Recommendations for Yield-To-Bus Traffic Control Devices and Bus Pullout Bays Design Characteristics

2013PDFTech ReportBDK85 977-33Traffic control devicesBus baysGeometric designTransit busesYield signsHighway safetyHighway designResearch HubFloridaUnited StatesFlorida. Dept. of TransportationLin, Pei-SungFabregas, AldoGunpinar, SerkanPerez-Angon, OsielBehzadi, BijanNational Center for Transit Research (U.S.)United States. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Innovative Technology AdministrationUS Transportation CollectionTraffic control devices such as roadside signs and pavement markings are used to promote highway safety and efficiency for all road users. A bus pullout bay is a special geometric roadway feature that allows transit buses to stop outside the travel lanes. It facilitates the traffic flow of vehicles on the road while patrons board the stopped bus. In this project, bus pullout bays in Hillsborough and Lee counties were studied with the objectives of: (1) identifying the critical design features and prevailing conditions affecting the safety of the merging maneuvers of buses entering traffic from bus pullout bays; (2) designing a set of roadside treatments or traffic control devices to promote yield-to-bus (YTB) behavior at bus pullout bays; and (3) providing recommendations for implementation and evaluation of YTB traffic control devices on the State Highway System. First, a set of roadside sign alternatives are presented. In addition, bus bays in the participating transit agencies were measured to obtain performance measures for bus bay design features. It was found that the average acceleration distance was 70 ft. Field data collection was performed to verify the before conditions at one of the potential test sites. Field data indicated that 33% of the merging maneuvers ended in a yield to the bus. Recommendations for the implementation of an advanced YTB roadside sign included using laser detectors and incorporating bus bay data in GIS transit inventory