What does ramp metering do?

What are ramp meters? Ramp meters are stop-and-go traffic signals that control the frequency with which vehicles enter the flow of traffic on the freeway.

What is meant by ramp control?

Ramp flow control (also known as ramp metering) uses specialized traffic signals that release vehicles onto a freeway in a smooth and even manner. The goal is to minimize the interference of entering vehicles on freeway traffic and prevent stop-and-go traffic that ripples upstream and slows the entire freeway.

What is ramp strategy?

Ramp Management is the…“application of control devices, such as traffic signals, signing, and gates to regulate the number of vehicles entering or leaving the freeway, in order to achieve operational objectives”.

What is ramp in traffic engineering?

Ramp metering can be defined as a method by which traffic seeking to gain access to a busy highway is controlled at the access point via traffic signals. Ramp metering is the use of traffic signals to control the flow of traffic entering a freeway facility.

How is ramp metering used in traffic responsive control?

Traffic responsive control also permits ramp metering to be used to help manage demand when incidents occur on the freeway, i.e. reduce the metering rate at ramps upstream of the incident and increase the rate at ramps downstream. System-wide control is a form of traffic responsive control but operates on the basis of total freeway conditions.

What should the sophistication and extent of a ramp meter be?

The sophistication and extent of a ramp metering system should be based on the amount of improvement desired, existing traffic conditions, installation costs, and the continuing resource requirements that are necessary to operate and maintain the system effectively. The simplest form of control is a fixed time operation.

Why does Caltrans use ramp metering in California?

The policy committed the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to using ramp metering as an effective traffic management strategy to keep its freeway system operating at or near capacity.

When was ramp metering introduced in the Netherlands?

The first ramp metering in the Netherlands was introduced in 1989. Ramp metering is being introduced more widely in the Netherlands after a pilot study by the AVV Transport Research Centre which concluded that ramp metering can provide a small benefit for the traffic flow on the highway, leading to a higher capacity.