Procedure for Evaluating the Impacts of Indirect Driveway Left-Turn Treatments on Traffic Operations at Signalized Intersections
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 137, Issue 11
Abstract
The use of nontraversable median cross sections and directional median openings has generated increased numbers of U-turning vehicles at signalized intersections. A procedure is needed to help transportation professionals determine the impacts of proposed median-modification projects on traffic operations at downstream signalized intersections. This study is a continuous effort following previous studies to evaluate the impacts of indirect driveway left-turn treatments on traffic operations at signalized intersections. In the present study, a total of 80 h of traffic data were collected at 66 roadway segments in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. On the basis of the data collected in the field, the research team developed a negative-binomial model to estimate the expected number of U-turning vehicles on a left-turn approach at a signalized intersection during weekday peak periods. The model has only five independent variables, and all of these variables can be easily measured in the field. By combining the research results of this study and previous studies, a procedure is provided to help transportation professionals evaluate the impacts of proposed indirect driveway left-turn treatments on traffic operations at downstream signalized intersections.
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Acknowledgments
This research was partly sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. NNSFC507380001) and the National Key Basic Research Program (No. UNSPECIFIED2006CB705501). The assistance is greatly appreciated. The writers also would like to thank the graduate research assistants in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida for their assistance in field data collection and data reduction.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 137 • Issue 11 • November 2011
Pages: 760 - 766
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 8, 2008
Accepted: Dec 28, 2010
Published online: Oct 14, 2011
Published in print: Nov 1, 2011
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