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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Cost Effective Roundabouts: Evaluate Options for Reducing Roundabout Footprints and Construction Costs</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2636041</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The operational and safety benefits of modern roundabouts are well established, providing less delay and significantly reducing fatalities and serious injuries. While their use in Texas and throughout the country continues to grow, opportunities for further implementation can be limited in some locations due to their relatively high construction costs, compared to alternatives such as traditional intersections controlled by stop signs or traffic signals. The footprint of roundabouts is larger than these traditional alternatives, increasing costs for right-of-way and pavement; while those upfront construction costs can be mitigated over the life of the intersection through reduced maintenance and operation costs, the construction costs are still a factor in the decision-making process for intersection control. This effect can be even more pronounced when attempting to build roundabouts with scarce safety, maintenance, or mobility funds, as the cost of one roundabout can account for the entire annual allotment of a district’s safety funds. To maximize opportunities for roundabout implementation, research is needed to identify more cost-effective ways to address footprint and construction costs.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 14:19:53 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2636041</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Development of a VR Transportation Simulator</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2625582</link>
      <description><![CDATA[As cities strive to promote sustainable and active transportation, bicycles are becoming an increasingly popular mode of travel. However, cyclists remain among the most vulnerable road users due to unsafe road conditions. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, 2023), bicyclist fatalities in the U.S. have been increasing, with 1,105 reported in 2022, the highest annual total since 1975. These alarming statistics emphasize the urgency of improving cycling safety through informed policy decisions.  The development of VR-based bicycle simulators has gained traction in recent years, with various research institutions integrating immersive environments, physiological monitoring, and behavioral tracking into their systems. Studies such as the ORCLSim project at the University of Virginia (Guo et al., 2022) and research by Nazemi et al. (2021) have demonstrated the potential of VR-based platforms in assessing cycling safety. Additionally, Friel et al. (2023) explored how cyclists perceive safety at intersections and roundabouts using a bicycle simulator, highlighting the effectiveness of immersive simulations in transportation research. However, many existing bicycle simulators vary in hardware configurations, software frameworks, and data integration capabilities, making it difficult to establish a standardized platform for transportation research. Moreover, while several studies have used VR bicycle simulators for analyzing cyclist behavior, the process of building a fully functional, data-driven simulator remains an open challenge.  This project focuses on the development of a VR-based bicycle simulator that integrates real-time performance and physiological data collection. The primary goal is to design, build, and calibrate a simulator that can be used for future transportation safety research. This includes selecting the appropriate hardware and software components, ensuring compatibility between different system elements, and validating data acquisition methods. A critical aspect of this study is identifying what types of data can be collected and how they can be effectively integrated into the simulator’s framework. By addressing these technical and methodological challenges, this project aims to establish a foundation for future research using VR-based bicycle simulators.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:38:46 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2625582</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Are Current Rigid Pavement Roundabout Designs Working in Minnesota?</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2487311</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Rigid pavement roundabouts were initially designed with the expectation that they would experience distress similar to rigid pavements designed and built on motorways. However, distresses will occur differently due to the way traffic loads interact with them, the shape of panels, and drainage. The objective of this research is to provide guidance documentation for both the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and local agencies to improve roundabout designs for better long-term performance and reduced future costs in the maintenance and rehabilitation of these assets.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 11:57:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2487311</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluating Pedestrian Considerations for Transit Advantage at Roundabouts</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2606593</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Roundabouts have proven to be an efficient approach to intersection control for medium-volume roads and generally provide greater capacity than an equivalent stop-controlled intersection. They are often selected due to the observed reduction in fatal crash risk and reduced operational costs. However, some evidence suggests that drivers exiting a roundabout are less likely to yield to pedestrians than drivers at other controlled intersections (e.g., stop-controlled). When considering transit operations, transit advantage treatments such as dedicated bus lanes are often implemented to
reduce conflicts between transit vehicles and other traffic. These treatments, however, can widen the overall driving surface, making it more difficult for pedestrians to cross the road. Limited data exists to evaluate how such transit-only lanes impact pedestrian behavior and safety. When transit and roundabouts are combined, both of these issues are present, potentially introducing new hazards for pedestrians. This is particularly relevant near bus or other transit stops, where pedestrian volumes are generally higher.
