Zoning and Network Development

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March 2012 Abu Dhabi Department of Transport Report

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Abu Dhabi New Model Consultancy Services

Working Paper No. 6A: Zoning and NetworkDevelopment Report

Zoning and Network Development Report

Abu Dhabi Strategic TransportationEvaluation and Assessment Model

Working Paper

Zoning and Network Development ReportMay 2012


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Working Paper: Zoning and Network Development Report

Prepared for

Abu Dhabi Department of Transport

Prepared by

AECOM Middle East Limited

PO Box 43266, Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

www.aecom.com

May 2012

AECOM

The information contained in this document produced by AECOM Middle East Limited is solely for

the use of the Client identified on the cover sheet for the purpose for which it has been prepared

and AECOM Middle East Limited undertakes no duty to or accepts any responsibility to any third

party who may rely upon this document.

All rights reserved. No section or element of this document may be removed from this document,

reproduced, electronically stored or transmitted in any form without the written permission of

AECOM Middle East Limited.


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Quality Information

Document Working Paper: Zoning and Network Development Report

Ref ADR-ATM-PMJ-REP-00045-3 Date May 2012

Prepared by Brian Vaughan Reviewed by Hamzeh Al Jaghbir

Revision History

Revision Revision Date Details

Authorised

Name/Position Signature

0 15/10/2009 Draft

Andrew Schmidt

Manager, Transportation

Planning Original Signed

1 01/08/2010 For DoT Review

Andrew Schmidt



2 13/06/2011 For DoT Review

Andrew Schmidt



3 11/09/2011 Including DoT Comments

Andrew Schmidt



4 04/01/2012 Final Including DoT Comments

Andrew Schmidt



5 05/02/2012 Final Including DoT Comments

Andrew Schmidt



6 17/03/2012 Final

Andrew Schmidt



7 08/05/2012 Final

Paul Beattie

Project Manager


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Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. i

1.0 Purpose of the Working Paper ................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1

1.2 Purpose of the Working Paper ................................................................................................... 1

1.3 Transport Models: Zones and Networks..................................................................................... 1

1.4 Layout of the Working Paper ...................................................................................................... 2

2.0 Zoning ....................................................................................................................................... 3

2.1 General Principles ..................................................................................................................... 3

2.2 Study Area ................................................................................................................................. 3

2.3 Size ...........................................................................................................................................8

2.4 Land Use-Current and Future .................................................................................................... 9

2.5 Zone Labelling Convention ........................................................................................................ 9

3.0 STEAM Zoning ........................................................................................................................ 13

3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 13

3.2 Abu Dhabi Urban Region Zoning ............................................................................................. 133.2.1 Review of STMP Zoning.............................................................................................. 13

3.2.2 Population and Employment Density ........................................................................... 15

3.2.3 Land Use and Homogeneity ........................................................................................ 16

3.2.4 Census Boundaries ..................................................................................................... 18

3.2.5 Summary .................................................................................................................... 20

3.2.6 Refinement of Zones in Abu Dhabi Urban Region ....................................................... 20

3.2.7 Special Trip Generators .............................................................................................. 24

3.3 Abu Dhabi Rural Region Zoning .............................................................................................. 24

3.3.1 Census Boundaries ..................................................................................................... 24

3.3.2 Population Density ...................................................................................................... 27

3.4 Al Ain Urban Region Zoning ..................................................................................................... 28

3.4.1 Community Boundaries ............................................................................................... 29

3.4.2 Existing Network Layout .............................................................................................. 30

3.4.3 Existing and Proposed Population Density and Land Use ........................................... 30

3.4.4 Homogeneity ............................................................................................................... 33

3.4.5 Special Trip Generators Al Ain ................................................................................. 33

3.5 Al Ain Rural Region Zoning ...................................................................................................... 34


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3.5.1 Community Boundaries ............................................................................................... 34


3.6 Al Gharbia Region Zoning ........................................................................................................ 38


3.7 External Zones......................................................................................................................... 41

3.8 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 42

3.9 Summary of Number of Zones ................................................................................................. 42

4.0 Highway Network ..................................................................................................................... 43

4.1 General Principles ................................................................................................................... 43

4.2 Node Labelling Convention ...................................................................................................... 43

4.3 STEAM Node and Link Parameters ......................................................................................... 45

4.3.1 Node Attributes ........................................................................................................... 45

4.3.2 Link Attributes ............................................................................................................. 48

4.4 Link Volume Delay Functions ................................................................................................... 51

4.5 Definition of Highway Modes .................................................................................................... 54

4.6 Link Coding .............................................................................................................................. 55

4.6.1 Urban Links ................................................................................................................. 55

4.6.2 Rural Links .................................................................................................................. 56

4.6.3 Truck Roads and Restrictions ..................................................................................... 57

4.6.4 Multi-Lane Highways ................................................................................................... 57

4.6.5 Master Network ........................................................................................................... 58

4.7 Junction Coding ....................................................................................................................... 59

4.7.1 Extent and General Principles ..................................................................................... 59

4.7.2 Traffic Signals ............................................................................................................. 62

4.7.3 Roundabouts ............................................................................................................... 71

4.7.4 Priority Junctions ......................................................................................................... 77

4.7.5 Bus Lanes in Mixed Traffic .......................................................................................... 79

4.7.6 Treatment of Taxi Trips ............................................................................................... 80

5.0 Public Transport Network ......................................................................................................... 81

5.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 81

5.2 Public Transport Network ......................................................................................................... 81

5.2.1 General Principles ....................................................................................................... 81

5.2.2 Network Components .................................................................................................. 815.2.3 Public Transport Nodes ............................................................................................... 82

5.3 Links ........................................................................................................................................ 82


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5.4 Representation of Stop/Station/Parking Facility ....................................................................... 83

5.5 Public Transport Modes ........................................................................................................... 83

5.5.1 Representation of PT Routes/Lines ............................................................................. 86

5.5.2 Public Transport Fare .................................................................................................. 87

5.5.3 Transit time Functions ................................................................................................. 87

5.5.4 Other PT Assignment Parameters ............................................................................... 88

5.6 Park and Ride Modelling .......................................................................................................... 90

5.6.1 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 92

5.6.2 Park and Ride Station Catchment ............................................................................... 93

5.6.3 Parking Capacity ......................................................................................................... 96

5.7 Crowding Model ....................................................................................................................... 98

5.7.1 Description of Crowding Model ................................................................................... 98

6.0 Compatibility between Zones and Networks .......................................................................... 102

6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 102

6.2 Zone Centroid Connectors ..................................................................................................... 102

