WISE Software Users Guide (2013)

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43 GETTING A DATA SET INTO WISE: CONVERTING A DATA SET INTO NEXTA FORMAT Network Conversion DynusT adopts the approach of a fl exible and robust interface, using an Excel tem- plate fi le—with existing GIS-based demand forecasting and network planning software packages. This arrangement provides the appropriate stages of importing an exist ing network (i.e., links, nodes, and zones) to a DynusT data set. An Excel template is in- cluded in the software package, in the directory in which the software is installed (fi le name: GIS_ Network.xls). The typical path to this folder is C:\Program Files \DynusT 3.1 (32 bit). Because DynusT is a simulation-based model, typically the centroids and centroid connectors from a static network are not used but are replaced by a more detailed (block face level) zonal system with connectors. For the purposes of DynusT in WISE, removal of that information is optional. However, it can be done either in the exist- ing planning software from which the importing network originates, or by carefully modifying these items in the Excel conversion template. An overall explanation of the centroid methodology can be found in the DynusT Online User’s Manual (1). The general procedure for network conversion is as follows. 1. Export network-related tabular information regarding nodes, links, and zones from the original network-modeling software. Most software packages can export this information either as an Excel fi le or as a comma-delimited fi le (*.csv). 2. Copy the node, link, and zone information to the appropriate worksheet in the Excel template fi le. 4 PLANNING MODULE DETAIL ELEMENTS

44 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE 3. Import the Excel template file to NEXTA to convert the network to DynusT format. Note: The pilot test report documents a user’s experience with downloading, im- porting, and troubleshooting complex freeway networks into compatible NEXTA and DynusT formats. Users may find useful suggestions and “work-arounds” in that document. The following describes the necessary information to copy into the Excel tem- plate file. NODE Worksheet The NODE worksheet contains columns for ID, Longitude, Latitude, TAZ, and CTRL_TYPE (Figure 4.1). Figure 4.1. NODE worksheet. The node IDs are listed in the ID column, and they should be consistent with their association with the network links. That is, the node IDs used to describe links in the “Link” section should be consistent here. (Basically the input file has two sections, a node section and a link section. A link is defined as traveling from Node A to Node B. The node IDs in the node section must match up with the nodes used to define the links.) The Longitude and Latitude columns contain the x and y coordinates of each node. Any coordinate plane format is accepted because NEXTA will convert it to its own coordinate system. The TAZ column indicates each node’s association with a TAZ, that is, the node is within the geographical boundary of the TAZ. If for any reason a node does not have a TAZ, you may enter a “0.” The CTRL_TYPE column refers to the type of traffic control designated to that node. Table 4.1 lists traffic con- trol types and describes each control type’s identification record. It is suggested that the user set up default-actuated signal control. More information can be found in the DynusT Wiki Online User’s Manual (2).

45 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE TABLE 4.1. TRAFFIC CONTROL TYPES FOR NODES Type Description 1 No control 2 Yield sign 3 Four-way stop sign 4 Pretimed signal control 5 Actuated signal control 6 Two-way stop sign LINK Worksheet This worksheet contains the following columns (Figure 4.2). Note that users may fill in the columns denoted by an asterisk (*) at their discretion; WISE will apply default settings to any fields in those columns that are not filled. • ID; • GRADE*; • Length; • NAME*; • Dir; • LEFTTURNBAY*; • TYPE; • LIMIT*; • LANES; • ADJSPEED*; • TAZ; • SATURATION_FLOW_RATE*; • From_ID; • MAX_SERVICE_RATE*; and • To_ID; • RIGHTTURNBAY*. Figure 4.2. LINK worksheet.

