NEW YORK CITY MOBILITY ENHANCEMENT PROJECT TRAFFIC SIGNAL PRIORITY CONTROL FOR TRANSIT VEHICLES

摘要

New York City traffic and transit agencies wanted to expedite bus travel and considered assessing signal priority strategies that extend the green signal, or truncate the red, to get to the next green. A study was conducted with computer simulation software, followed by implementation of a pilot field test. The project, on Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, included several studies, including 1) just transit signal priority, 2) just signal timing optimization, and then 3) both measures: inbound (to a major ferry terminal) in the morning and outbound in the evening. With both optimization and transit signal priority, travel time for buses was reduced by 17% in the morning and 11% in evening. It was concluded that signal priority can expedite transit vehicles without impacting non-transit traffic. Benefits are best achieved if bus stops are located on the far side of an intersection and if adequate efforts are made at optimization of the signal settings.