The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and many other agencies in the U.S. prefer to time their traffic signals to maximize through progression for arterial traffic. Because of this need, the PASSER series of traffic signal timing optimization software has become an important asset to these agencies. Recent access management analysis of several arterial roadways in Texas required the comparison of alternatives with different signal spacing, inevitably leaving some intersections unsignalized. Since all the members of the PASSER software family cannot presently analyze unsignalized intersections, it was necessary to use the Synchro® traffic optimization tool for analysis. However, as the Synchro tool is not designed to provide arterial progression, questions were raised about the usability of the results, since TxDOT would inevitably time signals along an arterial to achieve progressed flow. The objective of this project is to enhance PASSER V to provide the capability to analyze the impacts of unsignalized intersections, including driveways, located on signalized arterials. In projects including traffic management improvements or access management improvements, different intersections are signalized or unsignalized to achieve various operational or safety improvement objectives. With the additional feature to analyze unsignalized intersections, PASSER V users are able to make side-by-side comparisons between alternatives for these projects.
Abstract