Generalized Effects of On-Street Parking Maneuvers on the Performance of Nearby Signalized Intersections

An on-street parking maneuver can often start a temporary bottleneck that leads to additional delay of following vehicles. When the maneuver occurs upstream near a signalized intersection, the scope of the impact can be magnified. In this case, the intersection might be starved for traffic because of the parking maneuver, so a portion of the intersection capacity is wasted. The authors of this paper estimate the reduction in service rate attributable to the delay from an upstream parking maneuver at different locations and provide suggestions for avoiding such a reduction. The perturbation caused by the parking maneuver is calculated from the hydrodynamic theory of traffic flow. By using dimensional analysis, the authors analyze the relationship between background conditions (i.e., traffic volume, traffic saturation condition, signal control settings) time and location of the parking maneuver, and reduction in service rate at the intersection. Combined with a previous study, this research completes an analysis of the effects of parking maneuvers at different locations near a signalized intersection (as both upstream and downstream maneuvers are included). The results show that, generally, for an undersaturated intersection, parking downstream of the intersection causes fewer negative effects on the service rate than does parking upstream. However, for an oversaturated intersection, parking downstream near the intersection might reduce the service rate significantly. These conclusions may help guide parking planning–management under different background conditions and assist the development of parking regulations (such as dynamic parking supply according to real-time traffic conditions).