The effect of elimination the left-turn movements on the intersections Capacity-A simulation study

Abstract

Left-turn movement is an important element to determine the capacity of intersections due to high conflicts points. Therefore, finding the alternatives for such left turn movements may increase the intersection throughput and make it safer. This study discusses the effect of eliminating the left turn movements on the intersection capacity by adding U-turn sections after each approach to apply the left turning away of the intersection. This means that the left turn traffic will pass the intersection using through movements, use the added U- turns and use the intersection again to reach the destination direction using right turns. To apply such scenario, traffic simulation has been applied as a tool using Paramics traffic simulator which is one of the most confident tools over the world. Simulation models have been developed using Paramics considering both signalized and un-signalized intersections with different effective green times. The results suggested that applying such alternatives will significantly increase the intersection capacity. However, further research is needed to examine the geometric layout that would be useful for such alternatives and to confirm the validity of the findings by validation the developed simulation models.