In recent years, with the continuous expansion of urban scale, the number of motor vehicles has continued to increase, and the contradiction between people, vehicles and roads has been further highlighted, and traffic congestion has become a problem of urban management and an important factor affecting the improvement of urban image. Intersections often become the "concentrated flashpoint" of traffic congestion, of which the congestion of the left turn lane is particularly serious, affecting the smooth and orderly flow of the entire intersection and even the road.
How to improve the efficiency of left-turn vehicle traffic has become a problem that Chen Yujian, who just took office as the head of the municipal traffic police detachment in early 2014, pondered in depth.
Most of the ways for large and medium-sized cities in China to alleviate intersection congestion are to repair and build bridges, but there are problems such as high cost, large land occupation, and large demolition and relocation, and it is not realistic to build a large number of interchanges in Handan. Based on this, Chen Yujian strives to think of a practical method under the existing conditions.
"I led the relevant personnel of the detachment to use several weeks to observe, count, and investigate the traffic flow and flow direction in all directions of the intersection and at different times, repeatedly deliberated and demonstrated, and tried to create a 'Handan experience' in the absence of precedent and successful experience to learn from in China." Chen Yujian said.
During the weekend break, Chen Yujian drove on the road to experience the traffic of the urban road and find a way to cure the congestion. He once "squatted" at the intersection of Fudong Avenue on Renmin Road for several hours and found that the traffic flow at this intersection was huge, "During peak hours, the queue of left-turning vehicles at the east exit reached more than 40, but during the 25-second left-turn traffic time, the maximum traffic was only 7-9 vehicles; the queue of the west exit straight and left-turning vehicles could reach up to 1 kilometer, almost to the intersection of Fuhe Avenue on Renmin Road!" The current situation of left-turn vehicle congestion shocked Chen Yujian and prompted him to make up his mind to solve this problem.
Kung Fu pays off. After a long period of observation and thinking, Chen Yujian found a breakthrough: before the intersection of our city was implemented the traffic rule of first going straight and then turning left, when the straight red light was lit and the left turn green light was released, the opposite lane adjacent to the left turn lane was "idle". If you guide some left-turn vehicles to the "idle" lane, more vehicles can complete the left turn per unit of time. Therefore, a bold idea came to Mind of Chen Yujian - to change the intersection signal light to "turn left first and then go straight", guide the left turn vehicle into the adjacent opposite "idle" lane, and then release the straight vehicle after the "borrowed" left turn lane is emptied.
After Chen Yujian proposed this idea, many people expressed doubts. Skeptics said: "There is no such precedent at home and abroad, is it in line with traffic laws to do so?" Are there any security risks? Can it be enforced? ”
For the sake of prudence, Chen Yujian found the data of the main intersection to study and calculate in depth, and discussed with his colleagues the feasibility of this method. Chen Yujian's lover told reporters: "During that time, as soon as he came back, he took chopsticks and put them on the table to simulate the lane, looking at the table to calculate the time. ”
After rigorous analysis and calculation, Chen Yujian believes that as long as the signal lamp is accurately deployed according to the requirements, this method is feasible.
Under pressure from all sides, Chen Yujian began to practice his ideas.
Soon after, a new way of turning left at an intersection appeared in front of the people of Handan - "turn left by the road". It is to open a left turn entrance at the central guardrail near the intersection, open one or two "variable left turn waiting lanes" for the opposite lane, and increase the number of left turn vehicles per unit time by "borrowing" the opposite lane.
Technically, adjust the order of signal lights, from "first go straight and then turn left" to "first turn left and then go straight", and reasonably allocate the signal light time at the entrance of the intersection left turn signal light and the "variable left turn waiting lane" (the insertion time of entering the "variable left turn waiting lane" is less than the total left turn time of the intersection of 5 to 7 seconds), to ensure that the vehicle entering the "variable left turn waiting lane" can be fully empty during the left turn signal light at the intersection, which does not affect the normal passage of the opposite vehicle. At the same time, improve the "variable left turn waiting lane" traffic auxiliary facilities, add driving guidance lines and prompt signs to make it clear and easy to understand; install illegal capture devices to ensure that vehicles entering the "variable left turn waiting lane" obey the instructions of the entrance signal lights.
