The Impact of the Pandemic on Vehicle Traffic and Roadside Environmental Pollution: Rzeszow City as a Case Study

Abstract

The development of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related lockdown had a major impact on vehicle traffic in cities. Based on available data from the selected city of Rzeszow, Poland, it was decided to assess changes in vehicle traffic and the impact of these changes on roadside environmental pollution. As part of the research, data from the first half of 2020 regarding vehicle traffic on selected streets of the city and on the city’s inlet routes were analyzed. For the selected road sections, changes in hourly traffic volume in 2020, compared with 2019, were also determined. With data on traffic volume, an attempt was made to estimate the impact of changes in traffic volume on air pollution in the city. Research on air pollution from motor vehicles was focused on a selected section of a city road that was equipped with an automatic air pollution measurement station located very close to the road. Additionally, at the road intersection and in the vicinity of the measuring station, a sensor was installed in the roadway to count passing vehicles. A preliminary analysis of air pollution data revealed that factors such as wind speed and direction and outside temperature had a large impact on measurement results. To eliminate the influence of these factors and to obtain data concerning only contamination originating from motor vehicles traveling along the road, an appropriate mathematical model of the traffic flow–roadside environment system was built. This model was designed to determine the air pollution in the vicinity of the road generated by traffic flow. The constructed model was verified, and the conditions for its use were determined in order to study the impact of traffic and roadside environment on the level of air pollution from harmful exhaust substances. It was shown that at certain times of the day, especially at low temperatures, other sources of harmful emissions related to home heating play a major role in air pollution in the city.

RETRACTED: Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Traffic Volume and Air Quality in Urban Areas

“…Results of this study revealed there was a reduction in traffic volume level in most districts such as Kelapa Gading (8%), Kebon Jeruk (1%), and Jagakarsa (0.8%) during the LSSR period ( Figure 2 ). The decrease in vehicle traffic was also recorded in the Rzeszow city of Poland which was found in the first phase of the pandemic from March to April 2020 ( Smieszek et al, 2021 ). The other studies also revealed the reducing traffic volume and industrial activities during the COVID-19 lockdown period which then were associated with the changes in air pollutants levels ( Nakada & Urban, 2020 ; Selvam et al, 2020 ; Tobías et al, 2020 ).…”

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Traffic Flow Characteristics, Emissions Production and Fuel Consumption at a Selected Intersection in Slovakia

“…Each vehicle type involved in the simulation must have defined instantaneous emission parameters [49]. The breakdown of passenger cars by fuel type was as follows: 65% petrol, 30% diesel and 5% LPG, as stated by the authors of [52,53]. At first, we modelled the actual dimensions and design of the intersection (number of lanes on each arm) (Figure 3).…”

Estimation of the Public Transport Operating Performance: Example of a Selected City Bus Route

“…Compared to data before the pandemic, passenger transport by public transport in the city of Rzeszow decreased approximately twice. The impact of the pandemic itself on changes in traffic and transport has been described in the literature [16][17]. With a significant decrease in passenger transport, an interesting question is what the data on energy consumption in traffic look like.…”