When a vehicle enters an intersection with insufficient space to exit on the opposite side the
result is often the obstruction of pedestrians and other vehicles, this phenomenon is usually referred to as "blocking the box." The purpose of this study was to determine different characteristics of blocking that might be considered in determining the installment of a "Don't Block the Box" (DBTB) campaign. This study identified potentially problematic intersections in Atlanta, Georgia and collected information, such as the number of vehicles that block the intersection (box junction), the amount of green time with blocking, and the percentages in which approaches were blocked.
Based on the results it was found the characteristics of the number of blockers, percentage of green time with blocking, and the percentage of lost capacity are excellent indicators for a possible DBTB campaign. Organizations interested in potentially starting a DBTB should consider these characteristics part of the determination of suitability of DBTB for an intersection. Within this study is was found that the intersections of Peachtree Road & Highland Drive, Peachtree Road & Stratford Road, Peachtree Road & Lenox Mall Entrance, and 10th Street & Williams Street showed to be potential candidates for a DBTB campaign in Atlanta, Georgia. During the study period these intersections had high percentages of lost capacity, high number of blocks, and high percentages of green time with blocking.
In conjunction with the DBTB data analysis a "DBTB survey" was developed. The objective of this survey was to help gain a better understanding of the current trends in DBTB campaigns around the United States. The "DBTB Survey" received 75 responses from 415 organizations around the nation, a 18.1% response rate. Six (60%) of the ten participants that currently have a DBTB campaign found a sufficient level of improvement in traffic operations and 46 of the total respondents (60%) proclaimed that if DBTB campaigns were shown to be an economical alternative for traffic management they would consider starting one to help congestion and safety.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:GATECH/oai:smartech.gatech.edu:1853/52255 |
| Date | 27 August 2014 |
| Creators | Harris, Darren Samuel |
| Contributors | Hunter, Michael P. |
| Publisher | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Source Sets | Georgia Tech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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