Project Summary
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 GPS and traveler information systems that can inform drivers of optimal route choice in restricted networks. The proposed research will use a simulation approach to investigate a range of left turn restriction and removal options on sample arterial networks, under a range of driver behavior assumptions.