46 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE Although not always used in DynusT, the ID column is a reference that is neces- sary for the user. The Length column contains the length of each link in feet. The Dir column should contain a 0, 1, or –1 value. All links in DynusT are directional, and DynusT will convert links that are bidirectional into two separate links in opposing directions. (WISE will accept only two-way links, so if a WISE network is sent to DynusT, DynusT will convert it to one-way pairs. But it will not go the other way. That is, if a network exists in DynusT as one-way pairs, it must be manually converted to two-way links for use in WISE.) The Type column refers to the link’s functional class or functional type. Table 4.2 describes each link type’s identification record. The user must aggregate link classes from the planning network to these classes used in DynusT. Additional classes cannot be made or recognized in DynusT. TABLE 4.2. LINK FUNCTIONAL CLASSES Type Description 1 Freeway 2 Freeway segment with detector (for ramp metering) 3 On-ramp 4 Off-ramp 5 Arterial 6 HOT 7 Highway 8 HOV 9 Freeway HOT 10 Freeway HOV The Lanes column represents the number of lanes in each directional link. As stated earlier, all links in DynusT are directional links. Because many planning tools represent links by one link that is marked as bidirectional, the user must be diligent when creating a bidirectional link from one link listed. NEXTA may generate a warn- ing message during the eventual import of the Excel template file (see the Importing Completed Data Sets section). The TAZ column indicates each link’s association with a TAZ, that is, the link is within the geographical boundary of the TAZ. If for any reason a link does not have a TAZ, you may enter a “0.” The From_ID and To_ID col- umns are the start node and end node of a link. As mentioned in the NODE Worksheet section earlier in this chapter, these node IDs should be listed in the NODE worksheet. You may fill in the remaining columns, denoted by an asterisk (*) in the list, at your discretion; WISE will apply default settings to any fields in those columns that are not filled. The Grade column contains the percentage highway grade of the link. The Name column designates the name of the link. The LeftTurnBay column contains the number of left turn bays downstream of the link. The Limit column is the speed limit of the link mph. The AdjSpeed column is a speed adjustment factor applied to

47 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE the speed limit. The Saturation_Flow_Rate column contains each link’s saturation flow rate; this value is used for arterial links because this rate is measured at intersections. DynusT uses this value for all arterial links, and the remaining link types will not use this value. The Max_Service_Rate column contains each link’s maximum service flow rate. The RightTurnBay column contains the number of right turn bays. ZONE Worksheet This worksheet contains columns for ZONENO and TAZ (Figure 4.3) Figure 4.3. ZONE worksheet. Entries to the ZONENO column must be in increasing, consecutive order starting from “1.” The TAZ column should be filled with the actual TAZ IDs from the user’s planning travel demand or similar traffic model. In a typical planning model, the TAZ number designation could be a sequence with skipped numbers not necessarily start- ing from a TAZ ID of 1; however, DynusT requires the zone numbers to start from 1 and be consecutive. This worksheet maintains the mapping between the DynusT zone number and the actual TAZ numbers from the user’s planning model. SIGNAL Worksheet This worksheet contains columns for MaxGreen, MinGreen, and Amber (Figure 4.4). Figure 4.4. SIGNAL worksheet.

48 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE As noted in the NODE Worksheet section earlier in this chapter, default traffic control can be placed on nodes. Because of the great possibility that the network is in a large, regional area, the network might be too large and the effort too time consum- ing for manual placement of signals at every intersection. It may be more realistic to indicate “default” traffic signals applied to the whole network from the start. This worksheet allows the user to quickly assign a default-actuated signal control. After the conversion process, the user may manually change signal timings if desired. The default signal type can only be actuated (i.e., not “pre-timed” or “none”). Importing Completed Data Sets Once the Excel template file is prepared, the user can import the file by navigating to File → Import Files → Import GIS Data Set → Import Network Table (Figure 4.5). NEXTA must have a new, blank project open. To open such a project, click File → New. Figure 4.5. Importing the Excel template file. As indicated earlier regarding the number of lanes and bidirectional links, during the import and conversion of the Excel template file, NEXTA will ask the following question as a warning: “Is the number of lanes on a two-way link for one direction only?” (Figure 4.6). Figure 4.6. NEXTA link direction warning.

49 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE This question refers to links in the spreadsheet that are labeled with Dir = 0 and asks whether the number of lanes for such a link is for one direction or the link is split evenly to be bidirectional. In other words, answering Yes imports the links as a 1, which is one-directional, and answering No imports the links as a 0, which is bidirectional. Once the import is complete, the user can see the network produced on NEXTA. To complete the conversion process, simply save the network by going to File → Save, create a new folder to contain all input files, and name the project file. For more information regarding the conversion process and other information regarding DynusT and NEXTA, see the DynusT Wiki Online User’s Manual (3). CREATING A NETWORK FROM SCRATCH To create a network from scratch, click Create Network under the Planning → Import Analysis Area tab (Figure 4.7). This will open the NEXTA interface. Figure 4.7. Create Network button. Once NEXTA is open, a new, blank NEXTA project should already be opened. If it is not, then click File → New in NEXTA. This will create a blank project. You can create new nodes, links, and zones using the network creation tools, as demonstrated in Figures 4.8 and 4.9. For more information, see the DynusT Wiki Online User’s Manual (4).

50 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE Figure 4.8. Create new nodes, links, and zones in NEXTA. Source: DynusT Online User’s Manual (4). Figure 4.9. Create new nodes, links, and zones in NEXTA (close-up of screen). Source: DynusT Online User’s Manual (4).

