ABSTRACT

The article provides a discussion on the chosen approaches to the calculation of the traffic capacity of road network cross-sections and movements at intersections in line with the idea of sustainable development of transport. The methods of calculating traffic capacity used until now have emphasised exclusively the physical aspect of the respective measure. The said measure is related to the number of vehicles covering a specific road cross-section over a unit of time. Under such an approach, the characteristics being significant for individual means of transport are mainly their physical properties, rather than their potential in terms of allowing transport to develop in a sustainable manner. The authors argue that a certain specific parity should be taken into account in calculations of road network cross-section capacity, ensuring that such cross-sections are used efficiently from the point of view of transport sustainability. The said parity regulates the manner in which individual means of transport access the network. The article presents a methodology for calculation of the parity based on the features of a tool known as Green Travelling Planner (trip planner). The discussion is supplemented with findings of original research into multimodal cross-sections in the Upper Silesian urban area in Poland. There is a perfect correspondence between the methodology discussed in this article and the extensive framework of actions undertaken by the EU with regard to transport (European Commission. 2011, Janic M. 2016).