6.2.1 Abu Dhabi Urban Region .......................................................................................... 102

6.2.2 Abu Dhabi Rural Region ........................................................................................... 103

6.2.3 Al Ain Urban Region.................................................................................................. 103

6.2.4 Al Ain Rural Region ................................................................................................... 104

6.2.5 Al Gharbia Region ..................................................................................................... 104

6.2.6 External Zones .......................................................................................................... 104

Appendix A Zone Plans ...................................................................................................................... A

Appendix B Network Plan ................................................................................................................... B

Appendix C Volume Delay Functions .................................................................................................. C


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List of Tables

Table 1 - Existing and Projected Population ............................................................................................................. .................... 7Table 2 - Schedule of Zones Sizes and Number of Zones within Each Region ................................................................... ......... 9

Table 3 - Number of Zones within the External Region ............................................................................................ .................. 42

Table 4 - STEAM Zones .......................................................... ..................................................................... .............................. 42

Table 5 - Node Input Attributes Included in the Master Network. .................................................................. .............................. 46

Table 6 - Link Input Attributes in the STEAM Master Network ........................................................... ......................................... 49

Table 7 - Link Type Definition - STEAM .......................................................... ..................................................................... ....... 53

Table 8 - Traffic Signal Junction Coding Attributes ................................................................ ..................................................... 70

Table 9 - Values of Entry Capacity (Ce) Based on Number of Approach Lanes and Number of Entry Lanes at the Stop Line. . 73

Table 10 - Values of A Based on Number of Approach Lanes and Entry Lanes at the Stop Line for 60m Inscribed Circle

Roundabout. ..................................................................................................................... ......................................... 74

Table 11 - Values of A Based on Number of Approach Lanes and Entry Lanes at the Stop Line or 90m Inscribed Circle

Roundabout. ..................................................................................................................... ......................................... 74

Table 12 - Roundabout Junction Coding Attributes ........................................................................... ......................................... 77

Table 13 - Priority Junction Turn Delays ..................................................................... ................................................................ 79

Table 14 - List of Public Transport Link Types ............................................................ ................................................................ 83

Table 15 - List of All Transit and Access Modes .................................................................... ..................................................... 85

Table 16 - Public Transport Line File Information .................................................................. ..................................................... 86

Table 17 - Boarding Penalties and Weight factors ................................................................. ..................................................... 90

Table 18 - Transfer Penalties .............................................................. ..................................................................... .................. 90

Table 19 - Typical Table Specifying Catchment and Capacity for Each Park and Ride Facility .................................................. 96

Table 20 - Capacity Characteristics of Different PT Vehicles .............. ..................................................................... .................. 99Table 21 - ATC Perceived In-Vehicle Time Factors ............................................................... ................................................... 100

List of Figures

Figure 1 - Location of the Study Area ......................................................................... .................................................................. 4

Figure 2 - Three Main Areas of Emirate of Abu Dhabi .................................................................................................................. 5

Figure 3 - Population Density According to 2009 Planning Data (No. of people/sq km) ............................................................... 6

Figure 4 - Location of Internal and External Regions .............................................................. ...................................................... 7

Figure 5 - Definition of regions for Study Area and the Area of Influence. ................................................................ .................. 10

Figure 6 - Zone Labelling System ................................................................... ..................................................................... ....... 12

Figure 7 - Abu Dhabi STMP Network and Zone Boundaries ................................................................................................ ...... 14

Figure 8 - 2009 Population Densities for Abu Dhabi Urban Region ............................................................... ............................. 15

Figure 9 - CBD, Abu Dhabi Island 2009 Proportion of Land Uses by Category ................................................................... ....... 17

Figure 10 - Abu Dhabi STEAM Zone Boundaries and Census Boundaries ............................................................... ................. 19

Figure 11 - New Development Zones Plan ................................................................. ................................................................ 21

Figure 12 - Abu Dhabi STMP Zone Boundaries and Census Boundaries .................................................................................. 22

Figure 13 - Abu Dhabi STEAM Zone Boundaries and Census Boundaries ............................................................... ................. 23

Figure 14 - Census Boundaries of Abu Dhabi Rural Region ............................................................... ........................................ 25

Figure 15 - Abu Dhabi Rural Region Zoning ............................................................... ................................................................ 26

Figure 16 - Abu Dhabi Rural Region with Population Density (No. of people/sq km) ................................................................. 27

Figure 17 - Al Ain STMP Zone Boundaries .................................................................. ............................................................... 28Figure 18 - Compatibility between Community Boundaries and Traffic Zones in Al Ain ...................................................... ....... 29

Figure 19 - Al Ain Zone Boundaries ................................................................. ..................................................................... ...... 30

Figure 20 - Al Ain 2009 Population Density ................................................................ ................................................................ 31


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Figure 21 - Al Ain 2030 Urban Structure Framework Plan ................................................................. ......................................... 32

Figure 22 - Homogeneity Maintained within Al Ain Urban Zoning System ................................................................ .................. 33

Figure 23 - Al Ain Rural Region Zone Boundary ..................................................................... .................................................... 35Figure 24 - Al Ain Rural Region with Population Density (no. of people / sq.km) ......................................... .............................. 37

Figure 25 - Al Gharbia STMP Zone Boundaries ................................................................................. ........................................ 38

Figure 26 - Al Gharbia STEAM Zone Boundaries .................................................................. ..................................................... 39

Figure 27 - Al Gharbia Region with Population Density 2009 ............................................................ ......................................... 40

Figure 28 - External Region Zoning ................................................................ ..................................................................... ....... 41

Figure 29 - STEAM Node Labelling System ................................................................................................. .............................. 45

Figure 30 - Akcelik Curve Effect of JA Factors ........................................................................................... ............................. 52

Figure 31 - Schematic of Network Structure in Urban Areas ............................................................. ......................................... 56

Figure 32 - Example of a Multi-Lane Dual Carriageway in an Urban Region. ........................................................... .................. 58

Figure 33 - Example of the Master Network ................................................................................................. .............................. 59

Figure 34 - Extent of Abu Dhabi Island Where Junction Modelling is Included in 2009 Network ................................................ 60Figure 35 - Extent of Al Ain City where Junction Modelling is Included in 2009 Network.............................. .............................. 61

Figure 36 - Approach Nodes ................................................................ ..................................................................... .................. 63

Figure 37 - First Arm ................................................................ ..................................................................... .............................. 64

Figure 38 - Phasing .................................................................................................... ................................................................ 65

Figure 39 - Lane Geometry .................................................................. ..................................................................... .................. 66

