The Components and Benefits of an Advanced Surface Arterial Traffic Management System

Abstract

Traffic congestion has become an increasing problem on major surface arterial roadways. Demand for accessibility to adjacent land uses yields increased vehicular turning movement activity at driveways and intersections. As turning and cross-road traffic volumes increase, the need for traffic signalization will eventually be warranted. When numerous, independently operating traffic signals are present on a given arterial roadway, adverse effects can result. First, continous movement along the arterials at a desirable speed may not be assured. Second, vehicular delay will increase because of the slower operating speeds and increased number of stops. Third, safety can be threatened as poor traffic flow (i.e. increased number of stops, etc.) may lead to potential vehicular conflict. Fourth, vehicle emissions may increase as a result of poor traffic progression and can have unfavorable consequences to the local air quality. Lastly, increased fuel consumption is possible as traffic waits along poorly timed arterials. Of the five effects mentioned, travel delay is the most conspicuous and readily measured. to offset these effects, advanced traffic control systems have been developed to effectively and efficiently coordinate traffic flow along an arterial roadways or throughtout an area. In this study, a review of the most current technolgies in Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) for surface arterial roadways was performed. An emphasis was placed on new and developing technologies which are likely to be available for use within the next five years. In addition, advanced traffic control systems presently within Indiana were covered. Finally, recommendations for surface arterial ATMS were made including a proposed application for major arterial roadways in the metropolitan Indianapolis area. Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness of a surgace arterial ATMS was discussed. This included the consideration of the initial construction, maintenance, and operation costs of the system hardware and software as well as roadway user fenefits and costs. A comparison of before and after surface arterial ATMS user benefits was made.