WHAT’S NEWPTV Vistro 2024

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH1

Copyright

Copyright© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH, Karlsruhe
All rights reserved.
Imprint
PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH
Address:
Haid-und-Neu-Str. 1576131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Management Board:
Christian U. Haas (CEO)Dr. Karsten Kölsch (CFO)
Contact:
Phone: +49 (0) 721-9651-0
Fax: +49 (0) 721-9651-699
E-Mail: info@ptvgroup.com
www.ptvgroup.com
Entry in the Commercial Register:
Local court Mannheim HRB 743055
Sales tax ID:
Sales tax identification number according to §27 a Umsatzsteuergesetz: DE 812 666 053© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH2ContentContentPreamble ................................................................................................................................... 4
Release Highlight Summary ................................................................................................... 4
1Workspace ...................................................................................................................... 5
1.12345

6

Vistro’s start page website .............................................................................. 5

Analysis Methods ........................................................................................................... 6
2.1

Emissions .......................................................................................................... 6

2.2

Proportion of Electric vehicles........................................................................ 7

Traffic Control Workflow ............................................................................................... 8
3.1

Patterns ............................................................................................................. 83.2

Centracs Import/Export................................................................................... 93.3

Automatic adjustments to Maximum Green ............................................... 103.4

Phasing & Timing Basic and Active Pattern sub-tables ............................. 10Trip Generation Workflow .......................................................................................... 124.1

Internal capture .............................................................................................. 124.2

ITE Trip Generation Statistics........................................................................ 12

Graphical Editors .......................................................................................................... 145.1

Roundabouts .................................................................................................. 145.2

Network visualization improvements .......................................................... 14Export ............................................................................................................................ 15
6.1

Leading Pedestrian Intervals in Vissim ........................................................ 15

6.2

Vistro Merge & Update tool in Visum 2024 ................................................ 16

6.3

Better Vissim export of signals ..................................................................... 17© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH3

Preamble

PreambleThis document offers a glimpse into the significant Service Pack updates in PTV Vistro,
spanning from version 2023 to version 2024, as well as the latest additions in the initial
release of version 2024. For additional features, please refer to the release notes. It'sworth noting that future versions within the 2024.00-xy service packs will introduce newfeatures not covered in this overview document.
For comprehensive instructions on utilizing the new functionality, you can consult theVistro 2024 online help and refer to the document titled "PTVVistro2024_Manual.pdf"

Release Highlight Summary
PTV Vistro 2024 brings numerous enhancements that enhance your flexibility in data
integration and offer new key performance indicators (KPIs) for comprehensive junction
analysis. We have streamlined the process of integrating field data into your trafficmodels, making it easier and more efficient.
One of PTV Vistro's standout features is its ability to directly import crucial data fromtraffic controller software such as Econolite Centracs and various commercial monitoring
and traffic count providers. This includes traffic signal base timing, pattern data, andpeak-hour turn movement count volume data. This direct connection enables us toquickly calculate the environmental impact of carbon emissions and measure theemissions reductions achieved through the adoption of electric and autonomousvehicles.
In an era characterized by transformative automotive technologies, it becomes essential
to align our design and policy decisions with modeling tools and KPIs that match ourevolving objectives. With the rise of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and thegrowing prevalence of electric vehicles (EVs), we must adapt to the dynamics of modernvehicle fleets. The critical question is: How can we define a "good design" within thisever-evolving landscape? Vistro can provide the answer!
Vistro 2024 tackles this challenge by incorporating attributes that are relevant to CAVsand EVs, enabling you to make informed decisions regarding signal optimizations thatextend beyond mere capacity enhancements.
Moreover, PTV Vistro now offers enhanced integration capabilities, allowing yourengineering design details to effortlessly create and maintain Visum and Vissim models.
You can seamlessly transfer sections of your Vistro models to update your Visum
planning model or use Vistro for rapid studies on leading pedestrian intervals,
seamlessly incorporating them into a full Vissim microsimulation.
With PTV Vistro 2024, you gain access to a suite of advanced features and tools that not
only simplify data integration and analysis but also empower you to effectively navigate
the complexities of modern transportation systems.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH4

Workspace1
1.1

Workspace
Vistro’s start page website

Keep yourself informed about the latest Vistro updates by utilizing our new 'Open Start
Page in Web Browser' option in the 'View' menu. This feature simplifies the process ofreopening the Vistro start page in your web browser. By using it, you can revisit
important tutorial materials, stay updated on the latest service pack releases, and accessdetailed information regarding upcoming events.
This useful addition guarantees that you can effortlessly access the most current andpertinent Vistro resources, ensuring you are well-informed and ready to maximize thebenefits of our software.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH5

Analysis Methods

2
2.1

Analysis Methods
Emissions

Vistro's latest emissions calculation feature provides a user-friendly solution forevaluating your network's environmental impacts. This innovative tool allows you toeasily analyze various aspects of your network's ecological footprint, including
operational fuel consumption, vehicle miles traveled, and emissions of harmful gases likecarbon dioxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOC) at
both the intersection and network levels. This comprehensive approach offers a broader
set of metrics to optimize your traffic signal management, going beyond addressing
signal delay.
You can conveniently find the results of these emissions calculations in a dedicated'Emissions' sub-table within the 'Traffic Control' workflow for each intersection.
Moreover, accessing the total emissions data for your entire network is straightforward
through the network statistics window. These values seamlessly integrate into Vistro's
reports, ensuring that you have essential environmental data at your fingertips when
making informed decisions.

