Location and Capacity of Unsignalized Exits

The proportion of time during which pedestrians can cross a 2-way road at a location in between two signalized intersections depends on the arrival time at a point of crossing of vehicular platoons released by the signals. Thus, crossing capacity depends on the offset between signals. The same consideration applies to vehicular traffic that emanates from side roads and exits or is destined to entrances in between the signalized intersections. A simple method is suggested allowing determination of optimal signal offsets for given exit or crossing locations (or alternatively, optimal exit locations for a given signal offset). The solution method is based on the time honored but simplistic band representation of traffic streams. To examine the results of analysis under more realistic conditions, observations were conducted to describe the behavior of groups of vehicles turning left from a side road into the main road traffic and the results are used in a simulation routine that allows for platoon dispersion and right turns against red. This semi-empirical validation tends to confirm the main results derived from the simple model.