An experiment of an Urban Traffic Pollution Control System

In most of the European city centres, traffic congestion, air pollution and noise have become serious problems, leading to a significant effort in the search for new technical solutions. Within this framework, the paper deals with the relations between urban traffic flows management and environmental issues such as traffic noise and air pollution. A research project, called “Application of ITS technologies for urban traffic control respecting environmental bounds”, has been carried out, whose final goal is the experimental evaluation of the effectiveness of a simultaneous traffic and pollution control in a middle-size Italian town. The paper describes a work in progress within the research project, focusing on the practical experience which has been realised in the city of Trieste, a middle-size town in the North-East of Italy. In particular most attention is paid on the specific measurement device which has been specifically designed and built to provide a continuous measure of pollution in the analysed urban area. This system may be integrated with the Urban Traffic Control System (UTCS), thus realising an urban traffic pollution control system which is now in an advanced phase of implementation.