BUS PRIORITY AT TRAFFIC SIGNALS IN PORTLAND: THE POWELL BOULEVARD PILOT PROJECT

The city of Portland, Oregon, the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, and the Transportation Research Institute at Oregon State University have been involved in the Powell Boulevard Pilot Project to evaluate bus priority at traffic signals. Two priority techniques were tested in the pilot project. Green extension-early green return was tested at far-side stop locations, and queue jump was tested at a near-side stop location. In addition, two bus detection technologies were tested, which used different methods of bus detection. The pilot project involved four intersections along a 2-mi section of Southeast Powell Boulevard. Extensive traffic-impact studies were carried out before and after implementation of the bus priority technology. The project results include a summary of the equipment evaluation and the results of the traffic survey.