00819923

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1748-08

http://scholar.google.com...nsen&publication_year=2001

Most individuals living in cold climates realize that on snowy days their commute will take longer. Although traffic volumes are often lower, the combination of reduced speeds and capacity causes severe congestion, particularly on signalized urban networks. Signal coordination that reduces traffic congestion in typical clear conditions results in an uncoordinated and suboptimal timing plan. Traffic parameters for developing signal timings during inclement weather conditions are examined. With the completion of the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) advanced transportation management system, there is an opportunity to change signal timing plans by communicating with each controller from the Transportation Operations Center. This operation makes feasible a library of special signal timing plans, with one allocated for inclement weather. Traffic flow data were collected over a range of seven inclement weather severity conditions at two intersections for the 1999-2000 winter season. The data indicate that the largest decrease in vehicle performance occurs when snow and slush begin to accumulate on the road surface. Saturation flows decrease by 20%, speeds decrease by 30%, and start-up lost times increase by 23%. UDOT is now developing and implementing modified inclement weather coordinated signal timing plans for the major signalized corridors in the Salt Lake Valley. The determination of when to implement an inclement weather signal timing plan is based on four general criteria: storm severity, projected duration, area of influence, and immediately projected running speeds. With these considerations, traffic engineers can determine whether to implement an inclement weather signal timing plan.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1748, Advanced Traffic Management Systems and Vehicle-Highway Automation 2001.

English

p. 66-71

2001

Transportation Research Record

0309072077

References (12) ; Tables (5)

Advanced traffic management systems; Data collection; Field studies; Saturation flow; Slush; Snow; Snowstorms; Traffic congestion; Traffic flow; Traffic signal timing; Traffic speed; Weather conditions

Utah

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I73: Traffic Control

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Nov 2 2001 12:00AM

• ASSESSMENT OF STOCHASTIC SIGNAL OPTIMIZATION METHOD USING MICROSIMULATION
• BREAKDOWN-RELATED CAPACITY FOR FREEWAY WITH RAMP METERING
• COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF OPERATIONAL ALGORITHMS FOR COORDINATED RAMP METERING
• COMPARISON OF TRANSIMS AND CORSIM TRAFFIC SIGNAL SIMULATION MODULES
• CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT IN TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: EVALUATION OF NEED
• FREEWAY CRASH TIMELINE CHARACTERISTICS AND USES
• FREEWAY PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM: MINING LOOP DETECTOR DATA
• METHOD FOR REAL-TIME RECOGNITION OF VEHICLE PLATOONS
• MODELING EFFECTS OF DRIVER CONTROL ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS ON TRAFFIC
• MONITORING URBAN FREEWAY INCIDENTS BY WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS
• MULTISTAGE STOCHASTIC SYSTEM OPTIMUM DYNAMIC TRAFFIC ASSIGNMENT PROGRAM WITH RECOURSE FOR INCIDENT TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
• ONLINE TURNING PROPORTION ESTIMATION IN REAL-TIME TRAFFIC-ADAPTIVE SIGNAL CONTROL
• OPTIMAL COORDINATED RAMP METERING WITH ADVANCED MOTORWAY OPTIMAL CONTROL
• PEDESTRIAN TIMING ALTERNATIVES AND IMPACTS ON COORDINATED SIGNAL SYSTEMS UNDER SPLIT-PHASING OPERATIONS
• REAL-TIME OFFSET TRANSITIONING ALGORITHM FOR COORDINATING TRAFFIC SIGNALS
• STAKEHOLDER REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAFFIC SIGNAL PREEMPTION AND PRIORITY IN WASHINGTON, D.C., REGION
• TEXAS DRIVER UNDERSTANDING OF ABBREVIATIONS FOR CHANGEABLE MESSAGE SIGNS
• TRANSITION STRATEGIES TO EXIT PREEMPTION CONTROL: STATE-OF-THE-PRACTICE ASSESSMENT
• TRICEPS-CARTESIUS: ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TEST BED FOR EVALUATION OF INTERJURISDICTIONAL TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
• VISION-BASED STOP SIGN DETECTION AND RECOGNITION SYSTEM FOR INTELLIGENT VEHICLES