At that time, the east exit of the intersection of Fudong Avenue on Renmin Road was first selected as the "left turn on the road" to transform the test intersection.
Chen Yujian said: "In the early stage of the transformation, because it is a new thing, in order to let the majority of drivers understand and adapt, the municipal traffic police detachment invested a lot of manpower to carry out extensive publicity, and arranged for the police to command, guide and prompt all day, informing the driver how to correctly 'turn left through the road'. ”
After extensive publicity and notification, the public has gradually become familiar with the "left turn by road" at the intersection, and has truly felt the convenient effect it brings to the left turn of vehicles.
After 40 days of testing, the method was promoted from the east entrance of Fudong Avenue on Renmin Road to the south, west and north directions of the intersection.
"We take the method of piloting first and gradually promoting it, and implement it while looking at the effect." Chen Yujian said.
Practice has proved that the effect is very good. Taking the intersection of Fudong Avenue of Renmin Road as an example, according to the field records of the Municipal Traffic Police Detachment, the one-way intersection of the two "variable left turn waiting lanes" during peak hours can pass an average of 18 motor vehicles in one direction, and 396-414 vehicles can pass more per hour; two "variable left turn waiting lanes" one signal cycle one-way intersection can pass an average of 10 more motor vehicles and 220-230 vehicles per hour. Through the implementation of the "left turn on the borrowed road", the congestion situation at the intersection of Fudong Avenue on Renmin Road has been significantly improved, and there have been no traffic accidents because of the "borrowing road".
After the successful experience of the pilot, the "left turn method by borrowing the road" has been promoted in many major trunk road junctions in the city. Up to now, the "left turn method of borrowing the road" has been successfully applied in 60 directions at 18 important intersections in our city.
Combined with the "left turn on the road", the city also added a straight waiting area in front of the intersection parking line, and when the green light for the left turn was on, the straight vehicle moved forward into the waiting area. During peak hours, a straight signal cycle can pass more than 11-14 vehicles.
Chen Yujian said that while greatly improving the efficiency of traffic intersections, the "left turn method" reduces the idle time of left-turn vehicles in situ, which in turnes back to reduce the fuel consumption of automobiles and improve chemical emissions. Therefore, it also has long-term significance for the city's energy conservation and emission reduction, air pollution prevention and control.
Intersections that use the "turn left on the road" method
An intersection that uses the normal left turn method
Using the normal left turn method, you can only pass about 5 vehicles in 25 seconds
Using the new method, turn left can pass more than 15 vehicles in 20 seconds
Since the implementation of the "Left Turn by Road" method in our city, it has been unanimously praised and highly recognized by the majority of traffic participants, and has been evaluated as "small investment, big benefit" and "small measures, big smoothness"; it has been fully affirmed by the provincial and municipal leaders, and the General Office of the Provincial Party Committee and the Propaganda Department of the Provincial Party Committee have summarized, publicized and promoted; in February 2017, it was awarded the second prize of the "Four Constructions" Police Innovation Award of the public security organs in the province; the traffic management departments of Guangdong, Hunan, Xinjiang and other provinces (regions) have come to our city to study and inspect the experience of "turning left by the road".
On June 19 this year, the "Left Turn by Borrowing Road" was granted an invention patent by the State Intellectual Property Office.
It is now in its fifth year, starting with the pilot in 2014 and gradually rolling it out since then. The "left turning method by borrowing the road" plays a unique role in the convenient transportation of Handan, a city with a population of nearly 10 million, and the innovative spirit embodied behind it makes every Handan people enjoy it.
In April 2017, Chen Yujian was transferred to the Municipal Bureau of Urban Management and Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement to preside over the overall work. Since taking office, a series of innovative measures have been carried out in urban management, environmental remediation, street greening and other work. He said: "Handan has had a fine tradition of reform and innovation from ancient times to the present, and the courage of reform and innovative thinking are always inseparable in our work. ”