Development of an Urban Transport Network and Emission Model for the Port City of Halifax, Canada

This study develops a framework for regional transport network and emission modelling for the port city of Halifax, Canada. The proposed modelling framework generates, distributes and assigns commercial vehicles along with passenger car in the network, and estimates the resulting vehicular emissions. First, a four-stage travel demand forecasting model is developed for passenger car and long-haul truck movements in the network. The delivery truck tours are generated following a Monte-Carlo simulation technique and utilizing an Info Canada Business Establishment dataset that contains 12,877 firm records within the Halifax Regional Municipality. In the next step, a multiclass traffic assignment is performed to inform emission model that determines emission of major air pollutants from all vehicle classes. This study estimates the emission of GHG, CO, NOx, PM10, PM2.5, SO2, THC and VOC from passenger car, long-haul truck, and delivery truck. The study examines the spatial and temporal variation of vehicular emission at Traffic Analysis Zone level. The results suggest that average emissions of GHG, CO, NOx, PM10, PM2.5, SO2, THC and VOC in urban areas are 1562.26 gm/km2, 94.71 gm/km2, 6.8 gm/km2, 0.309 gm/km2, 0.274 gm/km2, 0.029 gm/km2, 16.14 gm/km2, and 15.99 gm/km2 respectively. The mode specific hourly profile for total emission of the pollutants is also examined in this study. The findings of this study will be beneficial for transportation, environmental and health professionals to develop strategies for traffic management and emission reduction.