How do Ramp Management Strategies Improve Mobility?
Ramp management strategies aim to improve conditions on the adjacent freeway and surface streets, resulting in benefits to mobility. By managing how vehicles use ramps, practitioners can set limits based on downstream capacity to maintain a pre-determined operational objective. For instance, ramp metering is often used to balance capacity and demand. Even in an uncongested state, a platoon of vehicles merging onto a freeway can cause enough turbulence (stop-and-go conditions as freeway vehicles slow down or quickly change lanes to accommodate the merging vehicles) to cause localized congestion around the ramp merge area. Metering can minimize these impacts by releasing vehicles in a controlled manner depending on the freeway mainline’s ability to accept traffic. Operational characteristics that may be improved through the application of ramp management strategies include; speed, travel time, and delay.
