The efficiency of minor streets in introducing vehicles into a crossing priority-type street through an unsignalized intersection has been evaluated by queuing theory techniques and the results have been compared with empirical observations at four intersections in Washington, D.C.. It is assumed that arrivals occur in a Poisson manner, and appropriate queuing expressions are applied to determine arrival rate, waiting time, interarrival gaps, and expected time and number in system and queue. Predicted values are compared with actual observations and found in good agreement. It was also determined that as the number of vehicles in the queue increases, the acceptable interarrival gap on the major street tends to decrease. Finally, the four intersections are ranked according to efficiency in facilitating right and left turns and through manoeuvres. /author/
Abstract