What can a city do when motorists from nearby communities congest a major corridor and transportation models forecast that traffic demands will double within the next twenty years? Since constructing an arterial cul-de-sac is usually impractical, an alternative that is receiving attention is "metering" traffic on the arterial street now, before the problem gets worse. To those motorists potentially affected by the metering, this approach may seem like a harsh solution. A technical analysis using CORSIM and SYNCRO traffic simulation tools shows that with metering, overall travel times can be improved, vehicle delay lessened, and traffic congestion reduced. However, developing and implementing a metering plan may cause political problems that were not anticipated.
Abstract