Determining the influence of high volumes of bicycle traffic on motorized traffic at signalized intersections in Germany – conceptual approach

Abstract

Bicycle traffic may have a significant influence on motorized traffic at signalized intersections. For instance, motorized vehicles carrying out right-turning maneuvers have to wait for bicyclists riding straight across the intersection. For this reason, infrastructure design (e.g. bicycle paths and lanes and queuing areas) and signalization of bicycle traffic at intersections is of essential importance, not only to ensure the safety of bicyclists, but also to protect performance aspects of motorized traffic. Currently, little is known about how different infrastructure design and signalization of bicycle traffic influence the motorized traffic or about the limitations these designs and signalizations. In this presentation, a conceptual approach is described for analyzing the effects of different bicycle infrastructure designs and signalization and for obtaining detailed knowledge to improve the quality of traffic flow while maintaining safety of all traffic participants. The approach can be divided into empirical and simulative analyses. In the empirical part, trajectory data from motorized vehicles and bicyclists will be analyzed to obtain empirical information about traffic flow related variables, e.g. journey times and waiting times, and traffic behavioral variables, e.g. accelerating, following and decelerating. Based on the results of the empirical analysis, an existing bicycle simulation model will be calibrated and validated in order to conduct several simulation experiments under various conditions, e.g. increasing traffic demand. The results of the empirical and simulative analyses will be used to develop a novel calculation method of traffic flow taking into account high volumes of bicycle traffic at signalized intersections as well as different infrastructure design and signalization.