Therefore, understanding the interactions among pedestrian–roundabout, pedestrian–transit advantage treatment, and transit–roundabout is essential to designing and implementing safe and efficient transit advantage roundabouts with pedestrian considerations in mind. The key question is: What considerations and best practices should be applied when designing transit advantage roundabouts?]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2025 15:58:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2606593</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Virtual Reality as a Tool to Enhance the Design Review Process</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2606404</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This research enhances transportation infrastructure design processes by addressing limitations of modular workflows where roadway, hydrology, lighting, and utilities design occur in separate processes with limited feedback, leading to conflicts during design review and construction stages. The project extends previous work on virtual reality (VR) applications for public involvement to include design review capabilities, partnering with Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) on a novel double roundabout design in Bristol, Virginia, an area with high pedestrian and bicycle activity. The methodology involves converting 2-D design files into comprehensive virtual reality simulations using Unity platform, integrating topographical data and creating immersive environments that showcase experiences of drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists under various scenarios including different traffic densities, lighting conditions, and signal configurations. The research compares traditional 2-D plan-based design reviews with VR-based immersive reviews, allowing engineers to experience proposed designs in day and night conditions and evaluate lighting design impacts on sight distances, safety perceptions, and situational awareness. Building on survey data from 33 respondents across state DOTs, consulting firms, and universities, the project synthesizes current practices and develops standardized processes for VR integration in transportation design review workflows.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 02 Oct 2025 15:07:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2606404</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Benefit-Cost Analysis of Roundabouts to Support Long Range Investment Policy</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2594028</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Despite significant investments and successful use of roundabouts throughout the state, Oregon currently lacks clear evaluation of the benefits and costs of roundabouts tailored to the state’s needs. The states of New York and Virginia have adopted a “roundabout first” policy, identifying roundabouts as the preferred design for intersections where feasible because of benefits to lifecycle system cost, safety, and traffic flow with greenhouse gas emission reduction benefits. However, Oregon lacks a systematic evaluation including equity concerns to support policy development.
Traffic signals on the state highway system are crucial to the safety, operation, and management of the Oregon highway system. Oregon has 1,480 traffic signals, 84% are owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). A large proportion are nearing the end of their life. Some signals are aging faster due to environmental issues, such as coastal salt air and weather. Signal operations are key to addressing safety, impacting autos, trucks, bikes and peds. As connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) are introduced into the Oregon fleet, ODOT will be working to develop communication capabilities between CAVs and signals, which will require expanded investment over time and increasing maintenance. As ODOT implements more roundabouts (RABs) on the state system, they are seeing improvements in traffic performance, improved safety, and reduced maintenance costs over time. Other agencies across the United States are beginning to see evidence of reduced cost of long-range maintenance. This begs the question whether ODOT should establish a policy to move away from investing in signal replacement and establish a long-term strategy implementing roundabouts based on comprehensive lifecycle costs and benefits.
Lifecycle costs of intersection management vary by design. In general, signals are less expensive to put into place initially, require ongoing maintenance and replacement costs, and include severe-injuries to property-damage-only crash costs. Roundabouts cost more to put into place initially, require relatively low maintenance costs and involve fewer crashes and reduced severity. ODOT’s forecast budget falls far short of meeting investment needs, especially for maintenance and preservation. This means more than ever ODOT must be strategic in making investment decisions and consider comprehensive lifecycle costs when choosing projects that provide the best return on investment for the state transportation system. Reducing lifecycle costs would help ODOT make progress toward good stewardship of public resources.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2025 16:17:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2594028</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Research Synthesis: Design and Impacts of Rural Roundabouts </title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2577109</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project will synthesize previously conducted research and currently available design guidance to develop a report documenting key findings on design alternatives and the associated impacts for rural roundabouts. This project will also create, disseminate, and interpret results from a state-of-the-practice survey on how other state departments of transportation (DOTs) handle rural roundabout designs and implications to provide guidance to Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) on policy needs and best practices concerning this topic.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 18 Jul 2025 10:11:22 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2577109</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Environmental Impact of Roundabouts</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2566963</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objective of this project is to investigate the effects on vehicle emissions of replacing a signal-controlled, or stop-controlled intersection, with a roundabout, using a before-and-after approach based on field data measurements and microsimulation traffic simulation. This project will consider five roundabouts representing various geometric, control, and traffic types. They are located in various towns in the State of Connecticut, namely Ellington, Glastonbury, Guilford, Monroe, and Salem. Each roundabout has its own unique geometric and traffic operational characteristics and was designed and built for difference reasons]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2025 16:13:59 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2566963</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Development of U.S. Vehicle Capacity Models for Multilane and Turbo Roundabouts

</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2558402</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Turbo roundabouts are designed to limit improper lane changing behavior within multilane circulatory roads by providing physical lane separation. Turbo roundabouts also feature more radial entries than conventional designs, which may affect vehicle entry paths, speeds, and gap acceptance. Originating in Europe, turbo roundabouts have been gradually adopted internationally. Although many state, local, and tribal transportation agencies are contemplating turbo roundabouts as potential alternatives for new or reconstructed intersections to improve safety and operations, to date only a few have been constructed in the United States.

