Modeling Origin-Destination Effects on Roundabout Operations and Inflow Control
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 8
Abstract
Traffic flows around roundabouts have been found to be dependent on origin-destination flows, but the true nature of this relationship is not properly understood. Present analyses are based on either gap acceptance models or empirical models. These models do not properly account for the impact of origin-destination flows on roundabout operations. This has limited the possibility to develop strategies that improve roundabout operations by controlling inflows. This research proposes a theory to analyze roundabout traffic flows and a strategy to determine inflows into a roundabout that would maximize the outflow from the roundabout. This strategy could be implemented through use of signals to meter vehicles at the entry. To achieve this, a theoretical framework is proposed based on the macroscopic fundamental diagram for urban networks. The theory and strategy is then tested using microscopic simulation. It was found that the outflow from a roundabout is dependent on the average flow and the average trip length around the roundabout. The average trip length is a function of the origin-destination flows.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 8 • August 2012
Pages: 1016 - 1022
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 2, 2011
Accepted: Dec 21, 2011
Published online: Dec 23, 2011
Published in print: Aug 1, 2012
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