An Unconventional Design for Bus U-Turns at Signalized Intersections

Abstract

This paper addresses an unconventional design for accommodating bus U-turns at signalized intersections based on a case study in Miami, Florida. Field data were collected at the study site, including traffic volumes, traffic conflicts, pedestrian/ bicyclist activities, signal phase sequence, headway of buses, and radii of bus U-turns. A detailed operational analysis was performed at the signalized intersection using Synchro. The results of the operational analysis indicate that implementation of the unconventional bus U-turn design at the signalized intersection will not cause major operational problems when the total entering volume is less than 4,000 vehicles per hour. To address the safety concerns at the study intersection, both crash analysis and conflict analysis were conducted. A review of accident data for the subject intersection indicates that accidents related to the bus U-turn occur infrequently. The eight-hour conflicts analysis showed that very few conflicts were caused by bus U-turn movements.