Evaluating Alternative Operations Strategies to Improve Travel Time ...

SHRP 2 L11: Final Report
This treatment is applied at locations where highway-railroad grade crossings exist. They are
applied in any urban, suburban, and rural area type and along arterials and local roads. New
technologies and improved inter-agency communications will increase the deployment of this
treatment. Focus is often most desirable at locations with high daily volumes and a high number of
crashes involving vehicles and trains.
Table 6.9 Level 3 Strategies (Delay Reduction of up to 10%)
Category Strategy Treatments
2.Information
Collection and
Dissemination
3.Vehicle
Technologies
5. Infrastructure
Improvements
and Demand
Optimization
2.3.Pre-trip
Information
2.4.Realtime
Information
3.2.Driver
Assistance
Products
5.3.Signal
Timing/ ITS
Planned Special
Events
Management
Freight Shipper
Congestion
Information/
Commercial
Vehicle
Operations (CVO)
Electronic Stability
Control; Obstacle
Detection
Systems; Lane
Departure
Warning Systems;
Road Departure
Warning Systems
Traffic Signal
Preemption at
Grade Crossings
Overall Cost Range*: Low - 200K but < 1 million
High - >1 million
Application to
Sources of
Congestion
Special Events
Traffic Control
Devices,
Special
Events,
Weather, Work
Zones, Traffic
Incidents
Traffic
Incidents
Traffic Control
Devices
Key
Quantitative
Benefits
Reduced
delay due to
special
events.
Reduces
freight travel
time by up to
10% and
screening
time by up to
50%.
Reduces
accidents
involving
vehicles by
up to 50%
and reduces
travel times
by 4% to
10%.
Simulation
models
showed that
delays at
grade
crossings can
be reduced
by up to 8%.
Overall
Cost
Range*
Effectiveness-
Cost Rank
Low-
Medium 3-B
Low 3-A
Low 3-A
Medium 3-C
Table 6.10 shows the treatments identified in Level 4, where the quantified improvements are
mainly related to increased safety and capacity, as indicated by the supporting literature review.
These treatments include: Driver Qualification, Automated Enforcement, Probe Vehicles,
Geometric Design improvements, and Variable Speed Limits. The focus of this group is to apply
Active Traffic Management strategies. The impact of these strategies is maximized if they are
implemented together. The European experience has shown that when VSL systems and temporary
shoulder use lanes were deployed together, significant improvements to capacity were achieved.
Another key point about this group is the safety focus. Driver Qualification and Automated
Enforcement are strategies that deal strictly with drivers’ abilities to operate a motor vehicle and
comply with traffic laws. Crash reductions were observed where these strategies were put in place.
The context in which each of the treatments associated with Table 6.11 could be applied was also
considered as described in the section below.
Driver Qualification
OPERATIONS STRATEGIES AND TREATMENTS TO IMPROVE TRAVEL-TIME RELIABILITY Page 85