Evaluating the Performance of Innovative Intersections in Potential Transit Oriented Development Environments

摘要

Innovative intersections are designed with dislocated left turn movements and reduced number of traffic signal phases in order to increase the capacity and reduce the number of conflict points. These intersections are considered as alternative designs in the future Transit Oriented Development (TOD) location in West Valley City, Utah, in order to resolve traffic congestion on the most critical network points. This study compares Median u Turn, Bowtie and Quadrant intersection designs to conventional intersection capacity expansion design strategies. Traffic and transit data were provided from the local agencies, and modeling was performed in microsimulation through static traffic assignment. Performance measures are compared on the intersection, corridor and network wide levels, for 2009 and 2040 forecasted traffic conditions from the planning models, calibrated using traffic volume data for 2009, for the PM peak period. Among the different intersection designs, innovative intersections performed better than the traditional expansion of intersection capacity. Network wide analysis consistently shows lowest delays for the Quadrant intersection design that also decreases total distance traveled, when compared to the other analyzed designs. Quadrant intersection has the potential to decrease Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), and with the design that supports street connectivity, can improve TOD potential of our test network, since it is both pedestrian friendly and provides opportunity for mixed land uses. This research is a part of an ongoing effort to examine unconventional intersection designs and their potential to support TOD environments.