Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Existing and future resources likely available for congestion relief
Availability and use of public transportation
Agencies operating in large urbanized areas should coordinate their congestion
management and relief actions. Arrangements will vary, depending on the size,
complexity, and congestion problems of the area. Coordination of tasks among
responding agencies is especially important
to reduce response times to non-
recurring congestion events.
24.7 Typical Application Scenarios
Typical applications of congestion relief strategies vary from simple cases (e.g.,
isolated intersections) to complex ones (e.g., city centers, transportation corridors).
24.7.1 Isolated Intersections
Intersection congestion can be reduced a number of ways
from simple retiming of
signals to increasing roadway capacity to accommodate peak travel demands. Relief
actions include (1) adding left-turn lanes, (2) improved traf
—
c signal timings, and in
some cases roadway widening. Complex signal phasing with long traf
c signal
cycles (e.g., greater than 120 s) should be
avoided
.
24.7.2 Suburban Areas
Suburban areas experience the largest share of metropolitan growth. In these areas
travel demand growth may require a combination of the following congestion relief
strategies: (1) increasing the traf
c capacity of roadways as well as other modes of
transportation,
and
(2) reducing private vehicle use by coordinating land use growth
policies that reduce the need to drive with investments in alternative modes of
transportation.
To be implementable, these strategies require effective coordination of land
development and transportation decisions. New developments should promote
walking and biking by providing a land use
street system designs that also support
public transport use. These actions could include:
—
Managing access on major roadways to minimize driveway con
fl
icts and
maintain good traf
c signal coordination
Cluster commercial developments and avoid commercial strips
To facilitate walking and biking trips, provide continuous roads spaced at not
more than 1/2 mile to 1 km intervals