A key question in implementing turbo roundabouts in the United States is vehicle capacity, as drivers may approach, enter, and navigate these facilities differently from conventional roundabouts. A U.S.-based capacity model for turbo roundabouts does not currently exist, and European models are not directly transferable due to differences in driver behavior, vehicle characteristics, and design practices. In addition, the existing multilane roundabout capacity model in the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), 7th edition, was developed over a decade ago and cannot account for key geometric factors that influence capacity and operations. In addition, changes in design practices and increased driver familiarity with roundabouts may have further affected the model’s accuracy since its development.

Research is needed to support efforts by state departments of transportation (DOTs) to assess operational performance of multilane and turbo roundabouts.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop adaptable vehicle capacity models for multilane and turbo roundabouts to accurately estimate performance by considering key geometric factors such as entry and exit angles, inscribed circle diameters, and physical separation.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 28 May 2025 09:52:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2558402</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Crash Modification Factors for 2 by 1, Peanut-Shaped and Oval-Shaped Roundabouts</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2536234</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Roundabouts are well-regarded for their positive impact on road safety. Their unique design and traffic flow characteristics contribute to smoother traffic patterns, decreased congestion, and reduction in crashes and severity of collisions compared to traditional intersections controlled by traffic signals or stop signs. Studies conducted in various countries, including the United States, have consistently shown that roundabouts lead to a substantial decrease in both the frequency and severity of crashes. While there may be a learning curve for drivers unfamiliar with roundabouts, the long-term safety benefits are undeniable. As a result, many communities across the US have embraced roundabouts as a proactive measure to improve road safety and reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities.

North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has been involved in various intersection and interchange rebuild projects in recent decades. 2x1, peanut, and oval-shaped roundabouts could prove to be a good alternative in many situations. The current literature on the safety impact of 2x1, peanut, and oval-shaped roundabouts is limited. The purpose of this project is to help NCDOT make optimum decisions on roundabout conversions. To realize this purpose, the primary objective of this research is to develop crash modification factors (CMFs) for 2x1, peanut, and oval roundabouts.

Having reliable CMFs would allow NCDOT to compare the potential safety impacts of 2x1, peanut, and oval roundabouts to other intersections. By using a reliable CMF, NCDOT can make decisions that are expected to provide the biggest bang for the buck and reduce crashes and injuries.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 11 Apr 2025 01:47:37 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2536234</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Analyze Operational and Safety Improvements Associated with Implemented Innovative Intersections in Texas</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2420101</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Innovative intersection designs (e.g., diverging diamond interchanges (DDIs), displaced left turns (DLTs), median U-turns (MUTs), and restricted crossing U-turns (RCUTs)) and modern roundabouts are increasingly used in Texas and throughout the country to remove conflict points and redistribute turning traffic from traditional intersections, improving operational efficiency and promoting increased safety. While their use is growing and their benefits have been demonstrated, Texas still has a limited number of innovative intersections throughout the state. Because many of these intersection types and their design elements are not commonly used in Texas, there is a natural tendency to be cautious about their use. Providing information to help promote these treatments for use in appropriate locations will be important to their successful adoption and implementation. The research team will build on recent research to document the benefits of innovative intersections, develop case studies of successfully implemented intersections in Texas, and provide resources for practitioners to use in support of new implementation across the state.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 23 Aug 2024 12:46:35 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2420101</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Roundabouts, J-Turn, etc. - Understanding their Economic Impacts</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2414044</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This research aims to investigate the economic impact and benefits of J-Turn intersections and roundabout treatments on Minnesota roads. While these treatments are increasingly preferred for their operational and safety advantages, they often face resistance from community residents and nearby businesses. The study's primary focus is to demonstrate the economic benefits of J-Turns and roundabouts to the public, local businesses, and the community as a whole. The research will employ a multi-stage approach to comprehensively assess these benefits. In the initial stage, interviews with business owners will be conducted to gauge their sentiments regarding roundabouts and their effects on business performance. Subsequently, the study will analyze traffic counts (AADT) on roads leading to roundabouts and J-Turn treatments before and after installation to determine any changes in traffic flow. Finally, an economic impact assessment will be conducted by analyzing sales tax data for census tracts near these treatments. Perceived economic benefits will also be calculated by examining reductions in fatal and injury crashes due to the treatments.