Evaluating Alternative Operations Strategies to Improve Travel Time ...

SHRP 2 L11: Final Report
the application of this treatment will be limited to those facilities (freeways and arterials)
instrumented with an infrastructure that supports this technology.
Access Management (Driveway Location, Raised Medians, Channelization, Frontage Roads)
This treatment is mostly applicable to arterial roadways and is intended to provide access to land
development while still maintaining a safe and efficient transportation system. In most cases,
access management techniques are applied in urban and suburban areas to improve capacity and
performance.
Changeable Lane Assignments (Reversible, Variable)
Changeable lanes are applicable on arterial roadways, freeways, and bridges/tunnels to increase
capacity for facilities that have directional peak traffic flows. On freeway facilities, most
reversible-lane applications are implemented by constructing a separated set of lanes in the center
the freeway with gate controls on both ends. Temporary shoulders are another form of this
treatment that is applied on freeways to reduce congestion levels.
On arterial facilities, a movable barrier can be applied to physically separate opposing directions of
traffic flow or overhead lane-control signs can be applied to inform drivers of the current status of
a changeable lane. In addition, variable lanes can be applied at intersections using variable laneuse
control signs that change the assignment of turning movements to accommodate variations in
traffic flow.
Integrated Multimodal Corridors (IMC)
This treatment can be applied on arterial roadways in urban and suburban areas to help mitigate
bottlenecks, manage congestion, and empower travelers to make more-informed travel choices.
This is achieved most-effectively when multiple agencies are managing the transportation corridor
as a system rather than through the traditional approach of managing individual assets.
Travel Alternatives (Rideshare Programs, Telecommuting, Home Office, Video
conferencing)
Of the travel alternatives treatment types, rideshare programs (i.e., carpools and vanpools) are the
only ones that can be applied on a particular transportation system. Given the flexibility of this
treatment type, these programs can be applied within all area and facility types.
OPERATIONS STRATEGIES AND TREATMENTS TO IMPROVE TRAVEL-TIME RELIABILITY Page 88