Figure 40 - Average Lane Width ..................................................................... ..................................................................... ....... 66

Figure 41 - Minimum Capacity ............................................................. ..................................................................... .................. 67

Figure 42 - Randomness ............................................................................................ ................................................................ 68

Figure 43 - Exit Lanes ............................................................... ..................................................................... ............................. 69

Figure 44 - Ban Turn ................................................................. ..................................................................... ............................. 69

Figure 45 - Alternative Roundabout Models ................................................................ ............................................................... 71

Figure 46 - Capacity Slope ................................................................................................................ ......................................... 72

Figure 47 - Capacity Intercept ............................................................. ..................................................................... .................. 72

Figure 48 - Definition of First Arm ................................................................... ..................................................................... ....... 75

Figure 49 - Input Capacity Slope ................................................................................ ................................................................ 75

Figure 50 - Input Capacity Intercept..................................................... ..................................................................... .................. 76

Figure 51 - Priority Arrangement at Typical Free Right Turn Lane at Signalised Junctions ........................................................ 78

Figure 52 - Priority junction at Typical Mid-Block U-Turns ................................................................. ......................................... 79

Figure 53 - Wait Time Curve for Bus Services ............................................................ ................................................................ 89

Figure 54 - Wait Time Curve for Rail Services ............................................................ ................................................................ 89

Figure 55 - Park and Ride Representation ...................................................... ..................................................................... ...... 93Figure 56 - Example of a Park and Ride Catchment for a Station .............................................................................................. 95

Figure 57 - Park and Ride Volume to Capacity Curve ........................................................... ..................................................... 97

Figure 58 - Crowding Factor Curves ............................................................... ..................................................................... ..... 100

Figure 59 - New Model Treatment of Centroid Connectors in Abu Dhabi .................................................................. ............... 103

Figure 60 - New Model Treatment of Centroid Connectors in Al Ain Urban Area ..................................................................... 104


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Executive Summary

The Abu Dhabi Department of Transport (DoT) commissioned AECOM through its operating companies Cansult

Maunsell and Faber Maunsell, to develop a new computer based transport model for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The model is referred to as the Abu Dhabi Strategic Transportation Evaluation and Analysis Model (STEAM).

The transport model zones and the representation of the highway and public transport system are the

fundamental building blocks of the modelling process and therefore a systematic approach has been followed to

represent the supply side system of Abu Dhabi within STEAM.

Zoning System

Abu Dhabi Emirate contains varied levels of population distribution, land use densities and travel patterns. The

study area is sub divided into Abu Dhabi Urban, Abu Dhabi Rural, Al Ain Urban, Al Ain Rural, Al Gharbia and

External regions. The boundaries of these regions are congruent with administrative and planning divisions.

A data collection exercise was undertaken to gather the base and future year information on land use and

population distribution, travel patterns, planning/administrative boundaries and network layout. This provided a

basis for spatial disaggregation of the study area.

A review of the existing zoning system within Abu Dhabi Emirate Enhanced Model (ADEEM) was undertaken to

ascertain the acceptability of the current spatial level of detail for the internal zones that covers the 5 regions

within the Abu Dhabi Emirate. Whilst the review revealed that zoning within the Abu Dhabi Central Business

District (CBD) was appropriately detailed, the remaining regions including the fringes of Abu Dhabi urban region

required further refinement to reflect similar trip intensities and future year development plan proposals.

A significant zone redefinition exercise was subsequently carried out in all internal regions of Abu Dhabi Emirate,

particularly within, Abu Dhabi Urban, Abu Dhabi Rural, Al Ain urban and rural and Western Region. Whilst the

census boundaries within Abu Dhabi urban and rural and Western Region (Al Gharbia) provided a good starting

point in most regions, these were not deemed appropriate in themselves for the purposes of STEAM and

therefore and a further disaggregation was undertaken that was conducive to the to the best practice zoning

system principles of homogeneity, similar trip intensities and overlap with the census/administrative boundaries.

Within Al Ain Rural region, the community boundaries were deemed to be appropriately detailed and were

therefore adopted as zones, however, within the Al Ain Urban region, the zones were further refined but

overlapped with the community boundaries.

Certain zones within STEAM are treated as Special Zones within the model so that different functionality can be

applied to the treatment of trips to/from such zones. These zones mainly contain ports, airports or other major

recreational areas. These zones are separately identified through input files to STEAM but are included in the

relevant geographical regions. Table S1 provides a summary of STEAM zones in each region.


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Table S1 - STEAM Zones

Regions No of Zones

Al Ain Rural 138

Al Ain Urban 347

Abu Dhabi Urban 1312

Abu Dhabi Rural 66

Al Gharbia 98

External 26

Total 1987

Highway Network

A Master Network containing the base 2009 and 2030 STEAM reference case networks has been coded using

Cube GIS. To facilitate the coding of present and future highway and PT schemes into the one Master Network,

node and link attributes have been created to indicate which are year (and scenario) specific.

STEAM also includes an extensive range of node and link attributes defined and stored at each node and on each

link in the network. These attributes store input values that dictate the characteristics of the nodes and links and

also the outputs from model runs such as delays, and traffic flows by vehicle class.

STEAM adopts an area-based numbering/labelling strategy and allocates an eight-digit number for each node inthe highway network and a five digit number for the Public Transport Network. The node label provides

information on the location of the node within a sector (or sub-region), region and larger study area to discern the

highway and PT network and ease of analysis.

A detailed link type classification has been formulated within STEAM that includes all possible road types and its

respective operational characteristics like lanes, speeds and location (rural or urban). An Akcelic volume delay

function has been allocated to each link type with a specific Ja parameter based on whether the link delays are

explicitly modelled by downstream junction simulation or the travel speeds along the link takes into account

expected delays at the main downstream junction on the link.

The majority of the traffic significant junctions within Abu Dhabi Island and Al Ain City are modelled in detail for the

STEAM 2009 and 2030 road network. Where junctions are not explicitly modelled appropriate link type volume

delay functions are used, including the junction delays. STEAM uses the HCM methodology for signalised

junctions within Cube Voyager to model the fixed time signals in Abu Dhabi Island and adaptive signals in Al Ain

city. The roundabout junctions are modelled using empirical model and the priority junctions are represented by

standard turn delays that vary according to the location and type of priority junction.

STEAM adopts a multi-node approach that includes a Cube Voyager mini-roundabout annotation at each

approach arm of all dual carriageways, for explicitly modelling roundabout junctions in Abu Dhabi Island and Al

Ain City. Roundabout intersections are modelled using an empirical model where each entry is characterized by acapacity slope and a capacity intercept.