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 07 Aug 2024 17:23:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2414044</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Speed Impacts from Roundabouts and Other Traffic Control Devices</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2414011</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Roundabouts are widely acknowledged to be very effective at reducing drivers’ speeds. These lower speeds are one of the reasons why roundabouts tend to experience significantly fewer injuries and fatalities as compared to other types of intersection control. Roundabouts are also a promising speed control measure, particularly on corridors with high volumes of pedestrian and bicycle traffic. However, the specific impacts on speeds are found to vary across locations due to geometric differences, the presence of supplementary traffic control devices, and other factors. Furthermore, it is unclear the degree to which speeds vary on the entry and exit approaches as compared to other types of intersections. This provides motivation for research to compare entry and exit speeds between roundabouts and intersections with alternative types of traffic control. This information would help to improve geometric design and provide metrics that are useful for intersection control evaluation reports, as well as in aligning target speeds, design speeds, and operating speeds as part of a Safe Systems approach to road design. A better understanding of the impacts on speed selection may also serve to address public concerns that often arise with the introduction of roundabouts. This information may also allow for more accurate estimates of other performance measures, including capacity and delay. To that end, this research proposes to examine how various speed metrics differ between roundabouts and intersections with other forms of traffic control. Field data will be collected to examine vehicle speeds upstream, downstream, and at the intersection entries and exits. The results of this study will provide critical insight and guidance for forecasting the operational and safety implications of various design decisions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 07 Aug 2024 09:25:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2414011</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Roundabout Connected/Automated Vehicle Active Inference Control Strategies to Improve Safety for All Users</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2329136</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Many innovations have recently been adopted for new and existing urban roadways that improve safety for all users, with concomitant goals to also reduce congestion. Roundabout intersections, which have been adopted in many countries for decades, are becoming one such innovation adopted in the US. Voluminous studies confirm roundabouts reduce dangerous traffic conflicts between human operated vehicles, and their speeds, thereby potentially reducing serious crashes. One can appreciate the perceptual complexities presented to a human driver within these intersections when confronted with appropriate gap selection decisions simultaneously with vulnerable road user (VRU) interactions (varied behaviors of approaching bicyclists, public transit, and pedestrian crossings, for example). Automated vehicles in general will need to embed such perception-action behaviors at these intersections to correctly react to VRUs as well as likely interactions with human driven vehicles several years into the future.
The research team proposes to develop Active Inference Connected/Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) control strategies to reduce speed according to anticipated vehicle and pedestrian actions using real-time roadside sensor observation data. Originally grounded in neuropsychology and physiology, Active Inference is a probabilistic framework which contends perception, learning and decision making (and the resulting actions) are interdependent forms of inference. An agent (CAV) infers future actions most likely to generate preferred observations (states of all users and itself) concomitantly with sequences of actions that balance reducing uncertainty while encouraging learning. The mathematical framework will require significant observational data to formulate and validate the learned perception and decision models, as well as addressing computational challenges for the vehicle and edge processing. Accordingly, a two-phase study is proposed to address this problem. The first phase in year 1 deploys and evaluates roadside sensing (LiDAR and camera sensors) to accurately detect, edge-process, and package estimates of all user states in order to broadcast them through generated Basic Safety Messages (BSM). The roadside sensing challenge is to provide reliable ‘eyes’ to where the vehicle cannot adequately ‘see’ due to line of site limitations. The BSMs can alert human drivers to potential conflicts, such as far-side pedestrian crossing events for example, that may not be as visually evident to the human drivers. A second research phase will then focus on the automated vehicle control strategies to (i.e., reduce its speed, and invoke yield decisions accordingly), using the complete road user traffic states provided by the roadside detection. The artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm will be developed, tested, and demonstrated with the U of MN C/A research vehicle.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 28 Jan 2024 12:32:39 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2329136</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons Experimental Feature Project</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2151373</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Dowling Road and Seward Highway Interchange has anecdotally poor compliance for yielding to pedestrians and bicyclists when motorists leave the roundabout. Eight rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFB) will be installed at the North and South crosswalks. The primary objectives of the experiment feature are: (1) assess the compliance of motorists prior to installation of RRFBs; (2) install RRFBs during the 2023 construction season; and (3) long-term performance & compliance monitoring.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Apr 2023 18:56:41 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2151373</guid>
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