Title

Addressing Bicycle-Vehicle Conflicts with Alternate Signal Control Strategies

Time

1:40pm - 3:00pm

Location

1605 Tilia, Room 1103, West Village

Abstract

Within the last several decades, there has been renewed focus on improving the mobility, accessibility, safety, and comfort of non-motorized road users. With regards to bicycles and on-road facilities, much focus has been paid to geometric improvements, with less attention paid to signal timing treatments. To address this, NAU worked with Portland State University to develop guidance for practitioners for reducing bicycle-motor vehicle conflicts at signalized intersections with alternate control strategies. The team performed a simulation of various alternate signal control strategies to determine the impact of said strategies on all users (Leading Bike Interval, Split Leading Bike Interval, and Bike Scramble were three of the strategies), reached out to practitioners via a survey to understand the current use of these strategies, and analyzed video from a number of geographically diverse locations employing these strategies to understand the impact the various strategies had on conflicts between bicycles and motor vehicles. The results from the field deployments and simulations were used to develop a practitioner focused guidance document for guidance on implementation of alternate control strategies. This presentation will discuss the process and outcomes of this research work.

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Edward J. Smaglik, P.E., is a Professor at Northern Arizona University (NAU), Flagstaff, AZ, in the Department of Civil Engineering, Construction Management, and Environmental Engineering. The Director of AZTrans: The Arizona Laboratory for Applied Transportation Research, Dr. Smaglik has over 10 years of academic research and teaching experience, preceded by 2 years of experience as a post-doctoral research associate. He currently serves as a member of the TRB AHB25 Traffic Signal Systems Committee as well as the ASCE Streets and Highway Operations Committee. His research focuses on advanced uses of vehicle detection, traffic signal systems analyses, transportation performance measures, and multimodal operations. Dr. Smaglik joined the faculty at NAU in 2007 and has served as the Principal Investigator on transportation related projects over a wide range of topics in this discipline. Specifically, Dr. Smaglik has investigated projects on the following topics: improving pedestrian operations and reducing bicycle conflicts at signalized intersections to provide for a more livable environment for all users, developing performance measures from existing infrastructure at signalized intersections, mitigating special event congestion through the use of ITS technologies, the development of a sustainable traffic counting device, improving safety on free flow facilities using ITS technologies, and investigating the impacts of alternative vehicle detection devices on adaptive traffic control. He has been recognized as the Department Scholar Exemplar in 2017 and 2014, is the recipient of the 2008 Institute of Transportation Engineers’ Traffic Engineering Council Outstanding Paper Award, as well as a recipient of awards for outstanding performance as a teaching assistant and graduate student during his tenure in graduate school.