Evaluating urban intersections: a comparative study of roundabouts versus protected U-turns—which is better?
Effective urban traffic management is a significant challenge in rapidly urbanizing areas with increased vehicular usage, impacting both congestion and safety. Busy cities, like many urban centers, face these issues. Roundabouts, known for their ability to reduce severe crashes, represent a traditi...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Technology and Society, Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund University
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Traffic Safety Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://tsr.international/TSR/article/view/27037 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1841545837064224768 |
|---|---|
| author | Nawaf Alnawmasi Hisham Jashami Qiuqi Cai |
| author_facet | Nawaf Alnawmasi Hisham Jashami Qiuqi Cai |
| author_sort | Nawaf Alnawmasi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Effective urban traffic management is a significant challenge in rapidly urbanizing areas with increased vehicular usage, impacting both congestion and safety. Busy cities, like many urban centers, face these issues. Roundabouts, known for their ability to reduce severe crashes, represent a traditional approach to intersection design. However, in high-traffic conditions, roundabouts can become less efficient, leading to increased congestion. Alternatively, protected U-turns, which are a relatively modern approach, are designed to handle high traffic volumes more effectively. They potentially reduce waiting times and improve overall traffic flow but may pose different safety and longitudinal challenges. This study aims to explore these complexities by analyzing the effectiveness of roundabouts and protected U-turns in the context of the unique urban landscape of the Hail City in Saudi Arabia. PTV VISSIM was used for dynamic traffic simulation, providing a realistic representation of traffic patterns in Hail City. Parameters such as vehicle queuing lengths, wait times, and overall intersection capacity are comprehensively evaluated. The simulation settings are adjusted to reflect different traffic densities and patterns, thus ensuring a thorough understanding of the performance of each intersection type under varied conditions. Additionally, various statistical analysis techniques were used to better understand the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Results showed scenarios of high traffic volume, roundabouts led to longer vehicle queues and increased wait times. On the other hand, protected U-turns exhibited a notable capability to manage high-volume traffic, effectively reducing congestion and improving intersection throughput. This research may contribute to urban traffic management literature, offering insightful guidelines for future intersection design and traffic flow optimization in rapidly urbanizing cities.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7eb54a6479d74c5c8bb04a1f90c29af7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2004-3082 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Technology and Society, Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Traffic Safety Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-7eb54a6479d74c5c8bb04a1f90c29af72025-01-11T09:49:50ZengTechnology and Society, Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund UniversityTraffic Safety Research2004-30822025-01-01910.55329/jbwz1736Evaluating urban intersections: a comparative study of roundabouts versus protected U-turns—which is better?Nawaf Alnawmasi0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5753-3025Hisham Jashami1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5511-7543Qiuqi Cai2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5818-9315University of Ha'il, Saudi ArabiaOregon State University, the United States of AmericaHDR, Inc., the United States of America Effective urban traffic management is a significant challenge in rapidly urbanizing areas with increased vehicular usage, impacting both congestion and safety. Busy cities, like many urban centers, face these issues. Roundabouts, known for their ability to reduce severe crashes, represent a traditional approach to intersection design. However, in high-traffic conditions, roundabouts can become less efficient, leading to increased congestion. Alternatively, protected U-turns, which are a relatively modern approach, are designed to handle high traffic volumes more effectively. They potentially reduce waiting times and improve overall traffic flow but may pose different safety and longitudinal challenges. This study aims to explore these complexities by analyzing the effectiveness of roundabouts and protected U-turns in the context of the unique urban landscape of the Hail City in Saudi Arabia. PTV VISSIM was used for dynamic traffic simulation, providing a realistic representation of traffic patterns in Hail City. Parameters such as vehicle queuing lengths, wait times, and overall intersection capacity are comprehensively evaluated. The simulation settings are adjusted to reflect different traffic densities and patterns, thus ensuring a thorough understanding of the performance of each intersection type under varied conditions. Additionally, various statistical analysis techniques were used to better understand the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Results showed scenarios of high traffic volume, roundabouts led to longer vehicle queues and increased wait times. On the other hand, protected U-turns exhibited a notable capability to manage high-volume traffic, effectively reducing congestion and improving intersection throughput. This research may contribute to urban traffic management literature, offering insightful guidelines for future intersection design and traffic flow optimization in rapidly urbanizing cities. https://tsr.international/TSR/article/view/27037geometric designmicrosimulationprotected U-turnPTV VISSIMroundabout |
| spellingShingle | Nawaf Alnawmasi Hisham Jashami Qiuqi Cai Evaluating urban intersections: a comparative study of roundabouts versus protected U-turns—which is better? Traffic Safety Research geometric design microsimulation protected U-turn PTV VISSIM roundabout |
| title | Evaluating urban intersections: a comparative study of roundabouts versus protected U-turns—which is better? |
| title_full | Evaluating urban intersections: a comparative study of roundabouts versus protected U-turns—which is better? |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating urban intersections: a comparative study of roundabouts versus protected U-turns—which is better? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating urban intersections: a comparative study of roundabouts versus protected U-turns—which is better? |
| title_short | Evaluating urban intersections: a comparative study of roundabouts versus protected U-turns—which is better? |
| title_sort | evaluating urban intersections a comparative study of roundabouts versus protected u turns which is better |
| topic | geometric design microsimulation protected U-turn PTV VISSIM roundabout |
| url | https://tsr.international/TSR/article/view/27037 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nawafalnawmasi evaluatingurbanintersectionsacomparativestudyofroundaboutsversusprotecteduturnswhichisbetter AT hishamjashami evaluatingurbanintersectionsacomparativestudyofroundaboutsversusprotecteduturnswhichisbetter AT qiuqicai evaluatingurbanintersectionsacomparativestudyofroundaboutsversusprotecteduturnswhichisbetter |