Field observations illustrated that, right-turn vehicles stopped at various positions when proceeding within the right-turn lanes, while some of them trespassed on the crosswalks with multiple stops. In this case, ped...Field observations illustrated that, right-turn vehicles stopped at various positions when proceeding within the right-turn lanes, while some of them trespassed on the crosswalks with multiple stops. In this case, pedestrians and bikes (ped/bike) are encountered unsmooth and hazardous crossings when right-turn vehicles encroaching their lanes. Meanwhile, this also causes conflicts between right-turn and through vehicles at the crossing street. To better protect ped/bike at crossings with right-turn vehicles, this paper proposes a concept of “right-turn vehicle box” (RTVB) as a supplemental treatment within right-turn lanes. Sight distance, geometric conditions, and behaviors of vehicles and ped/bike are key factors to consider so as to set up the criteria and to design the suitable treatment. A case study was conducted at an intersection pair in Houston, USA to shape the idea of RTVB, together with driving simulator tests under relevant scenarios. The preliminary crosscheck examination shows that the right-turn vehicle box could possibly provide ped/ bike with smoother and safer crossings. In the interim, the safety and efficiency of right-turn operations were also improved. To further validate the effects, implementation studies should be conducted before the RTVB can make its debut in practice. Future works will focus on the complete warrants and design details of this treatment. Moreover, the concept of “vehicle box” could also be transplanted to other places where turning movement(s) needs assistance or improvements.展开更多
The purposes of this paper are to better understand the design and impact of left turn lane offset and provide state transportation agencies recommendations on best practices and alternative design options to address ...The purposes of this paper are to better understand the design and impact of left turn lane offset and provide state transportation agencies recommendations on best practices and alternative design options to address left turn sight line obstruction issues.Research studies and existing guidelines on left turn lane offset were reviewed and summarized to offer insights in driver sight distance and behavior,intersection safety and operations,as well as design elements related to left turn lane offset.Studies showed that at both unsignalized intersections and signalized intersections with permitted left turns,obstructed sight line could cause higher possibilities of collisions between left turning vehicles and oncoming vehicles from the opposing direction.Existing evaluations of left turn lane offset,with data from multiple states in the United States,reported that positive left turn lane offsets were beneficial in terms of safety and operations.Most agency guidelines provided very limited discussions about left turn lane offset.This review demonstrated that positive left turn lane offsets are beneficial to intersection safety and operations.Based on the review of research and guidelines,recommendations were provided for transportation agencies for left turn lane offset implementation.A discussion on new left turn design concepts was also included to point out directions for future research and practice.展开更多
Through and right-turn shared lanes are widely designed to increase the capacity of through traffic,but they can also cause delays for right-turn vehicles.This study presents a dynamic control method for a shared lane...Through and right-turn shared lanes are widely designed to increase the capacity of through traffic,but they can also cause delays for right-turn vehicles.This study presents a dynamic control method for a shared lane that prioritizes right-turn vehicles at the beginning of the cycle and subsequently allows through traffic to queue in the shared lane for saturated discharge.The traffic wave model is employed to reveal the dynamics of the traffic flow under this control and to derive the relationships among major traffic parameters.Constrained by the major relationship,a linear programming approach to minimize the total queue length is developed to determine the proper values of control parameters,including the shared area length,subordinate signal time lag,and shared or exclusive duration.A sensitivity analysis of the control parameters for different arrival rates and flow ratios is performed.Comparisons are conducted among the dynamic shared lane,the fixed exclusive lane,and the fixed shared lane.The results show that the dynamic control method results in a lower delay for both through and total traffic.展开更多
文摘Field observations illustrated that, right-turn vehicles stopped at various positions when proceeding within the right-turn lanes, while some of them trespassed on the crosswalks with multiple stops. In this case, pedestrians and bikes (ped/bike) are encountered unsmooth and hazardous crossings when right-turn vehicles encroaching their lanes. Meanwhile, this also causes conflicts between right-turn and through vehicles at the crossing street. To better protect ped/bike at crossings with right-turn vehicles, this paper proposes a concept of “right-turn vehicle box” (RTVB) as a supplemental treatment within right-turn lanes. Sight distance, geometric conditions, and behaviors of vehicles and ped/bike are key factors to consider so as to set up the criteria and to design the suitable treatment. A case study was conducted at an intersection pair in Houston, USA to shape the idea of RTVB, together with driving simulator tests under relevant scenarios. The preliminary crosscheck examination shows that the right-turn vehicle box could possibly provide ped/ bike with smoother and safer crossings. In the interim, the safety and efficiency of right-turn operations were also improved. To further validate the effects, implementation studies should be conducted before the RTVB can make its debut in practice. Future works will focus on the complete warrants and design details of this treatment. Moreover, the concept of “vehicle box” could also be transplanted to other places where turning movement(s) needs assistance or improvements.
基金the Local Road Research Board in the Minnesota Department of Transportation,Office of Research&Innovation,for sponsoring this study(contract No.1003328(WO)1)
文摘The purposes of this paper are to better understand the design and impact of left turn lane offset and provide state transportation agencies recommendations on best practices and alternative design options to address left turn sight line obstruction issues.Research studies and existing guidelines on left turn lane offset were reviewed and summarized to offer insights in driver sight distance and behavior,intersection safety and operations,as well as design elements related to left turn lane offset.Studies showed that at both unsignalized intersections and signalized intersections with permitted left turns,obstructed sight line could cause higher possibilities of collisions between left turning vehicles and oncoming vehicles from the opposing direction.Existing evaluations of left turn lane offset,with data from multiple states in the United States,reported that positive left turn lane offsets were beneficial in terms of safety and operations.Most agency guidelines provided very limited discussions about left turn lane offset.This review demonstrated that positive left turn lane offsets are beneficial to intersection safety and operations.Based on the review of research and guidelines,recommendations were provided for transportation agencies for left turn lane offset implementation.A discussion on new left turn design concepts was also included to point out directions for future research and practice.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.52325210,52131204,and 52302411)the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan Project(No.19DZ1209004)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.22120220137).
文摘Through and right-turn shared lanes are widely designed to increase the capacity of through traffic,but they can also cause delays for right-turn vehicles.This study presents a dynamic control method for a shared lane that prioritizes right-turn vehicles at the beginning of the cycle and subsequently allows through traffic to queue in the shared lane for saturated discharge.The traffic wave model is employed to reveal the dynamics of the traffic flow under this control and to derive the relationships among major traffic parameters.Constrained by the major relationship,a linear programming approach to minimize the total queue length is developed to determine the proper values of control parameters,including the shared area length,subordinate signal time lag,and shared or exclusive duration.A sensitivity analysis of the control parameters for different arrival rates and flow ratios is performed.Comparisons are conducted among the dynamic shared lane,the fixed exclusive lane,and the fixed shared lane.The results show that the dynamic control method results in a lower delay for both through and total traffic.