THE IMPACT OF LANDUSE ON TRAFFIC FLOW: A STUDY OF FILLING STATIONS ALONG LASU/ISHERI ROAD, OJO, LAGOS

Abstract

This study examined the impact of land-use on traffic flow, focusing on petrol filling stations along LASU/Isheri road, Ojo, Lagos State. Primary data were collected using the Geographical Positioning System (GPS), questionnaires and traffic count sheet. The filling stations (FS) were divided into three (3) different strata which includes; high, medium and low clustering as derived from the nearest neighbour analysis carried out. Fifteen (15) FS were sampled out of forty-seven (47) FS using stratified random sampling technique, selecting five (5) FS from each strata. 300 copies of well-structured questionnaire were administered to the respondents at bus-stops close to the sampled FS. Analysis was carried out using ArcGIS 10.3, Level of Service parameter (v/c ratio), the weighted average trip generation rate formula and frequency distribution tables. The study result revealed that the FS along the road corridor are clustered with a Z-score of -7.34 and NNI of 0.440285. It was also revealed that the major means of commuting on the road are mostly Small Occupancy Vehicles with mini buses constituting the highest (69.2%). The maximum peak hour volume is estimated to be 4198.6 pcu/hr while the LOS of the road using the v/c ratio parameter is categorised as ‘D’. Also, the FS along the corridor are seen to contribute significantly to the traffic volume on the corridor. It was also revealed that the dominant traffic problems along the corridor includes, traffic gridlock which sometimes result into road traffic crashes which are triggered by concentration of FS in the region, proximity of FS to road intersection, overflow of queue into the roadway, and to a minimal extent parking of tankers along the road way and lack of setback. This study suggests strategies that can be adopted for locating FS to ensure free flow of traffic along the road corridor where they are located.