To enhance your experience further, Vistro provides 'Global Settings' that enable you tocustomize emissions values based on your local vehicle fleet composition. Whether you
prefer imperial or metric units, you can tailor the calculations to match the specificcharacteristics of your region, ensuring accuracy and relevance in your assessment ofenvironmental impact.
With Vistro's advanced emissions calculation feature, you can now make more informed
and environmentally conscious decisions while managing your network, contributing toa greener and more sustainable transportation infrastructure.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH6

Analysis Methods

2.2

Proportion of Electric vehicles

Vistro now evaluates the impact of electric vehicles on carbon emissions, turning it into avaluable tool for exploring different scenarios and promoting local policies andelectrification goals. Moreover, you can future-proof your designs and fine-tune yourvehicle fleet further by considering connected and autonomous vehicles at signalizedintersections and roundabouts using HCM 7th Edition calculations.
In the 'Volumes' workflow, you can easily integrate the 'Proportion of EV%' parameter atsignalized intersections to precisely account for electric vehicles in traffic volumes. Thisadjustment efficiently trims down the number of vehicles factored into emissions
calculations, resulting in reduced fuel consumption and fewer greenhouse gas emissions
at the intersection. You can establish a consistent EV% for your entire network using'Global Settings' and the multi-change tool.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH7

Traffic Control Workflow

33.1

Traffic Control Workflow
Patterns

Vistro is a unified system that generates multiple time-of-day timing plans. You can selectand optimize multiple timing patterns within a single signal controller. Each pattern
includes various values for each signal group, with the most important ones being thesignal phase split, cycle length, and offset. When you designate a pattern as active using
the newly introduced 'Active Pattern' control in the 'Traffic Control' workflow's'Intersection Settings' sub-table, the splits are adjusted, and calculations are performed
based on the newly activated pattern.
To access this functionality, simply click the button to open the new 'Patterns' dialog.
This dialog allows you to add, update, manage, and remove patterns, providing you withgreater control and flexibility in your signal timing plans.

When you import UTDF/Centracs Timing Plans files, the Active Pattern control and thePatterns dialog will display the timing plans as selectable patterns.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH8Traffic Control Workflow

All other patterns are exported to Vissim and Visum for further analysis and setup ofmultiple-pattern simulations.

3.2

Centracs Import/Export

The integration of Vistro and Centracs creates a seamless system that rapidly
synchronizes field timing plans and new timing scenarios. This integration simplifies theprocess of importing Centracs signal timings, including multiple patterns, directly into
Vistro for quick setup and analysis. It eliminates the need for time-consuming
configurations and fragmented assessments. In Vistro, you can analyze and send all
newly optimized timing patterns back to Centracs for immediate field deployment,
ensuring that your traffic signal data stays up to date in your management and modelingsoftware. This empowers you to make informed decisions with the latest information.
With this connection, there's no need for manual entry of signal timing parameters andschedules. The Centracs-Vistro integration effortlessly provides a wide range of traffic
signal time-of-day patterns and timings, ensuring top-notch traffic management.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH9

Traffic Control Workflow

In the 'File > Import' menu, you now have a new option labeled 'Centracs' for importing
phasing and timing data, which includes splits, cycle lengths, and offsets, from Econolite
Centracs. Users can specify their preferences for importing files and intersection data.
Exporting signal timing plans from Vistro to Centracs is equally straightforward,
accessible through 'File > Export.' Users have the flexibility to choose whichintersections' data should be exported and whether to export all patterns or only theactive one. Each intersection's data is organized into individual files within a selectable
destination folder, with filenames containing the intersection names for easy
identification.

3.3

Automatic adjustments to Maximum GreenIn Vistro, if you change values like split, amber, all-red, or delayed vehicle green times,
the software automatically ensures data consistency when exporting to Vissim for
microsimulation. More precisely, Vistro automatically modifies the Maximum Green time
to maintain data coherence.
However, when you use the 'Create Default Signalization' feature, Maximum Green time
will now synchronize only with the splits defined in Pattern 1. This adjustment won't
apply to other patterns. Users can manually enter a specific value to override thiscalculation if necessary.

