Influence of access points on the conditions of vehicle movement in traffic flow

Abstract

Access or access point usually presents approaching roadway constructed directly along the driveway of the main road through whom vehicles are entering on or exiting from private property, but also it implies commercial approaching and access roads. Increased access-point density connected on the main road affects the disorder of functional dependence of fundamental parameters of traffic flow. An increase of access-point density on the main road has the effect of decrease of capacity and speed of traffic flow, but also increase of travel time. This paper is the outcome of research on several roadway segments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and results are presenting the distribution of access points in a function of section length. Key results are related to access-point density, i.e. number of access points on both sides of two-lane highways divided by the length of the roadway segment. Depending on access-point density, decrease of free flow speed appears on mentioned sections which value goes from 2,35 km/h to 21,53 km/h and that is significant dispersion determined free flow speeds on given sections. In this paper is analyzed unplanned and uncontrolled construction of a large number of access points along the driveway of two-lane highway, which does not attract significant attention in our country and neighborhood. The main goal of this paper is to determine decrease of speed on segment of representative road network depending on access-point density and highlight the importance and necessity of increased control of access points.