Bidirectional traffic

In transportation infrastructure, a bidirectional traffic system divides travelers into two streams of traffic that flow in opposite directions.

Bidirectional traffic is observed in a wide variety of applications, including aerodynamics; architecture; cellular automata; data; engineering; entomology; molecular biology; ornithology; pedestrian movement; and statistical mechanics.

Aerodynamics

In the design and construction of tunnels, bidirectional traffic can markedly affect ventilation considerations.

Entomology

Bidirectional traffic can be observed in ant trails. As of recent years, this behavior has been researched for insight into human traffic models.

Human transportation

Airways

See also: Airway (aviation) and Right- and left-hand traffic § Vessels and aircraft

Railways

Main article: Double track

See also: Right- and left-hand traffic § Trains

A BNSF Railway intermodal train passes some maintenance of way equipment on the double track mainline in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lines were built as double track because of the difficulty of coordinating operations prior to the invention of the telegraph.

Roads

Main article: Right- and left-hand traffic

A traffic sign in Victoria, Australia that reads "Drive on left in Australia"

The majority of modern roads carry bidirectional traffic.

Trails

Bidirectional traffic is the most common form of flow observed in trails, however, some larger pedestrian concourses exhibit multidirectional traffic.

Waterways

See also: Right- and left-hand traffic § Vessels and aircraft

See also

• Right- and left-hand traffic

References

• "Structural design issues", Transportation research record, National Research Council, Transportation Research Board, 2000, ISBN 978-0309067447, Two-lane rural highways with bidirectional traffic {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coeditors= and |coauthors= (help)
• Bernick, Michael (1996). Transit villages in the 21st century. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0070054752. Satellite subcenters would function as countermagnets to central Stockholm, leading to efficient bidirectional traffic flows. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• "Annual meeting", Compendium of technical papers, vol. 53, Institute of Transportation Engineers, 1983, Madras conducted some field studies to evolve a relationship between speed and volume of traffic on single and two lane bidirectional traffic roads. {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coeditors= and |coauthors= (help)
• Bickel, John (1982). Tunnel engineering handbook. University of California: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. p. 499. ISBN 978-0442281274. This results in bidirectional traffic in a single tunnel. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• "Proceedings of a workshop held May 17-19, 1971", Systems building for bridges, 1972, p. 46, ISBN 978-0309020633, Obviously the hazards are far more numerous and the need for better headlighting much greater on these millions of miles of streets and highways carrying bidirectional traffic, particularly because so few of these miles have even mediocre fixed highway lighting. {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coeditors= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Pavement management systems, National Academy Press, 1993, p. 24, ISBN 978-0309054683 {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coeditors= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• "Report 65: "Evaluation of Bus Bulbs"" (PDF). Transit Cooperative Research Program: 20. Retrieved 2009-09-09. Conversely, at 44 sq ft (4.1 sq m), passing slower pedestrian traffic is easier, crossing bidirectional traffic is nearly unhindered, and traveling through the zone is dramatically less affected by other walking or standing pedestrians. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Stone, H. David (2008). Vital rails: the Charleston & Savannah Railroad and the Civil War in coastal South Carolina. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1570037160. Single tracking and the relative lack of sidings made bidirectional traffic difficult — a difficulty that became more obvious during the conflict with the North. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Behrens, John (1974), "A staff technical report", Recommendation for the Chicago area freight system for 1995, Chicago Area Transportation Study, The average yard handle 350 vans of bidirectional traffic each day. {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coeditors= and |coauthors= (help)
