| High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes have evolved as an important transportation supply management strategy for reducing peak-period traffic congestion in many urban areas. In HOV lane planning initiatives, accurate estimation of the travel time differentials between HOV Lanes and the adjacent general-purpose (GP) lanes is crucial in projecting the potential mode shift from solo driving to high-occupancy vehicles. Microsimulation-based operational analysis of traffic provides a promising approach to compute these travel time differentials more efficiently. In addition, microsimulation-based analysis provides the opportunity to evaluate the impacts of HOV lane implementation at a more disaggregate, section-by-section, basis in a corridor. In this research project, an HOV lane treatment plan for Highway 401 in Toronto was developed using the above approach based on a comparative operational analysis of three improvement scenarios. The research results showed the usefulness of microsimulation for evaluating HOV lane improvement options for large freeways on a section-by-section basis. |
