A Microscopic Analysis of Parking Problems in Baghdad City with the Aid of VISSIM

Parking is a major concern in business districts, such as Baghdad, one of the world's largest and most populous cities. The purpose of this study is to examine parking lots to identify the existing parking issues and provide an overall solution. The study includes a survey of two parking lots, the Dream City Mall parking lot and the University of Technology parking lot, to gather information and incorporate the collected data into VISSIM, a microscopic simulation tool. Input data includes traffic data, data about the studied park, and data about the efficiency of the park. Results for Dream City Mall parking lot indicate that the maximum delay on gate is 6.5 minutes, and the maximum queue length is 18 vehicles because of congestion and high traffic volumes. The parking lot has about 45% empty spaces at 5 pm. For the University of Technology parking lot, the park was overutilized, and many vehicles parked where they weren't meant to. Also, there is an issue with the low turnover rate, because university employees use the parking lot from early in the morning until 2:00 pm, and parking spaces cannot be used by other vehicles. This research suggests solutions to improve parking for each parking lot. Keywords: CBD, Off-street parking, Parking demand, Parking lot, Simulation model, VISSIM.