A Novel Left-Turn Signal Control Method for Improving Intersection Capacity in a Connected Vehicle Environment

Abstract

Setting up an exclusive left-turn lane and corresponding signal phase for intersection traffic safety and efficiency will decrease the capacity of the intersection when there are less or no left-turn movements. This is especially true during rush hours because of the ineffective use of left-turn lane space and signal phase duration. With the advantages of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, a novel intersection signal control model is proposed which sets up variable lane direction arrow marking and turns the left-turn lane into a controllable shared lane for left-turn and through movements. The new intersection signal control model and its control strategy are presented and simulated using field data. After comparison with two other intersection control models and control strategies, the new model is validated to improve the intersection capacity in rush hours. Besides, variable lane lines and the corresponding control method are designed and combined with the left-turn waiting area to overcome the shortcomings of the proposed intersection signal control model and control strategy.