TRAFFIC GENERATED BY A LARGE-SIZED SUBURBAN COMMERCIAL CENTRE

NEW COMMERCIAL COMPLEXES WITH LARGE PARKING AREAS GENERATE VERY HIGH DENSITY TRAFFIC. THEIR SITING AND LINKING WITH EXISTING OR PLANNED ROAD NETWORKS GIVE RISE TO VERY DIFFICULT PROBLEMS. AN INFORMATION FILE CONTAINING RESULTS OF MORE THAN 1000 HOURS OF TRAFFIC COUNTS AND 10000 INTERVIEWS WITH CUSTOMERS IS USED AS A BASE TO ANALYSE GENERATED TRAFFIC CHARACTERISTICS, THE DISTRIBUTION OF CUSTOMERS IN THE MARKET AREA, AND OPERATION OF PARKING ZONES. OBSERVATIONS ARE MADE ON: (1) THE INTENSITY OF TRAFFIC GENERATED BY HYPERMARKETS; (2) OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HYPERMARKETS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES; (3) QUANTITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF TRAFFIC GENERATED BY THIS TYPE OF ZONE; (4) MAIN LAY-OUT DESIGNS OF TERMINAL AND TRAFFIC AREAS; (5) INFLUENCE OF THIS TYPE OF SHOPPING AREA ON THE REGIONAL ROAD NETWORK.