3.4

Phasing & Timing Basic and Active Pattern sub-tables

We reorganized the Traffic Control workflow in Vistro to enhance the correlation of RBC
signal parameters with Vissim. Specifically, we updated the order of rows for HCM
analysis types. Additionally, we divided the sub-table 'Phasing & Timing' into two distinct
sub-tables: 'Phasing & Timing (Basic)' and 'Phasing & Timing ("Active Pattern")'.
The 'Phasing & Timing ("Active Pattern")' sub-table now encompasses the values
associated with the currently selected pattern, while the 'Phasing & Timing (Basic)' subtable contains values that remain consistent across all patterns. The 'Active Pattern' sub-© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH10

Traffic Control Workflow

table holds pattern-specific values or values related to the Free Running timing. It's
important to note that the Vistro reports also reflect these adjustments.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH

11

Trip Generation Workflow

44.1

Trip Generation Workflow
Internal capture

Vistro has now integrated a user-friendly feature for adjusting generated trip data toconsider internal trips. You can use the ITE trip generation API to import results, apply asimple internal capture rate (or any trip reduction factor), and obtain adjusted trip values
without the need for external spreadsheet calculations.
In the Trip Generation workflow grid, Vistro includes a new column labeled '% InternalCapture.' This column empowers you to specify the percentage by which Zone trips,
whether entered manually or retrieved from the ITE Trip Gen web application, can be
reduced to account for internal trips. Moreover, three additional columns — 'Trips
Generated Adjusted,' 'Trips In Adjusted,' and 'Trips Out Adjusted' — clearly demonstrate
how this internal capture rate impacts overall demand. These adjusted trip values
seamlessly integrate into the 'Trip Distribution' and 'Trip Assignment' workflows,
ensuring a consistent data flow.
Furthermore, the generated report includes these adjusted values, serving as a valuablereference point for validating the accuracy of your trip generation data. This
comprehensive approach streamlines the adjustment process and bolsters the reliabilityof your transportation planning and analysis tasks.

4.2ITE Trip Generation Statistics

Vistro's ITE TripGen API interface provides data statistics that inform you about thenumber of studies, standard deviation, and reliability of the ITE trip generation study
data. This view summarizes the unique parameters and fitted-curve equation of thequery for your review and includes links to the official ITE data plots.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH

12

Trip Generation Workflow© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH

13

Graphical Editors

5

Graphical Editors

5.1

Roundabouts

In Vistro 2024, you can take advantage of improved roundabout visualization to achieveprecise design and receive feedback. You have the capability to create ideal radii,
splitter islands, and circular lanes. What sets Vistro apart is its unique feature that enables
you to import and simulate your roundabout directly in Vissim, a top-tier simulation tool.
This means that your design specifics, such as bypass lanes, turn lanes, and radii, arerepresented in both Vissim and Visum, simplifying the assessment of corridor mobility at
various levels of detail.

5.2

Network visualization improvements

We have enhanced the visualization of dedicated lanes, specifically channelized or
bypass lanes that do not extend to the stop line. Now, we measure the length of theselanes from the point where the movement begins to separate from the main approach.
In previous versions, this measurement commenced at the stop line. This updated
visualization aligns more closely with the resulting Vissim network after an export.
We've also made improvements in the display of channelized turns with dedicated target
lanes. The movement now seamlessly connects to the target lane, providing a smootherrepresentation. Target lanes using channelized turn, now are visualized with a lanecontinuing further downstream.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH14

Export66.1

ExportLeading Pedestrian Intervals in Vissim

Vistro now exports Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPI) to Vissim 2024 via ANM and to the
Vissim Preview. Vistro's unique built-in functionality eliminates the need for false phases.
Quickly create and correctly model your LPIs and optimize entire networks. Simulate LPIs
directly in Vissim with push-button detection. These features make investigating LPIs inyour next study intuitive and cost-effective.
'Delayed Vehicle Green' directly exports to Vissim's new LPI value. In previous versions ofVistro, we used to create overlaps in the PRBC file and write the value to the 'Delay Green'
field of the overlap. Now, Vistro will now directly import the 'Delayed Vehicle Green' value
into the 'Delay Green (LPI)' field in the Basic Timing table in Vissim, and there will be nocreation of overlaps.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH15

Export

6.2

Vistro Merge & Update tool in Visum 2024

PTV Vistro, a leading traffic engineering tool, prioritizes user-friendly interfaces andefficient junction coding. In PTV Visum 2024, a new tool seamlessly combines junction
and signal data from Vistro's merge file. You can insert multiple Vistro networks into a
regional transportation model to initiate new projects or incorporate updates. This
improvement simplifies the process of integrating local Vistro junction details into
regional models, eliminating redundant coding and optimizing data utilization.
This functionality empowers engineers to concentrate on dedicated traffic analysis using
Vistro, while planners focus on PTV Visum. PTV Vistro serves as a bridge between youragency's traffic operations and planning departments. Moreover, it stands out as thepremier traffic signal optimization software, ensuring your advanced simulation tools
remain well-prepared for upcoming challenges.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH16

Export

6.3

Better Vissim export of signals

We made several improvements to enhance Vissim exports and ensure consistentcoordination settings for controllers in Vistro. Vistro now takes the initiative to identify
startup signal groups automatically, eliminating potential warnings in Vissim. In the caseof coordinated controllers lacking coordinated flags on signal groups, Vistro now
generates these flags automatically. Additionally, the ICA check now highlights any
disparities between the controller settings and the coordinated flags of the signalgroups. Conversely, isolated controllers operating in fully actuated mode, consist of acycle length of zero in the export.

© 2023 PTV Planung Transport Verkehr GmbH17