• "Transportation system management, parking, and travel demand management". Transportation Research Record. 1404: 39. 1993. ISBN 978-0309055505. This is especially true for physically challenged users and the elderly, who have to weave through bidirectional traffic. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Borndörfer, Ralf (2005-11-16), "Optimal Fares for Public Transport" (PDF), Operations Research Proceedings 2005, Bremen: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, doi:10.1007/3-540-32539-5, retrieved 2009-09-09, It consists of a network containing 23 nodes (stations) and a corresponding upper-triangular origin-destination matrix (d0st) with 210 nonzero entries that account for a symmetric bidirectional traffic. {{citation}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coeditors= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Burger, H. (1993). "Options for tunnelling". Developments in Geotechnical Engineering: 35. ISBN 978-0444899354. A tunnel with an inner diameter of 9.75 meters allowing a bidirectional traffic of 2 x 3 car lanes on two superimposed levels. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Cervero, Robert (1998). The transit metropolis: a global inquiry. Island Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-1559635912. As shown in Stockholm and Curitiba, mixed land uses can translate into balanced, bidirectional traffic flows. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• "Volume 26, Issues 1-7". Electronic design. Hayden Pub. Co. 1978. But to get the sign's X-band Doppler radar to work reliably from overpasses (see photo) or from overhead sign posts, two major problems had to be overcome: fluctuations in the Doppler returns because of multipath cancellations from cars approaching the sign, and interference caused by bidirectional traffic flow. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Li, KePing (2005-10-10). "Cellular automaton model for railway traffic". Journal of Computational Physics. 209 (1): 179–192. doi:10.1016/j.jcp.2005.03.016. Similar CA models include the bidirectional traffic model and the traffic networks model, etc. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Tang, T.Q. (2007-03-15). "A new overtaking model and numerical tests". Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications. 376: 649–657. doi:10.1016/j.physa.2006.10.044. The overtaking in a two-lane bidirectional traffic flow is also analyzed. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Bényei, András (2002). "Measurements to define relationship between traffic volume and traffic conditions in Hungary" (PDF). Periodica Polytechnica Ser. Civ. Eng. 46 (1): 83–94. Retrieved 2009-09-09. In Fig. 3 the s = f (V∗) functions are presented, showing the V∗ PCU/h fictive bidirectional traffic volumes delimiting the proposed three grades of level of services. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Moussa, Najem (2009-05-26), http://arxiv.org/pdf/0905.4252, Simulation study of traffic accidents in bidirectional traffic models, retrieved 2009-09-09, In summary, we have investigated the risk of collisions between vehicles in two-lane bidirectional traffic flow models. {{citation}}: |contribution-url= missing title (help); |format= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coeditors= and |coauthors= (help)
• Hamza-lup, Georgiana (2004), "Enhancing intelligent transportation systems to improve and support homeland security" (PDF), IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Conference, Washington, D.C., doi:10.1109/ITSC.2004.1398906, retrieved 2009-09-09, In the Fastest-Links approach, links that are not on the multicast tree are allowed to have bidirectional traffic, so we only need to enforce certain directions for the traffic flowing through the intersections/nodes in the multicast tree. {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coeditors= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• US 5815161  "As shown, the two links 100, 102 have mutually opposite traffic directions. This means that in the joining, the complex road junction can get a bidirectional traffic indication."
• Sato, Yoshimichi (2006 December). "Development and Evaluation of In-vehicle Signing System Utilizing RFID tags as Digital Traffic Signs" (PDF). International Journal of ITS Research. 40 (1). Retrieved 2009-09-09. This approach makes the system applicable also to a narrow undivided road carrying bidirectional traffic {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Blue, Victor (2000), "Cellular automata model of emergent collective bi-directional pedestrian dynamics" (PDF), Artificial Life VII: Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Artificial Life, eds., Portland, Oregon: The MIT Press, pp. 437–445, ISBN 978-0262522908, retrieved 2009-09-09, The bi-directional vehicular flow model focuses on modeling acceleration and passing movements within the framework of two lanes of opposing flow. {{citation}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |coeditors= ignored (help)
• "Road Watch: The BUDAPEST SUN traffic buster". The Budapest Sun. 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2009-09-09. The bidirectional traffic flow is controlled by traffic lights. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Christmann, Samantha (2009-08-10). "Traffic brings new life to Main Street". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2009-09-09. A month after the 700 block of Main Street opened to bidirectional traffic, business owners said they are seeing an improvement -- no two ways about it. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)