East Orlando Traffic Improvement Project

A Proposal
By
Sarah Becker
Harrison Cohen
John Milcetich
Patricia Truax
Nicholas Villani


Submitted
on
September 22, 2010







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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Purpose
We propose to research and produce a plan that will decrease the average time it takes to
drive through the intersection of North Alafaya Trail (S.R. 434) and East Colonial (S.R. 50) in
East Orlando. Blocking the intersection is one of the causes of traffic at the described
intersection. Our improvement plan will address ways to reduce the number of vehicles that
block the intersection.
1.2. Background
The intersection of S.R. 434 and S.R. 50 is a major intersection in East Orlando. This
intersection is located approximately 2.5 miles south of the University of Central Florida and
1.5 miles north of Waterford Lakes Town Center (Figure 1). This intersection accommodates
thousands of cars daily (Traffic Crash, 2009). Figure 1 shows the location of three traffic
monitoring sites for the Florida Department of Transportation. Table 1 displays the 2009
Annual Average Daily Traffic statistics by site number and direction travelled.
Figure 1 The intersection of S.R. 434 and S.R. 50 and relevant traffic monitoring sites.

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Table 1 2009 Annual Average Daily Traffic Statistics*

Site Location Eastbound Westbound Total
0604 21,500 22,500 44,000
0605 24,500 24,500 49,000
Northbound Southbound Total
0448 31,500 30,500 62,000
*Data for the table were obtained from the Traffic Crash Statistics Report 2009 (Traffic
Crash, 2009).

1.3. Scope
The project will focus primarily on factors that contribute to increased commute time as
well as ways to mitigate their effect. Research and analysis will be done to determine and
focus on peak traffic times.The team will investigate and compare two alternative methods
to increase traffic flow through the intersection.
2. DISCUSSION
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0604 0605
East Colonial (S.R. 50)
Traffic Monitoring Sites
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2.1. Problem Description
Vehicular crashes and vehicles disregarding traffic lights are a few of the contributing
factors to decreased traffic flow, which have been made by visual observation. These
instances have led to an increased buildup of traffic in an already high volume traffic area.
The objective of this project is to determine a more efficient method of decreasing average
wait time and to improve traffic flow of the intersection.
2.2. Approach
The proposed solution to the current traffic conditions at S.R. 50 and S.R. 434 will take into
account the cost-benefit relationship to the current problem. Research will be done to
identify aspects that contribute to decreased traffic flow and ways to mitigate their effects.
The traffic conditions will be monitored for a period of five weeks on random days in order
to obtain the necessary data to monitor the performance of the current process. Traffic will
be monitored between the hours of 4:00 PM and 7:00PM. Alternative processes will be
addressed based on their ability to create an improvement.
2.3. Performance Measures to Be Evaluated
Table 2 lists the measures that will be collected to monitor performance.
Table 2 Performance Measures
Performance
Measure
Unit of Meas. Importance
(1-5),
5=High
How it will be measured
Avg. Wait Time Minutes 5 Average of observed wait times
Max Wait Time Minutes 4 Visual observation with stopwatch
Avg. Queue Size # of vehicles 3 Visual observation

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Max. Queue Size # of vehicles 3 Visual observation /times
Avg. Throughput # of
vehicles/light
5 Average of observations
Red Lights Run # of vehicles 4 Visual observation

3. DATA SOURCES AND COLLECTION METHODS
Data sources used for this project will be a combination of online sources, visual
observations, surveys and interviews. Traffic conditions will be manually observed using
stopwatches. The Florida Department of Transportation will be utilized in order to obtain
relevant historical data. Surveys and interviews will also be coordinated in order to collect
data on the effects of the traffic conditions.
4. PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM DESIGNS
4.1. Alternative 1: Install Red Light Cameras
When vehicles run red lights and block the intersection it causes additional delays.
Eliminating/reducing obstruction of the intersection will increase the average throughput
per light cycle. The first proposed alternative is to install red light cameras at the
intersection of S.R. 50 and S.R. 434. This alternative is suggested as an attempt to reduce
the number of red light infractions that occur. Research will be done in order to determine
the correlation between red light cameras and the number of vehicles that fail to stop at
the lights.
4.2. Alternative 2: Build an Overpass

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The second alternative is to build an overpass such that S.R. 50 will cross over all lanes of
S.R.434. The proposed overpass will eliminate the need for lights, causing a more fluid flow
of traffic on both roads. A similar project has already been completed at the intersection of
S.R. 50 and S.R. 436. Cost-benefit analysis will be done in order to determine if a similar
project for the discussed intersection is feasible.
5. PROJECT PLAN
5.1. Projected Schedule
Table 5.1 depicts the proposed project schedule in order of earliest to latest start date. The
estimated start and completion dates do not reflect the required span time of the tasks.
Additional float time has been incorporated into the span times to account for any
unexpected delays. This method also allows for more flexibility in completing the tasks and
ensures that the completion dates are met.
Table 5.1
Task Name Est.
Start
Est.
Comp.
Team Member/s
Responsible
Investigate cost of cameras 9/22 9/30 Trish Truax
Research benefits of an overpass 9/22 9/30 Harrison Cohen
Research cost of building an overpass 9/22 9/30 Harrison Cohen
Create Campus Survey 9/27 10/4 Milcetich
Monitor Traffic Conditions Day 1 11/8 11/8 Truax/Villani
Monitor Traffic Conditions Day 1 11/9 11/9 Cohen
Analyze Traffic Data 11/11 11/14 Everyone
Compile Data for Alternate Scenarios 10/15 11/1 Everyone
Compare Alternate Scenarios 10/15 11/1 Everyone
Present Final Project 11/17 11/17 Everyone




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REFERENCES

"Traffic Crash Statistics Report 2009." Florida Department of Highway Safety and
Motor Vehicles. N.p., 2009. Web. 21 Sept. 2010. <http://edocs.dlis.state.fl.us/fldocs/
hsmv/crash/CS2009.pdf>.