Modeling Concepts for Mixed Traffic: Steps Toward a Microscopic Simulation Tool for Shared Space Zones

This paper presents a first step towards a simulation tool for shared space, including all three prevailing individual modes of transport - cars, bicycles and pedestrians. In contrast to conventional roads, behavior cannot be modeled by following a predefined path and strictly obeying traffic rules because the architectural design allows for many more degrees of freedom. Therefore, our research has focused on two main aspects: First, finding a path for each individual and second, handling potential conflicts with other individuals. The need for a simulation tool arises, as many urban planners see shared space as a modern design concept for busy urban roads. As a result, a growing number of cities are interested in experimenting with shared space zones but are uncertain about safety issues and the effectiveness of the design. While mature simulation tools exist for conventional road designs, no such tool is available for shared space designs, as there are added degrees of freedom in movement as well as more complex social interactions. To tackle these problems this paper takes the approach to create an infrastructure model which helps all agents to find a path to their destinations. Furthermore, a separate conflict handling system detects when two agents would collide when following their paths. These conflicts are resolved using game theory by maximizing a utility function for different strategies. First results are presented to give a preliminary assessment of the functionality of the proposed shared space simulation model and its calibration using real trajectories from a existing shared space.