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In STEAM standard turn delays are used to provide a reasonable representation of the average delay

encountered at each of the priority junctions in the network.

Public Transport Network

The only public transport that exists in the base year 2009 are a limited number of intra-city and inter-city buses

that operate on the highway network. A comprehensive and extensive public transport system including LRT,

metro, rail, ferry and buses is planned for the Emirate and is coded in STEAM 2030 reference case.

In STEAM, public transport networks comprise transit legs, non-transit legs and transfer legs. Separate node

series are assigned to different PT modes, so that transit legs, non-transit legs, stops and parameters such as

waiting time factors by mode are easily specified and post assignment analyses and extraction of data facilitated.

The PT modes with exclusive right of way such as rail, metro, LRT, ferry and some parts of tram have exclusive

links. A full range of link attributes are coded across all link types and classes.

The Cube Voyager PT service data inputs are provided in the following four separate data files:

Line File contains the routes and segment information for all PT modes within STEAM;

System File contains the definition of the modes, operators, wait time curves, vehicle types, and crowding

curves;

Fare File modelled as flat fare in the base year and distance based fare in the future year within STEAM;

and Factor File parameters to specify traveller behaviour in response to the PT system, such as boarding

penalty, transfer penalty, value of time etc.

The transit time functions within STEAM are defined separately for the services with own right of way like Rail,

Metro, LRT and Ferry and street running services.

PT systems with their own right of way i.e. the Regional Rail, Metro, LRT and Ferry, or a bus service with its own

right of way, the travel time is independent of the car travel time. In such cases, travel time is calculated based on

the design operating speed of the system defined in the model by the link type information. The public transport

in-vehicle time function is defined as below:

In-vehicle Time (mins) = Segment Time (mins) + Dwell times (at actual stops)

The actual operating time for each transit segment is calculated based on the default speed of the mode.

For a bus or tram service operating on the road system, its operating speed is dependent on the travel speed of

the general traffic. Therefore, for a normal bus service operating on the same road as other traffic, a general

transit time function is represented as below:

Bus Time (mins) = A x Car Time (mins) + B x distance (km)


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Where:

A is a factor more than one representing the travel conditions where a bus generally runs slower

than a car. This factor may vary by road type; andB represents an average dwelling time (min) per km. It reflects the frequency of stops and average

time spent at each stop.

These parameters are pre-defined in the model during the public transport initialisation stage as part of the model

development.

STEAM includes a detailed Park and Ride modelling and has appropriate controls in place for the passenger

demand in station through PT sub-mode choice, network coding to represent parking facility, access mode

network and parking facilities. Assignment procedures incorporate additional delay to Park and Ride trips,

representitive of parking search time.

Compatibilit y between Network and Zones

STEAM contains a detailed representation of the minor local roads within the urban regions that allows a realistic

routeing for the trips to access the major roads at multiple locations and therefore in majority of the cases, the

connector loads onto the minor roads that joins all the possible major roads thereby providing ample route choice.

The exception to this is in rural regions of Al Ain and Al Gharbia where, as there are already minimal road

networks, the connectors may occasionally load traveldemands onto major highways.


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1.0 Purpose of the Working Paper

1.1 Introduction

The Abu Dhabi Department of Transport (DoT) commissioned AECOM through its operating companies Cansult

Maunsell and Faber Maunsell, to develop a new computer based transport model for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The model is referred to as the Abu Dhabi Strategic Transportation Evaluation and Analysis Model (STEAM).

All transport models consist of three main elements, namely, a representation of the network supply, travel

demand behavioural relationships to predict travel demand by time of day, and a means of assigning the demand

to the network. The travel demand is generally a function of population, employment and land use and existswithin the model in the form of travel demand matrices between pre-specified geographic areas, i.e. zones. The

supply side of the equation is the roadway and public transport systems on which travel occurs and the network

attributes within the model describe the characteristics of these systems.

The transport model zones and the representation of the highway and public transport system are the

fundamental building blocks of the modelling process and establishing the level of spatial detail of the zones and

the principles to be adopted in the development of the transport network is critical to any model development

process.

1.2 Purpose of the Working Paper

This working paper describes the principles and assumptions utilised to define the zoning system and determine

the extent and the operational characteristics of the highway and public transport network for inclusion in STEAM.

The output of the working paper is 2009 zone plans for use in model development and calibration, and a set of

2030 zones covering all the major development areas as provided by the Department of Transport. The 2030

zones in the development areas will inevitably be subject to refinement as development plans change over time

and as such, some flexibility in the zonal definitions has been provided by allowing for additional zones to be

defined in STEAM.

1.3 Transport Models: Zones and Networks

Transport modelling involves aggregating spatial information into defined geographic areas generally referred to

as zones and determining the relevant highway and public transport networks to be included within the model.

This aggregation takes place as trips in the study area can begin and end at any address, and travellers can

choose from all roads, streets and other transport options. Due to the immense volume of data involved, however,

it is not practical to collate and analyse data based on individual dwelling/employment unit information. Therefore,

a model represents reality by introducing the following elements:

Zones: the study area is divided into a number of small but manageable zones and the trips from and to

these zones are defined. All trips begin and end at an imaginary point inside this zone, defined as the centroid

of that zone. It is accepted practice that each of these zones should, as far as practical, contain homogenous

land uses in order to facilitate the definition of travel demand parameters; and


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Networks: the transport system consists of links and junctions that represent the available highway and

public transport network and in the case of public transport the bus and rail services that operate on the

network. The network is an abstraction of reality and the extent of representation depends on the purpose of,and the degree of detail adopted in, the study.

This working paper details the principles adopted and sources utilised to disaggregate the study area and its

surroundings into appropriate traffic zones and to the principles that are applied in STEAM for the coding of the

network representations.

1.4 Layout of the Working Paper

Following this introduction:

Chapter 2 presents the principles behind the definition of the zoning system;

Chapter 3 describes the actual zoning system proposed;

Chapter 4 describes the extent and the characteristics of the modelled highway network;

Chapter 5 presents an overview of the modelling of the public transport network; and

Chapter 6 describes the principles of zone and network compatibility.

In addition, Appendix A includes the detailed STEAM zone plans, and Appendix B examples of the network plans

exhibiting the range of coding principles defined in the main text of the working paper.

This working paper is based on STEAM version 20 Run N.


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2.0 Zoning

2.1 General Principles

A systematic approach to transport planning studies requires the study area be delineated and subdivided into

discrete traffic zones that allow for spatial aggregation of trip origins and destinations within the study area.

