TITLE:
Evaluating the Feasibility of Road Diets for Advancing Urban Mobility in Newark, DE
AUTHORS:
Patrick Boyle, Ardeshir Faghri, Rodolfo Gomes
KEYWORDS:
Road Diets, VISSIM, Bike Lanes, Level of Service, Traffic Safety, Transportation
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Transportation Technologies,
Vol.13 No.4,
September
27,
2023
ABSTRACT: Road Diets are far from a new technique for designers to apply to
roadways. Yet after over 50 years of implementation and countless studies into
their effectiveness, it is only relatively recently that the process is gaining
widespread recognition and implementation. Each year, more states and countries
are examining potential road diets and putting them into place. Still, there
remains great skepticism and opposition in many corners. In addition, cities
and states may be drawing from many of the same sources in how to go about the
process of a road diet and evaluate them, yet their methodology, goals, and
even terminology can vary from region to region. This study analyzes the
implementation of a road diet along a one-way arterial road, in Newark,
Delaware. The primary aim of this analysis is to evaluate the feasibility of
introducing a dedicated bicycle infrastructure to enhance local accessibility
and to quantify its potential impacts on traffic flow, parking availability,
and loading logistics within the vicinity. While the reduction of one lane
could be perceived as a constraint on traffic management, the investigation
revealed that E Main Street, the roadway analyzed, for the most part, can
adequately accommodate its traffic load with a single lane. Detailed findings
underscore the notable enhancement in level of service and subsequent reduction
in delay times across most surveyed approaches.