Arrival-Based Uniform Delay Model for Exclusive Protected-Permitted Left-Turn Lane at Signalized Intersections

Author(s):  
Ming-Heng Wang ◽  
Rahim F. Benekohal
Author(s):  
Rahim F. Benekohal ◽  
Sang-Ock Kim

For oversaturated traffic conditions, the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) does not apply a progression adjustment factor to the delay model for signalized intersections when there is an initial queue. This causes counterintuitive results in the calculation of delay; for some cases, delay for a nonzero initial queue condition ends up being less than the delay with zero initial queue conditions. Also, for oversaturated traffic conditions, the delay model in the 2000 edition of HCM yields the same uniform delay values for all arrival types when there is an initial queue. This does not seem reasonable because it ignores the effect of platooning on delay. This paper introduces a new approach for computing uniform delay for oversaturated traffic conditions when progression is poor. This approach directly considers the platooning effects in delay and thus eliminates the need to apply a progression adjustment factor. The proposed model is applicable whether there is an initial queue or not. The approach was validated by a comparison of the control delays obtained from a CORSIM simulation to the delays from the proposed model. Validation procedures were conducted on the basis of zero and nonzero initial queue conditions. The proposed approach resulted in more accurate delay values than the HCM model.


Author(s):  
Zihang Wei ◽  
Yunlong Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyu Guo ◽  
Xin Zhang

Through movement capacity is an essential factor used to reflect intersection performance, especially for signalized intersections, where a large proportion of vehicle demand is making through movements. Generally, left-turn spillback is considered a key contributor to affect through movement capacity, and blockage to the left-turn bay is known to decrease left-turn capacity. Previous studies have focused primarily on estimating the through movement capacity under a lagging protected only left-turn (lagging POLT) signal setting, as a left-turn spillback is more likely to happen under such a condition. However, previous studies contained assumptions (e.g., omit spillback), or were dedicated to one specific signal setting. Therefore, in this study, through movement capacity models based on probabilistic modeling of spillback and blockage scenarios are established under four different signal settings (i.e., leading protected only left-turn [leading POLT], lagging left-turn, protected plus permitted left-turn, and permitted plus protected left-turn). Through microscopic simulations, the proposed models are validated, and compared with existing capacity models and the one in the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM). The results of the comparisons demonstrate that the proposed models achieved significant advantages over all the other models and obtained high accuracies in all signal settings. Each proposed model for a given signal setting maintains consistent accuracy across various left-turn bay lengths. The proposed models of this study have the potential to serve as useful tools, for practicing transportation engineers, when determining the appropriate length of a left-turn bay with the consideration of spillback and blockage, and the adequate cycle length with a given bay length.


Author(s):  
Andrew Raessler ◽  
Jidong J. Yang

A new methodology is proposed to establish practical guidelines for four incremental left-turn treatments: ( a) permissive single left-turn lane, ( b) protected–permissive single left-turn lane, ( c) protected dual left-turn lanes with equal lane use, and ( d) protected dual left-turn lanes with unequal lane use. Decision boundaries were derived from the equilibrium at which the delays of two incremental treatments were equal. The benefits and costs associated with different left-turn treatments—including safety impact and construction and maintenance costs—also were considered. These benefits and costs effectually shift the boundary curves for more realistic decision making.


Author(s):  
Daniel J. Cook

Along urban and suburban arterials, closely-spaced signalized intersections are commonly used to provide access to adjacent commercial developments. Often, these signalized intersections are designed to provide full access to developments on both sides of the arterial and permit through, left-turn, and right-turn movements from every intersection approach. Traffic signal timing is optimized to reduce vehicle delay or provide progression to vehicles on the arterial, or both. However, meeting both of these criteria can be cumbersome, if not impossible, under high-demand situations. This research proposes a new design that consolidates common movements at three consecutive signalized intersections into strategic fixed locations along the arterial. The consolidation of common movements allows the intersections to cycle between only two critical phases, which, in turn, promotes shorter cycle lengths, lower delay, and better progression. This research tested the consolidated intersection concept by modeling a real-world site in microsimulation software and obtaining values for delay and travel time for multiple vehicle paths along the corridor and adjacent commercial developments in both existing and proposed conditions. With the exception of unsignalized right turns at the periphery of the study area, all non-displaced routes showed a reduction in travel time and delay. Additional research is needed to understand how additional travel through the commercial developments adjacent to the arterial may effect travel time and delay. Other expected benefits of the proposed design include a major reduction in conflict points, shorter pedestrian crossing and wait times, and the opportunity to provide pedestrian refuge areas in the median.


1997 ◽  
Vol 1572 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nagui M. Rouphail ◽  
Mohammad Anwar ◽  
Daniel B. Fambro ◽  
Paul Sloup ◽  
Cesar E. Perez

One limitation of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) model for estimating delay at signalized intersections is its inadequate treatment of vehicle-actuated traffic signals. For example, the current delay model uses a single adjustment for all types of actuated control and is not sensitive to changes in actuated controller settings. The objective in this paper was to use TRAF-NETSIM and field data to evaluate a generalized delay model developed to overcome some of these deficiencies. NETSIM was used to estimate delay at an isolated intersection under actuated control, and the delay values obtained from NETSIM were then compared with those estimated by the generalized delay model. In addition, field data were collected from sites in North Carolina, and delays observed in the field were compared with those estimated by the generalized delay model. The delays estimated by the generalized model were comparable with the delays estimated by NETSIM. The data compared favorably for degrees of saturation of less than 0.8. However, at higher degrees of saturation, the generalized model produced delays that were higher than NETSIM’s. Some possible explanations for this discrepancy are discussed. The delays estimated by the generalized model were comparable with delays observed in the field. Researchers have concluded that the generalized delay model is sensitive to changes in traffic volumes and vehicle-actuated controller settings and that the generalized delay model is much improved over the current HCM model in estimating delay at vehicle-actuated traffic signals.


Author(s):  
Janice Daniel ◽  
Daniel B. Fambro ◽  
Nagui M. Rouphail

The primary objective of this research was to determine the effect of nonrandom or platoon arrivals on the estimate of delay at signalized intersections. The delay model used in the 1994 Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) accounts for nonrandom arrivals through the variable m, which can be shown to be equal to 8kI, where k describes the arrival and service distributions at the intersection and I describes the variation in arrivals due to the upstream intersection. The 1994 HCM delay model m-values are a function of the arrival type, where the arrival type describes the quality of progression at the intersection. Although an improvement to the fixed k I-value used in the 1985 delay model, the 1994 m values are based on empirical studies from limited field data and do not account for the decrease in random arrivals as the volume approaches capacity at the downstream intersection. This research provides an estimate of the variable kI for arterial conditions. An analytical equation was developed as a function of the degree of saturation, and a separate equation was developed for each signal controller type. The results from this research show that the proposed kI's provide delay estimates closer to the measured delay compared with the delay estimates using the kI-values in the 1994 HCM delay model.


2019 ◽  
Vol 145 (6) ◽  
pp. 04019020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pan Liu ◽  
Jiaming Wu ◽  
Huaguo Zhou ◽  
Jie Bao ◽  
Zhao Yang

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