The Zoning of a study area consists of two phases:

Defining the spatial aggregation level of socio economic characteristics (determination of type and number of

zones); and

Determining shape, dimension and size of the zones respecting the spatial aggregation level determined andthe transport network to which the zones have to relate.

The number of zones, and their spatial dimension, depends on the nature and scale of the study and the level of

analysis proposed. Within the core study area zones are usually defined to a fine level of spatial detail, and

become coarser towards the boundaries of the detailed model area, which in the case of STEAM is the external

areas outside Abu Dhabi Emirate.

The spatial resolution of the zoning system is often a key decision point and there is a conflict to be resolved

between dividing the zoning system into many small zones, or a coarser version of larger zones. General

principles when designing zones are to use as many zones as possible, maximising the internal homogeneity of

the zones, the difference between zones, and the statistical validity of data applied to zones. However, the

number of zones often has a disproportional impact upon model run times, which often limits the number of zones

that are achievable for a practical working tool.

The principles adopted in developing the STEAM zone system were that:

Zones should be homogeneous with respect to the socio economic characteristics and land uses;

Zones should be compact to enable suitable loading positions to be determined;

Administrative areas such as census boundaries, municipal borders and jurisdictional boundaries should be

respected. Typical zone boundaries are census area and UPC sectors to provide compatibility with planningsector data; and

Special land uses such as the airport, recreational facilities, major hospitals and education centres should be

separately defined due to the specific characteristics of the users of such land uses.

2.2 Study Area

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi adjoins the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Sultanate of Oman. The Emirate borders the

Emirates of Dubai and Sharjah to its north. Figure 1 shows the location of Abu Dhabi Emirate.

The primary study area is the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates but STEAM also reflects movement

between this area and the adjacent Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia in particular.


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Figure 1 - Location of the Study Area

There are three main regions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (see Figure 2):

Greater Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area (city of Abu Dhabi);

Eastern Region (including Al Ain urban and Al Ain rural areas); and

Western Region (also called Al Gharbia including Liwa, Madinat Zayed and Ruwais).


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Figure 2 - Three Main Areas of Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Based on the 2005 Census data high and medium population densities are prevalent in town centres, and core

areas while the villages and sub-urban areas on the urban fringe have low-density development patterns.

Figure 3 shows the population density within the study area based the 2009 planning data provided by UPC. The

highest densities are within the city urban cores. Rural and desert areas are sparsely populated and any

settlements within the desert region are located along the major road corridors.

The study area and the area of influence are formed into six regions on the basis of administrative and planning

boundaries as follows:

Abu Dhabi Urban region;

Abu Dhabi Rural region;

Al Ain Urban region;

Al Ain Rural region;

Al Gharbia region; and

External region.

The external region, or the area of influence, is identified by the level of interaction between the external area and

study area. The external area is that area for which demand is not fully modelled and is just there to provide the

route choice for trips to and from Abu Dhabi.


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Figure 3 - Population Density According to 2009 Planning Data (No. of people/sq km)


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These internal regions reflect different levels of:

Population distribution;

Concentrations of employment and retail centres;

Expected trip patterns based on the socio-economic characteristics;

Availability of demographic information; and

Administrative and planning boundaries.

Figure 4 shows the five internal regions and external region.

Figure 4 - Location of Internal and External Regions

Table 1 shows the existing and projected population for each internal region.

Table 1 - Existing and Projected Population

Regions Population 2009 Population 2030

Abu Dhabi Urban region 1,035,665 2,972,800

Abu Dhabi Rural region 14,485 285,621

Al Ain Urban region 173,662 266,357

Al Ain Rural region 365,912 620,901

Al Gharbia region 98,335 193,387

Total 1,688,059 4,339,066

Source:UPC official data for 2009 and 2030 based on data provided in July 2010.


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Table 1 shows that the Abu Dhabi Urban region currently contains the majority of the existing population and that

this is projected to increase almost threefold by 2030. There is also substantial growth projected for Al Ain (both

urban and rural combined) with a 160% increase in population by 2030. By 2030 the population of Al Gharbia willalmost double to 193,000. Large forecast growths are based on planned investment and economic developments

within the rural regions. This requires consideration of the level of zonal detail from the base year onwards to

accommodate these projections.

The development of the STEAM zoning system used separate methodologies as described below:

Internal zones- these are located within the main study area and disaggregated to a detailed level with each

zone representing a similar level of trip making and a set of homogenous land uses. This enables detailed trip

analysis, an understanding of the short distance trip patterns, and the investigation of traffic flows to and from

each zone. All the zones within the Abu Dhabi Emirate are internal zones and therefore all regions within the

Emirate, including Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Gharbia, are disaggregated to a similar level of spatial detail; and External zones- these mainly cover the area of influence outside of Abu Dhabi Emirate. The external zones

are generally at a coarser level of detail. They are disaggregated to facilitate representation of the crossing

points into Abu Dhabi Emirate. External zones include the other emirates within UAE and the countries

bordering the UAE including Saudi Arabia and Oman.

2.3 Size

Traffic zones are homogenous activity centres, to aid rational understanding of trip productions and attractions.

They reflect similar levels of development and demographic intensity. The zones must not be too large as this

may result in a sizeable part of the traffic not appearing on the network due to excessive numbers of intra zonal

trips that will not be assigned to the network when in reality they are observed to use the main road system.

At the same time, the zones should not be too small as disaggregate zones require refined data, can hamper

interpretation of results and result in excessive model run times. In determining the size of internal zones within

Abu Dhabi Emirate, careful consideration of the existing and proposed densities and location of activity centres

took place with the intention that each zone should reasonably represent a similar level of trip making. However,

when zoning outer areas of the model it is usual to increase the size of the zones as a function of the distance

from the core areas of interest in the model.

Table 2 presents a summary of the zone sizes and number of zones within each region for STEAM. The zones

have been classified as small, medium, large and very large on the basis of their area in square kilometres.


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Table 2 - Schedule of Zones Sizes and Number of Zones within Each Region

Zone SizeArea Ranges

(sq Km)

Regions

Abu

Dhabi

Urban

Abu

Dhabi

Rural

Al Ain

Rural

Al Ain

Urban

Al

Gharbia External Total

Small 0-20 1306 25 55 339 33 1758

Medium 20-100 6 20 58 8 7 8 107

Large 100-500 16 19 21 5 61

Very

Large>500

5 6 37 13 61

Total 1312 66 138 347 98 26 1987

2.4 Land Use-Current and Future

Transport and land use form a symbiotic relationship. Land use and demographics such as population density,

income, employment and activity centres create travel patterns including shopping, recreation and institutional

uses. Whilst the intensity of travel and short distance trips are much greater in a condensed land use pattern, a

dispersed land use pattern can facilitate long distance trips. Most local and regional land use plans record the

existing land use and propose changes to future use and intensity. Therefore, in delineating the STEAM zones,

full consideration was given to existing and future land use plans and activity areas.

