Lane under-utilisation is commonly experienced at signalised intersections especially in the urban environment where most intersections have short lanes. This has significant effects on intersection capacity. Little research has been undertaken in New Zealand and Australia on this topic. The main focus of this study was to determine the effect of short kerbside through-lanes on utilisation. Nine sites were analysed in the Auckland metropolitan region, comprising five two lanes and four three lanes. As expected, this study found increasing utilisation rates with increasing lengths of the through short lanes. The utilisation rates for the through kerbside lanes varied from 10 to 20 per cent for three lanes and from 20 to 50 per cent for two lanes, demonstrating that two lanes have a considerably higher rate of use than three lanes. One site, a three lane, as expected demonstrated the strong effect of significant downstream destinations on lane utilisation. This driver factor is far more difficult to quantify. During the study it was found that there are a limited number of three lanes in the Auckland Region. Since a relatively small sample of sites was studied, further research is strongly recommended on a larger sample in other cities to further corroborate these findings. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E217099.
Abstract