Abstract:
Nowadays, it is noticeable that Bangkok still faces a serious traffic problem caused by street network of large closed areas. This research, therefore, aims to study the street network, traffic congestion, and the relationship between the street network structure and the traffic problems in two large closed areas Dindang and Huaikhwang - in order to find a root of traffic problems affected by the spatial structure of the street network. The study used Space Syntax technique as the main tool to pinpoint area accessibility. It also investigated building density and traffic statistics in relation to the spatial structure of the areas studied. The results showed that the large closed areas have limited number of main streets as well as sub-streets, whereas they have a huge number of minor streets or small alleys. Moreover, the main streets are highly accessible, while accessibility of the minor streets is the opposite. It can be concluded that Dindang has an incomplete street network, and Huaikhwang has an insufficient street network which is also incomplete. As a result, there are a lots of unnecessary trips found on the main, minor and sub-streets, which are caused by vehicular movements ending within the areas and those that pass by. Another problem is the accumulation of the areas' ended-destination traffics at the intersection between the main and the minor streets. This causes highly traffic congestion around their junction. The results from this study indicate the effect of the street network structure on the traffic problem. It can be suggested that should the street network of the closed area is complete and sufficient, the traffic problem could be greatly reduced. However, the link or the addition of different road types that form the network should be carefully planned. They should also be considered with the current land uses and other factors, for instance, land price, land return expenditure and construction cost.