2.5 Zone Labelling Convention

Within the transport model, each zone is allocated a unique individual identifier zone label in the form of

numerical digits, in addition to the standard zone node number which is linked to the zone label through a

correspondence list. A systematic approach to zone labeling provides for the identifier or zone label to be

assigned such that it includes information on the location of a zone within a sector (or sub-region), region, and the

larger study area. In practice, all zones within a specific region have a unique identifier in the form of a prefix

number. This system assists trip analysis at both local and regional scale by simplifying the aggregation of zones

into sectors. A seven-digit number has been allocated to each zone through a zone labeling attribute as follows:

Zone Label: RXXZZZZ;

Zone Serial number: ZZZZ; and

Sector identifier: XX.

Zone Label: RXXZZZZ

R- Region identifier. The six regions are: Abu Dhabi urban; Abu Dhabi rural; Al Ain urban; Al Ain rural; Al

Gharbia; and external. The numbering system for region is from 1 to 6 where:

Region 1- Abu Dhabi Urban;

Region 2- Abu Dhabi Rural;

Region 3- Al Ain Rural;

Region 4- Al Ain Urban;


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Region 5- Al Gharbia; and

Region 6- External Region.

Figure 5 shows the geographical extent of each region.

Figure 5 - Definition of regions for Study Area and the Area of Influence.

Sector identifier: XX

Each region is divided into sectors, the boundaries of which were defined according to:

Geographic location;

Administrative boundaries;

Development District boundaries;

Homogeneous Land Uses;

Road Layout and the alignment of major roads; and

Major activity centres of high trip intensity such as airport, port, and large shopping malls.

The area outside of the study area has four sectors as follows: Rest of emirates; Oman; Saudi

Arabia/Bahrain/Kuwait; and Qatar. The zone numbering system allows for up to 99 sectors to be defined.


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Zone Serial number: ZZZZ

This is a unique number allocated to each zone within each sector. The numbering of the zones is undertaken inan ascending order starting from the centre of the sector and increasing with distance from the centre. The

numbering of the existing zones starts from 0010 and continues in increasing order. If any further disaggregation

of zones is undertaken to accommodate future year developments in future year models then numbering for the

new zones can start from 7000 and continue in decreasing order. This method provides for a clear segregation of

existing and future year zones, together with indicative location of the zones within the sector.

It should be noted here that the last digit of the zone number in the base year model is zero for all the zones in

order to enable identification of the parent zone if any disaggregation of zones is carried out in the future. This

methodology allows up to 9 sub zones to be added to every parent zone in the model. E.g. Zone number 6378890

can be further split in the future with the new zones numbered sequentially as 6378891, 6378892, 6378893,6378899.

The external zones are all in region 6 and the sector numbers are:

01 Dubai;

02 Sharjah;

03 Ajman;

04 Umm al-Auwain;

05 Ras al-Khamah;

06 Al Fujayrah;

07 Fujairah and Sharjah;

08 Oma and Ajman;

09 Oman;

10 Saudi Arabia; and

11 Qatar.

The seven digit numbering system described above can therefore accommodate 9 regions, 99 sectors within each

region and 999 zones within each sector.


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Figure 6 - Zone Labelling System


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3.0 STEAM Zoning

3.1 Introduction

This section describes the derivation of the STEAM zoning system for each of the six regions. It explains how the

existing Surface Transport Master Plan (STMP) model, the road layout, census boundaries, activity centres and

population densities were used to determine the zoning system.

There was a defined zoning system for Abu Dhabi Municipality within the Abu Dhabi Enhanced EMME Model

(ADEEM). The STMP model covers the whole of Abu Dhabi Municipality region, including the urban and rural area

in some detail but has a coarse representation of Al Ain and the western regions.

While the zoning system for STEAM was constructed to conform to the principles defined in chapter 2, it was

considered appropriate to review the nature of the STMP model zoning system in the context of the criteria for

zonal definition being used for STEAM. There were benefits in this as a significant amount of work had been

undertaken in preparing data sources for ADEEM and in undertaking scenario testing with the STMP. The

retention of some degree of compatibility with existing zone systems is desirable and there was little point in

making changes where the current zone structure conformed to the defined STEAM criteria.

In the following sections, therefore, our discussions commence with the STMP zones and proceed to undertake a

thorough review of them in the context of the needs of STEAM. A preliminary review of the STMP model zone

system clearly showed it to be far too coarse in Al Ain and Al Gharbia but detailed in much of the Abu Dhabi

Municipality area.

It was clear that significant changes needed to take place in certain areas of the existing zoning. But it was less

clear as to the degree of change required in Abu Dhabi city and its surrounds. A detailed review of the STMP

zones in relation to planning and demographics was undertaken to ascertain the acceptability of the current

spatial level of detail in the Abu Dhabi Municipality region.

3.2 Abu Dhabi Urban Region Zoning

The Abu Dhabi Urban region mainly comprises Abu Dhabi city with a population of 833,188 in 2008. The city of

Abu Dhabi has witnessed extensive economic growth in recent yearsConsequently, the population density within

the Central Business District (CBD) and surrounding areas is generally high.

3.2.1 Review of STMP Zoning

The zoning system within STMP for the Abu Dhabi Municipality area reflects the existing road layout and is dense

in the city centre containing 266 zones. Each zone represents a block bounded by either minor or major streets

depending on the location and population density of the zone. Figure 7 shows the zone boundaries and networklayout within the city centre of Abu Dhabi.


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Figure 7 - Abu Dhabi STMP Network and Zone Boundaries


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3.2.2 Population and Employment Density

A review of the STMP planning data information for each zone took place to determine whether the delineation ofthe STMP zones was satisfactory in relation to the criteria for STEAM. This included population, population

density, number of households and workers An assessment of the size and number of zones took place to verify

that the zoning system adequately represents the existing density and thus reflects similar levels of trip intensity in

each zone as far as is practical. Figure 8 shows the population density for Abu Dhabi Urban Region in 2009.

