Abstract
A Hook Turn (HT) traffic control scheme has been successfully implemented in urban Melbourne (Australia) ever since 1950s, for the regulation of right-turning vehicles at the intersections (in traffic system where driving is on the left). This paper addresses the optimal signal-timing of the HT scheme, which is still an open question in the literature. Under the HT scheme, right-turning vehicles should enter the intersection and stop at a waiting area. Hence, it is common to have a spillback from these vehicles if the right-turning volume is high. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the spillback phenomenon on the traffic movements and the average delays, and proposes the models for the calculation of average delay in different cases. With the aim of minimizing the average delay of all the vehicles, a nonlinear integer-programming model is proposed for the optimal signal-timing problem of HT scheme. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used to solve this model, considering the complexity of its objective function. A realistic example developed based on one intersection with HT in urban Melbourne is adopted to assess the proposed methodology. Based on real survey data in morning peak and nonpeak hours, we compare the existing signal plan and optimal plan. The numerical test shows that compared with the existing plan, the optimal plan can reduce the average delay for 12.05% in peak hour and 19.96% in nonpeak hour. Sensitive analysis is also conducted to investigate the variation of right-turning ratio on the intersection operational performance.
Highlights
At the intersections in urban areas, the regulation of right-turning vehicles is a significant problem (Yang et al 2012; Abukauskas et al 2013)
Hook Turn (HT) is an innovative traffic regulation scheme at road intersections to avoid the conflicts between right-turning vehicles and trams
This paper focused on the optimal signal-timing plan of the HT intersection, which is still an open question in the literature
Summary
At the intersections in urban areas, the regulation of right-turning vehicles (in traffic system where driving is on the left) is a significant problem (Yang et al 2012; Abukauskas et al 2013). The dedicated signal phase can improve the safety level and reduce the vehicle delays, yet it requires a dedicated lane for the right-turning vehicles at the intersection (Bugg et al 2013). –– due to the limited space of waiting area in the intersection, it can only accommodate few HT vehicles, when the volume of HT vehicles is high, a spillback will commonly occur Such a spillback will block the movement of leftturning vehicles on the same lane, and drastically increase the delay of left-turning vehicles. Where: q1s_2 is the arrival volume of through vehicles on lane 2 under phase 1, q1h_1 is the vehicle volume of shared lane 1, d1h_1 and d1s _2 is the average vehicle delay of lane 1 and lane 2, respectively
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
