This project involved reviewing the potential for eliminating or significantly reducing left-turn movements on bus routes due to accident and liability concerns. An initial detailed analysis of the #87 route was conducted. As anticipated, the results showed that not all left-turns could be eliminated due to geographical realities. Where left-turns could be reduced and replaced with a series of circuitous right-hand turns, the analysis showed a significant increase in route travel time and route mileage as well as additional in-vehicle time for customers.
As a subconsultant, SI Engineering, P.C. (SIE) provided traffic analysis services for this project. Forty-five (45) bus lines were analyzed and optimized for the study. SIE provided a detailed route description from existing route descriptions of the bus lines by eliminating all possible left turns and analyzing the impacts on passengers due to the elimination of left turns and increased travel distances. ArcGIS software was utilized to compute new travel distances resulting from the left turn eliminations, and Microsoft Excel and SQL were utilized to analyze the overall impacts on passengers due to the left turn eliminations.