Figure 8 - 2009 Population Densities for Abu Dhabi Urban Region


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3.2.3 Land Use and Homogeneity

The STEAM zoning principles provide for the specification of zones such that each zone, as far as practicablypossible, contains similar or homogeneous land uses. A review of the existing and proposed land use patterns

was undertaken to establish whether the existing STMP zoning system in Abu Dhabi Municipality satisfies the

requirement of homogeneity and was suitable as a base for the proposed STEAM zoning system in this area.

Homogeneity is noticed within the dense CBD of Abu Dhabi. Figure 9 shows that within the CBD, where mixed

use prevails, the employment, retail and residential areas, as far as possible, have been included in separate

zones.


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Figure 9 - CBD, Abu Dhabi Island 2009 Proportion of Land Uses by Category


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3.2.4 Census Boundaries

Census boundaries were reviewed in relation to the proposed zoning system to ensure compatibility between thecensus and STEAM zone boundaries, which were based on STMP zones in this area. Figure 10shows that the

STEAM zones are either a disaggregation of a larger census area, or census zones are aggregated to and

satisfactorily follow the STEAM zone boundaries.


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Figure 10 - Abu Dhabi STEAM Zone Boundaries and Census Boundaries


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3.2.5 Summary

It was concluded that within Abu Dhabi urban region, the review of the STMP zoning revealed that the zoningwithin areas in the CBD:

is appropriately detailed;

respects the existing land use and population density;

respects the census/administrative boundaries; and

gives due consideration to homogeneity in land uses.

3.2.6 Refinement of Zones in Abu Dhabi Urban Region

Whilst the STMP model review showed the CBD area to contain a detailed zone structure, analysis of the fringe

areas revealed a lack of detailed definition of zoning. The zoning in and around the capital district of Abu Dhabi

that lies in the outskirts of the city for example, did not satisfy the criteria of similar population size for each zone.

The zoning in the islands and undeveloped areas, was investigated further. Detailed definitions of the zoning

within these locations were provided from the development plans for these areas. This was incorporated in the

ADEEM zoning system. Figure 11shows the areas within Abu Dhabi that have been subject to detailed zoning to

incorporate future year developments or growth areas.


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Inspection of STMP zoning within the fringe areas that includes the Capital District reveals that several census

zones had been aggregated to form traffic zones. Figure 12 show that the census area boundaries and the STMP

zone boundaries are consistent with the census area boundaries aggregating to STMP boundaries.

Figure 12 - Abu Dhabi STMP Zone Boundaries and Census Boundaries


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A further refinement of Abu Dhabi urban zones in the fringe areas took place to make them appropriate for

STEAM. The STEAM zones follow the census boundaries and the road layout. Figure 13 shows that further

disaggregation has been undertaken in the fringe areas in order to represent the zoning at a suitable level ofdetail.

Figure 13 - Abu Dhabi STEAM Zone Boundaries and Census Boundaries


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3.2.7 Special Trip Generators

STEAM has been established with the capability to identify certain zones as Special Zones so that planning inputscan be separately defined, and also so that different functionality can be applied to the treatment of trips to/from

such zones. Special zones in STEAM in Abu Dhabi include:

Al Mina Port;

Abu Dhabi International Airport;

Corniche Area;

Museum Area (in the future year): Guggenheim, Louvre, AD National Museum; and

Ferrari World.

Further special zones can be defined as required and the process for this is described in the STEAM ApplierManual.

3.3 Abu Dhabi Rural Region Zoning

Abu Dhabi rural region lies towards the east of Abu Dhabi city, as shown in Figure 14. The rural area is thinly

populated and has a mix of small residential settlements, farming and desert land.

3.3.1 Census Boundaries

The only existing population and land use information within the Abu Dhabi rural area is in the form of census data

and zones. The census zones provided a starting point to define a zoning system that adequately reflects the

appropriate spatial detail required for internal zones within STEAM.

Figure 14 shows that the sizes of the census zones are inconsistent and do not cover the whole of the Abu Dhabi

rural region.

The census zones present severe limitations and were deemed inadequate in themselves to represent the study

area to the appropriate level of detail. The limitations with the census boundaries are as follows:

Boundaries are either too small or too large;

The census zones are very dispersed depending on the location and size of settlements; and

Boundaries do not cover the whole of Abu Dhabi rural region due to the absence of any existing population or

settlements in the desert area.

The information within the census zones and visual assessment of the land use and settlement location enabled

the definition of an appropriate zoning system for Abu Dhabi rural area. The zoning system was undertaken such

that the area not covered by the census boundary is also a part of the traffic zone structure.


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Figure 14 - Census Boundaries of Abu Dhabi Rural Region


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Figure 15 shows that the Abu Dhabi Rural zoning system in STEAM respects the census boundaries. Census

zones were either aggregated into one study area zone, or disaggregated further, depending on the distance from

the dense urban area and the population size within the census zones.

Figure 15 - Abu Dhabi Rural Region Zoning


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3.3.2 Population Densit y

An objective of the zoning system is that each zone represents a similar population size and therefore will containa similar number of trip ends or level of trip intensity. However, there were a number of zones defined within the

Abu Dhabi rural area that do not currently contain any population or have very low population density. Some of

these zones were disaggregated to accommodate future year developments that may occur in the rural area.

Figure 16 shows the population density and the STEAM zoning system for Abu Dhabi rural area.

Figure 16 - Abu Dhabi Rural Region with Population Density (No. of people/sq km)


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3.4 Al Ain Urban Region Zoning

Al Ain urban region covers the city of Al Ain. The extent of the region is shown in Figure 4 inChapter 2.

The zoning system for Al Ain region within the STMP model is very coarse and covers the whole Al Ain region in

11 zones. Figure 17 shows the Al Ain zoning system within STMP model.

Figure 17 - Al Ain STMP Zone Boundaries

Al Ain is an important urban centre and should be represented to a similar level of spatial detail as Abu Dhabi

Municipality. This required a significant increase in the number of zones in Al Ain. Consequently, a detailed zoning

system was built from first principles for Al Ain that incorporated the general conventions in Section 2.1 of this

working paper and was based on the following:

Community Boundaries;

Existing network layout;

Population density;

Land use;

Homogeneity; and

Special trip generators.


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3.4.1 Community Boundaries

Al Ain urban region is spatially sub-divided into communities and the planning authorities use communityboundaries to collect and forecast the Land Use and Planning Data for Al Ain. Therefore, correspondence

between STEAM traffic zone boundaries and the community boundaries has been maintained in order to

accurately ascertain the base year trips and the future growth in trips by using the land use and demographic data

for the base year and the forecast years respectively. Figure 18 shows the compatibility between the community

boundaries and STEAM.

