Simplified Method for Comparing Emissions in Roundabouts and at Signalized Intersections

An empirically based macroscopic method is presented. It estimates and compares the pollutant emissions generated from signalized intersections and roundabouts. This method was built on a large sample size of real-world second-by-second vehicle trajectories, traffic volumes, and other traffic characteristics collected at signalized intersections and roundabouts in six U.S. states. The basis for predicting and estimating pollutant emissions was the concept of vehicle-specific power. The method enables inclusion of emissions standards and vehicle classes, such as Tier 1 (T1) and Tier 2 (T2) passenger cars (PCs) and passenger trucks (PTs). More than 1,980 vehicle trajectories were analyzed. Traffic variables including intersection capacity, demand-to-capacity ratio (d/c), cycle length, green-to-cycle length ratio, signal progression (i.e., arrival type), and number of lanes were included in the model for analysis and comparison between signals and roundabouts. Application of the method to a case study showed that on average under low d/c (<0.7), roundabouts generated lower emission rates than signalized intersections. As demand approached capacity under high traffic volumes, signalized intersections with favorable progression (i.e., most demand arrived during green phase) generally produced lower emission rates than roundabouts. Signalized intersections with poor progression (i.e., most demand arrived during red phase) generated more emissions than roundabouts. Results also showed that during oversaturation periods (when d/c > 1), the amount of produced emissions increased steadily in roundabouts but increased a large amount at signals.