Research on Straight Waiting Area Layout of an Intersection

Abstract

The establishment of a waiting area in an intersection with a complex traffic flow is investigated. With the adoption of the basic conditions of a waiting area, capacity and delay models are established to examine the differences in the capacities of and delays in an intersection with and without a waiting area. Signal control parameters, such as green-light interval time and effective green-light time, are also studied. The increase in capacity and reduction in delay from the setting of a waiting area are deduced by using accurate mathematical equations. With the use of actual intersections as examples, traffic operation efficiency was analyzed through simulation. Simulation results can be summarized as follows: generally, under high flow rate and saturation conditions, setting a straight waiting area can adequately utilize the intersection spare space, improve usage efficiency of straight lanes, and maximally realize reciprocal transformation between time and space. Consequently, the capacity of straight lanes is improved, the delay per vehicle is reduced, the capacity of the intersection is enhanced to some extent, and the delay in the entire intersection is reduced, thereby verifying the validity and applicability of the model.