Improving Transportation Performance: The Case of Left Turns

Over the past century, the automobile has evolved to dominate transportation not only from a behavioral perspective but from an infrastructure perspective. Thoroughfares that evolved over millennia to serve many users were transformed in decades to the near exclusive use by motor vehicles. The reasons for this evolution are well documented; alternatives to the behavioral dominance, while numerous in terms of proposals and promise, are nevertheless constrained by the infrastructural dominance. One option that has not been systematically studied but that has the cost advantage of maintaining current infrastructure while addressing associated performance impacts is a significant reduction in allowed arterial left turns. Such a policy will soon become feasible with the rapid adoption of global positioning system (GPS) and traveler information systems that can inform drivers of optimal route choice in restricted networks. The proposed research will use a microsimulation approach to investigate a range of left turn restriction and removal options on sample arterial networks, under a range of driver behavior assumptions.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $26000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  7869

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Department of Transportation

  Office of the Secretary
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Performing Organizations:

  University of California, Irvine

  Institute of Transportation Studies
  4000 Anteater Instruction and Research Building
  Irvine, CA  United States  92697
• Principal Investigators:

  McNally, Michael

• Start Date: 20120801
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• Source Data: RiP Project 33501

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Global Positioning System; Left turns; Microsimulation; Route choice; Traffic control; Traveler information and communication systems
• Uncontrolled Terms: Turn restrictions
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01471032
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: University of California Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: 7869
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Jan 31 2013 1:01AM