However, the spatial detail of community boundaries was too coarse at some locations and therefore not deemed

satisfactory for traffic zone definition. The traffic zones at these locations were refined using the road network

layout and 2030 structure plan.

Figure 18 - Compatibility between Community Boundaries and Traffic Zones in Al Ain


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3.4.2 Existing Network Layout

The STEAM zones in Al Ain urban area were drawn in accordance to the existing road layout within the city of AlAin. Therefore, within the city centre where there is a dense road network the zones are smaller. Conversely, the

zones are larger in the suburbs where the network is less dense. Figure 19 shows the compatibility between the

STEAM zoning system and the street layout.

Figure 19 - Al Ain Zone Boundaries

3.4.3 Existing and Proposed Population Density and Land Use

A detailed analysis of the existing Al Ain population and land use pattern was undertaken. The zoning system is

based on the principle that each zone should represent a similar level of trip intensity or number of trip ends.

Figure 20 shows zones have been disaggregated according to the 2009 population density with coarser

representation within low density areas and a refined zone definition within the high density areas. Furtherdisaggregation of zones to incorporate the future year development proposals laid out in the structure plan is

shown in Figure 21.


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Figure 20 - Al Ain 2009 Population Density


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Figure 21 - Al Ain 2030 Urban Structure Framework Plan


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3.4.4 Homogeneity

As far as possible, the STEAM zones are based on homogenous land uses. This is desirable to analyse trips withsimilar trip ends and purpose. Figure 22shows an example of the homogeneity of land uses in the STEAM zoning

system.

Figure 22 - Homogeneity Maintained within Al Ain Urban Zoning System

3.4.5 Special Trip Generators Al Ain

The specification of the STEAM zoning system has taken account of the location of the special generators and the

zoning defined such that the access to/from these generators is clearly represented and the trips generated can

be separately defined. The special generators that have initially been identified for the Al Ain area are:

Al Ain Oasis;

Al Ain Deer Park;

Al Qattara;

Hili Archaeological Park;

Jabel Hafeet; and

Al Ain Zoo.

Residential Industrial

Hospital

University

Residential Residential

Public/Semi

Public

School

Park


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3.5 Al Ain Rural Region Zoning

Al Ain rural region lies towards the east of Abu Dhabi Emirate and straddles Al Ain city. Figure 23 shows thelocation of Al Ain rural region in the context of the study area and the census zones contained therein.

3.5.1 Community Boundaries

Similar to Al Ain Urban region, community boundaries have been used as a base to define the zoning system

within the Al Ain rural region. The existing land use and population distribution within the Al Ain rural region has

been studied in detail together with the spatial disaggregation exhibited within the definition of the community

boundaries.

As future land use and demographic changes will be projected at the community level, the zone definition with the

Al Ain rural region should match the community boundaries and shall be disaggregated at the same spatial level

of detail.

As the rural area primarily contains desert, vast stretches of land do not have any settlements, therefore the zone

definition that follows the boundaries of the communities was deemed fit to be adopted for STEAM.


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Figure 23 - Al Ain Rural Region Zone Boundary


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The population distribution, based on the 2009 planning data provided by the Department of Transport, wasanalysed to determine density, Figure 24shows the population density and the zoning definition for Al Ain rural

region. The zoning system within Al Ain rural area contains zones of similar population size and therefore similar

trip intensity.


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Figure 24 - Al Ain Rural Region with Population Density (no. of people / sq.km)


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3.6 Al Gharbia Region Zoning

Al Gharbia forms the western region of Abu Dhabi Emirate, bordering Saudi Arabia. It covers 60,000 squarekilometres; 71% of the total land mass of the UAE. It is comprised of seven main cities; Madinat Zayed, Mirfa,

Liwa, Ghayathi, Sila, Ruwais and Dalma Island. The location of Al Gharbia region is shown in Figure 4 in Chapter

2.

The STMP model has a very coarse representation of Al Gharbia with only nine zones covering the whole region.

Therefore, the zones have been disaggregated to fit the purpose and goal of STEAM. Figures 25 and 26 show the

representation of Al Gharbia within the STMP model and STEAM respectively.

Figure 25 - Al Gharbia STMP Zone Boundaries


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Figure 26 - Al Gharbia STEAM Zone Boundaries


Al Gharbia mainly comprises of vast stretches of desert with limited population concentrations in urban areas.

Figure 27 shows that the zones with higher concentration of population are mainly along the key corridors or along

the coast .The area towards the north- east of the region contains a large population concentration and therefore

has been disaggregated into smaller zones. On the other hand, the areas that lie within the desert and western

area of the region are very thinly populated and therefore have large zones. The zoning system also recognises

the potential growth in the future years and is therefore disaggregated into manageable sizes to accommodate

future developments.


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Figure 27 - Al Gharbia Region with Population Density 2009


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3.7 External Zones

External zones represent the areas beyond the detailed study area, in this case outside Abu Dhabi Emirate. Thisconstitutes the other six emirates within UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The number of external zones

within each emirate (outside of Abu Dhabi) and other countries depends on their current and anticipated future

level of interaction with Abu Dhabi Emirate. The Emirate of Dubai, for example, will witness high growth in specific

areas, and undergo an increase in the intensity of interaction. Therefore, the Emirate of Dubai has been

disaggregated into a greater level of detail than other emirates based on the availability of future year

development plans. The district/region boundaries used for planning purposes in Dubai, available from the

Planning Council of Dubai, were used to develop zones within Dubai. Figure 28 shows all the external traffic

zones.

The zoning system within the Emirate of Dubai must also be appropriate to accommodate the proposals for UnionRailway. The proposals and plans for the alignment and service configuration of Union Railway were used to

refine the zoning system to incorporate the potential trip generators such as stations, stops and other public

transport nodes.

Figure 28 - External Region Zoning


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Table 3 shows a summary of zones within the external region.

Table 3 - Number of Zones within the External Region

Emirates/Countries No. of Zones

Saudi Arabia 1

Qatar 1

Oman 4

Dubai 6

Ajman 2

Al Fujairah 3

Sharjah 4

Ras al-Khaimah 2

Umm al-Quwain 1

Fujairah and Sharjah 1

Oman and Ajman 1

Total 26

3.8 Summary

The final STEAM zone plans resulting from the detailed examination of the land use and existing and proposedtransport networks are presented in Appendix A. In terms of the development of the base year model the zones of

current activity are considered to be fixed. However, the zone system in the future development areas can be

adjusted and refined to suit emerging development plans.

STEAM has been structured so that changes to the zone system can be readily accommodated and new travel

demands derived automatic

Documents

Zoning and Network Development