Exploring the Considerations of School Zone Speed Control in Traffic Signal Timing
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Authors
Khan, Marufa
Issue Date
2024
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Performance Measure , School Zone , Traffic Coordination , Traffic Signal Timing , Vehicle GPS Trajectory
Alternative Title
Abstract
School zone speed control is a crucial safety intervention that assists in slowing down traffic and warning drivers to pay more attention to vulnerable road users. This restriction may result in impacts on arterial traffic operations, including speed reduction and potentially additional stops at intersections. Among the various measures implemented for school zone speed control, the potential of utilizing traffic signal timing strategies to influence driver behavior and maintain reduced speeds in school zones remains largely unexplored in the literature. This study aims to develop a data-driven methodology based on probe vehicle trajectory data to explore and quantify the influence of school zone speed control, which can then identify the needs and considerations to adjust traffic signal timing. Traffic signal timing performance is generally evaluated using measures such as arterial average speed, the number of stops, and delay on minor movements to understand how traffic flows through the corridor. Subjects regarding whether school zone speed control can impact corridor signal coordination are investigated in this study through the dissection of probe vehicle trajectories within several school zones in the Reno-Sparks region in Nevada. WaySync software is used to compute arterial traffic signal performance measurements. Descriptive statistical analysis and t-tests have been conducted to understand the statistical significance of the school zone speed control flasher on these performance measurements. The findings indicate and quantify the influence on corridor signal coordination resulting from school zone speed control. In the case study, reductions are observed in corridor signal timing performance during the periods when school zone speed control is in effect. Further analysis focuses on driver behavior in school zones, specifically examining speed and acceleration profiles in response to downstream green and yellow signals. The findings reveal that drivers tend to accelerate when encountering a green or yellow light, potentially undermining the safety benefits of reduced speed limits in school zones. By integrating the impact of school zone speed control on both signal timing performance and driver behavior, this research provides actionable insights for optimizing traffic signal timing strategies.