, creating new intersections, and changing traffic directions.  The impact of the new development project and traffic plan on quality of life in terms of travel time, delay, and environmental conditions was evaluated and compared with existing traffic conditions. Results showed that the new traffic plan will mitigate the adverse impacts of the additional traffic on most locations of the network. Palestine Street would be experiencing a considerable increase in delay because it will act as a primary exit from the downtown area. A traffic management plan for this street is recommended to mitigate adverse impacts of the new development.