Judith Mwakalonge

Arterial traffic signal coordination utilizing vehicular traffic origin-destination information

Traditional arterial traffic signal coordination methods are focused on providing uninterrupted flow along the arterial direction. This paper proposes a more versatile arterial traffic signal coordination method that can take into consideration of major turning traffic flows from and to cross streets. This new method is formulated as a mixed-integer linear program and solved by CPLEX. A case study based on AIMSUN simulation is conducted to demonstrate the proposed methods superiority compared to Synchro and Transyt-7F.

Investigating Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for Linear Asset Management

Linear assets including roads, pipelines, and railroad tracks are defined assets whose lengths play a critical role in their maintenance. Linear assets, along with their features, which include traffic lights, number of lanes, speed limits, guardrails, and highway billboards, are hard to physically access and, therefore, update inventory information files that were previously captured. To address this problem, some transportation agencies are investigating technologies that will assist in solving this asset inventory problem. The primary focus of this paper is to evaluate the feasibility of using radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology as a means of gathering, verifying, and storing information for linear assets. The study investigates confluence factors that affect the performance of RFID. The factors investigated include driving speed and tag location on signposts, delineators, and guardrails. The results indicate that for the three vehicle speeds tested (10 mph, 20 mph, 30 mph), tag readability decreased with an increase in speed.

Self-Reported Behaviors and Habits of Distracted College Pedestrians While Walking

Walking requires paying attention to the surrounding environment to ensure safe maneuvers. Walkers engaging in multitask activities such as texting, calling, listening to music, snacking, and reading while walking have detrimental effects on safety similar to those experienced with distracted drivers. Because this is an emerging problem, few data have been collected to assess the negative impact of distracted walking on safety. The present survey was conducted to collect information on distracted walking by college students. The objectives were to estimate the extent of distracting activities of college pedestrians and to assess the perception of the safety problem of college pedestrians while walking. The survey was sent to the potential student population of 5,000 by Survey Monkey at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, and 297 surveys were completed. The results indicated that about 55% of respondents always checked their electronic devices while walking. Further, about 4% of the respondents reported that they or their immediate family members sustained injuries resulting from distracted walking. More important, approximately 53% of the respondents had seen near crashes resulting from pedestrians engaging in distracting activities while walking. In this survey, males engaged more in distracting activities than females. About 70% of females perceived that distracted walking had become a problem, compared with 30% of males. The most common proposed interventions by the respondents to curb distracted walking include education, outreach programs, citations, and legislation.

Evaluation of Truck Lane Restriction on Non-limited Access Urban Arterials

The commodity pick-up and delivery activities in urban areas have led to an increase in truck traffic on urban roadways raising safety and operational concerns. A number of strategies for managing trucks have primarily been implemented on interstate highways. The perceived success of truck lane restriction on freeways has led to increasing demands from the public for highway agencies to institute similar measures on non-limited access arterial streets. The review of State statutes, policies, and practices have so far revealed that five States - Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey - have roadway sections on non-limited access highways with truck lane restriction. However, the literature search revealed that the efficacy of truck lane restrictions on non-limited access highways has not been thoroughly studied. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate the influence of various geometric, traffic, and signalization factors that might affect the effectiveness of truck lane restrictions on non-limited access highways, primarily urban arterial roadways with a significant amount of truck traffic. VISSIM simulation software was used to evaluate operational and safety effects of a truck lane restriction by varying parameters related to the restriction. A 5-mile section of SR 70 in Fort Pierce, Florida was selected for simulation analysis. A network consisting of 22 roadway sections with 121 signalized intersections was simulated. The results of various simulation scenarios showed that restricting trucks to the right lane does not have deleterious effects compared to no restriction. In fact, restricting trucks to the right lane could improve travel speed on the highway corridor, although not by much. However, restricting trucks to the left lane or to the center lane would cause excessive lane changing, reduced travel speed, increased queue lengths, and increased stopped delay. The imposition of a truck lane restriction increases the speed difference between cars and trucks and also increases lane changing maneuvers. This phenomenon is likely to increase vehicular conflicts in real life but the extent to which these operational and safety implications may apply needs to be studied in the field.