Open AccessCellular automaton simulation of vehicles in the contraflow left‐turn lane at signalised intersections
Author(s) -
Chen Qun,
Yi Jiaxuan,
Wu Yuli
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
iet intelligent transport systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.579
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1751-9578
pISSN - 1751-956X
DOI - 10.1049/iet-its.2018.5451
Subject(s) - turn (biochemistry) , intersection (aeronautics) , cellular automaton , simulation , computer science , signal (programming language) , transport engineering , engineering , algorithm , physics , nuclear magnetic resonance , programming language
To improve the capacity of signalised intersections for left‐turn vehicles, an unconventional left‐turn design named the contraflow left‐turn lane is applied at intersections in several cities of China. The main concept of the design is to provide more capacity for left‐turn vehicles by dynamically making use of the adjacent opposite lanes. In this study, a cellular automaton model that simulates left‐turn traffic flow at a signalised intersection with a contraflow left‐turn lane was developed and verified by field data. Rules for vehicles entering the contraflow left‐turn lane were proposed, and various factors including the vehicle type, driver type, and the ratio of U‐turn vehicles were considered. The simulation results showed that the contraflow left‐turn lane could increase the capacity of the intersection and decrease the delay of left‐turn vehicles. Also, the optimal match between the length of the contraflow left‐turn lane and the duration of the pre‐signal green light can be evaluated via simulation. This study can provide a reference for the actual application of contraflow left‐turn lanes.