Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

 

A Fuzzy-Delphi Approach for the Prioritization of Traffic Impact Mitigation Measures under Heavy Rainfall Conditions

Reza MEHDIZADEH ANVIGH*1, José FIGUEIREDO SILVA2, Joaquim MACEDO1
* Corresponding author
1 University of Aveiro, Department of Civil Engineering, RISCO, Aveiro, PORTUGAL
2 University of Aveiro, Department of Environment and Planning, Aveiro, PORTUGAL
mehdizadeh@ua.pt https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8577-3138
jfs@ua.pt https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7466-9351
jmacedo@ua.pt https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4689-5279
Pages: 5-19

Abstract. The management of traffic issues under heavy rainfall conditions is a subject of high importance to prevent subsequent impacts. In this regard, the adoption of effective tools and actions can potentially assist in controlling the risks during such extreme conditions. On the other hand, actions should reflect technical, environmental, economic, and social criteria in compliance with the sustainability principles. To this end, the Fuzzy-Delphi methodology was conducted to identify the influencing criteria and prioritize them by forming an international panel of 20 experts of various required relevant expertise to classify the relative importance of the identified actions. According to the results achieved, all the proposed actions were deemed important to be considered to manage the traffic under heavy rainfall conditions. The improvement of driving culture and public training were identified as the most important actions which indicate the importance of “driver behaviour” to control the risks under heavy rainfall conditions. The results of the present study can be used by the decision-makers to prevent traffic events and emergency conditions under heavy rainfalls by designing and implementing sustainable measures. More research is also recommended for the practical applications of the results achieved in the present study.

K e y w o r d s:  heavy rainfall, traffic management, Fuzzy-Delphi approach, safety, multi-criteria decision-maki