Speaking

The Beardsley Road and Loop 101 Frontage Road Traffic and Safety Study applied microsimulation modeling and near-miss analysis to evaluate solutions for reducing vehicle conflict while monitoring for secondary project impacts within the study area. The City of Peoria, Arizona, identified that the system’s core issues lie in the influences of Loop 101 on driver behavior throughout the Frontage Road and Beardsley Road corridors. Vehicles traveled at high speeds in the corridor, especially those coming from Loop 101. 

The desire of drivers traveling Eastbound along Beardsley Road to access the Loop 101 Southbound on-ramp was causing unbalanced lane utilization, which impacted operations at the Beardsley and 83rd Avenue roundabout. Recent developments along the frontage road have also increased the severity of weaving maneuvers. These safety concerns were not reflected in the ALISS crash database as the developments opened in the most recently published crash data. These recent changes in access and land use within the study area required proactive safety analysis rather than reacting to crash history years from now. 

The near-miss analysis tool, SSAM, combined with a Vissim microsimulation model, allowed the study team to quantify the impacts of driver behavior on safety and recommended changes to the network targeting these driver behavioral issues. The project team used these tools to develop low-cost changes to the network that effectively reduced vehicle conflicts. Drone flights before and after the network changes confirmed the efficacy of the changes. 

In partnership with the City of Peoria, Arizona, B&N developed interactive maps for SRTS. These provide a more engaging and direct route to schools and facilitate future updates. This presentation will highlight the map development process and partnership. Mohammad Shaheed from the Maricopa Association of Governments and Brandon Forrey from the City of Peoria will co-present this session.