The Impact of Parallel U-Turns on Urban Intersection: Evidence from Chinese Cities

As the number of motor vehicles in China’s cities continues to increase, the imbalance between the capacity that existing urban roads have for construction and the demand for motor vehicles is becoming increasingly evident. Indeed, the design of the intersection U-turn scheme has garnered significant attention from researchers. However, as the number of vehicles requiring U-turns increases, the traditional U-turn in the median or U-turn at the intersection fails to meet the timely demand for U-turns. In such cases, vehicles needing to make U-turns are required to queue first. As the queue length grows, it ultimately impacts the operational efficiency of the intersection. To optimize the imbalance between supply and demand at these intersections and promote the sustainable development of intersections, an innovative form of U-turn organization called the Parallel U-turn has been developed. In the engineering practice of reconstructing existing intersections or constructing new ones, it is crucial to investigate the compatibility between various U-turn design forms and traffic volumes. This exploration helps ensure that the chosen U-turn design effectively accommodates the specific traffic demands at the intersection. Therefore, in this paper, a typical intersection in Xi’an was chosen as the study intersection to investigate traffic data. The researchers calibrated and simulated four U-turn organization schemes using VISSIM microsimulation software. The four schemes included a traditional U-turn at the intersection, a Parallel U-turn at the intersection, a traditional U-turn in the median, and a Parallel U-turn in the median. Then, the researchers used the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method (EWTM) to evaluate the compatibility of each U-turn organization scheme for different traffic combinations. This assessment was conducted based on three criteria: operational efficiency, environmental protection, and safety performance. The results of this study indicate that the Parallel U-turn design is advantageous for the XiaoZhai intersection in Xi’an, China, under specific traffic conditions. When the traffic volume at the intersection exceeds 5940 vehicles per hour but remains below the intersection’s maximum capacity, implementing the Parallel U-turn design could yield positive outcomes in terms of operational efficiency, safety performance, and a reduction in intersection pollution. In summary, by enhancing operational efficiency, safety, and environmental impact, the Parallel U-turn design promotes the overall performance and sustainability of the XiaoZhai intersection and the transportation system in Xi’an, China.