51 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE It is best to save the NEXTA project before engaging in network creation and edit- ing. You must save the network in the location of the WISE WorkSpace, specifically in “*WISE WorkSpace folder*\Planning,” where “*WISE WorkSpace folder*” is the location and folder name of the WISE WorkSpace. Saving the network in this location is important. If the network is not in the correct folder, then WISE will experience and show an error (Figure 4.10). Figure 4.10. WISE reports error in creating network from scratch. Once you have created the desired network, close the NEXTA window, and WISE will then recognize the network. To ensure that the network is correctly saved and recognized by WISE, click Edit Current Network (Figure 4.11). Figure 4.11. Edit Current Network button. Unsuccessful

52 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE IMPORTING TRAFFIC INFORMATION The Planning Module can use existing traffic information available from an external source or separate traffic study. For example, users have the option to perform traffic assignment analysis through an external traffic software package (e.g., TransCAD or CUBE) and then import the results as existing traffic information into WISE. The in- formation that WISE uses is the link travel time and link flows from assignment. WISE supports imported traffic information for up to two different time periods, to recognize demand variance during the time of day. By default, WISE recognizes one peak demand as “day demand” and the other nonpeak demand as “night demand” (Figure 4.12). The user has the option to import two demand periods of interest in analyzing delay for either day or night or both, and the user may also define how many hours the two respective demand periods represent. WISE analyzes and esti- mates hourly traffic delay caused by the representative demand and then multiplies by the number of hours to obtain the daily traffic delay (i.e., user cost) that will be utilized in the sequencing algorithm. For example, if the user anticipates that major daytime traffic delay will occur during the morning peak of 6:00–9:00 a.m., then he or she can import a demand averaged from the period 6:00–9:00 a.m. as a day demand and define the number of hours associated with this demand as 3 h. WISE analyzes and estimates hourly delay and then multiplies by 3 to obtain daytime delay resulting from the representative demand. To import existing traffic information, follow the steps described in the next sections. Figure 4.12. Define number of hours of representative demand.

53 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE Preparing Input File A comma-delimited file (*.csv) titled Static_Import.csv must be prepared for the WISE software to import. The file contains columns for the following information. Figure 4.13 shows the format that is required to populate this information. • FROM_ID; • TO_ID; • DAY_TIME; • NIGHT_TIME; • DAY_FLOW; and • NIGHT_FLOW. Figure 4.13. STATIC_IMPORT.csv file opened in Excel. The FROM_ID and TO_ID are the start and end node IDs, respectively, of all exist- ing links in the network. Every link must be represented in this file. The DAY_TIME and NIGHT_TIME columns refer to the link travel time in minutes. The DAY_FLOW and NIGHT_FLOW columns refer to the assigned flow rate in vehicles per hour (vph). If the WISE tool is being used for only daytime or only nighttime, enter “0” in the appropriate cells for whichever time period is not being used. Importing Origin–Destination Trip Demand Importing origin–destination (OD) trip demand involves importing OD trip tables that represent the daytime period and nighttime period being modeled in WISE. The demand information should correspond to the zonal count of the imported network. The demand serves as the input for the static assignment if the user is running the static assignment function in WISE (i.e., Import Existing Static Assignment is not being used). Preparing OD Trip Demand File The general procedure to prepare the OD trip tables in the format that WISE requires for conversion follows.

54 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE 1. Export from the user’s planning software the demand (OD) data to a comma- delimited (*.csv) text file (Figure 4.14). 2. Save the file as a *.txt file. For daytime demand, save the file as day.txt. For night- time demand, save the file as night.txt. Figure 4.14. Three-column format of OD trip table. Importing Demand Data Once the demand text files have been prepared, click Import DAY Demand (or Import Night Demand), as shown in Figure 4.15, and a file browser will open. Choose the location of the day.txt file (Figure 4.16). The function will then convert the demand information to the format required by the WISE software. Figure 4.15. Import demand data.

55 WISE SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE Figure 4.16. Select the demand text file. REFERENCES 1. DynusT Wiki Online User’s Manual. Getting Started: Generation Links and Destination Nodes. http://dynust.net/wikibin/doku.php?id=start:getting_ started#generation_links_and_destination_nodes. 2. DynusT Wiki Online User’s Manual. Getting Started: Generation Links and Destination Nodes—Default Control Signals. http://dynust.net/wikibin/doku. php?id=start:getting_started#default_control_signals. 3. DynusT Wiki Online User’s Manual. Getting Started: Importing Datasets. http:// dynust.net/wikibin/doku.php?id=start:getting_started#importing_datasets. 4. DynusT Wiki Online User’s Manual. Getting Started: Network Basics. http:// dynust.net/wikibin/doku.php?id=start:getting_started#network_basics.