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Sectors 1 and. 2 Restructuring Study Volume \I: Service Plan Metro Transit . Tools to eliminate merging delay from stops. Transit often loses signnicant time yielding to a traffic as it exits bus zones. For this reason, many agencies discourage bus pullouts, .. preferring bulbs that extend the sidewalk out to the traffic lane. This pennits transit to stop in . the traffic lane, and eliminates the need to merge out of the stop. Many states also have traffic laws requiring traffic to yield to a bus exiting a zone. Some buses now have prominent flashing yield signs on the left-rear to alert drivers of this requirement. . Minor signal prHmption. Many of the signals along major arterials are not linked to the signal progressions of intersecting streets. These minor signals typically occur at intersections with minor collectors and pedestrian-activated crosswalks. While these signals are important to local mobility, the green-time offered to the intersecting street is typically a policy minimum, and there are few side effects from delaying it to prevent minor signals from delaying a bus. Minor signal pre-emption can be implemented with the same technology as a garage-door opener, where a driver simply presses a button to alert the signal of the bus's presence. Altematively, it can use more sophisticated sensing devices based on Automatic Vehicle Location systems. In either case, the purpose Is simply to pre-empt the green-time of the intersecting street or crosswalk just long enough for the bus to get through. The result does not disrupt the signal progression of the main arterial, because it simply extends the greentime of a minor signal; the minor signal would still be red for the arterial only when the progression dictates. Of course, the pre-emption should not inlerrupt pedestrian-activated crosswalks once the pedestrian has been given a WALK signal, but it can delay the WALK. signal until the next logical point in the arterial's signal progression. While this may sometimes cause running . passengers to miss a bus, this tool is for use only on high-frequency lines where the next bus will be coming soon. It can also be de-activated in the evenings when frequencies are poorer. and rapid pedestrian access is a higher priority relative to operating speed. . Queue Bypasses at Malar Signals. It is often not practical for transit to preempt signals at the intersection of two arterials, because the intersecting arterial may have its own signal progression that cannot be disrupted without unacceptable traffic impacts. At these intersections, a common tool is the queue bypass. In this arrangement, the right lane approaching the intersection is reserved for buses and right-tuming traffic. A special brief signal phase gives a green light to this right lane only, while also giving a red light to the crosswalk to which right-tuming traffic would otherwise yield. This pennits the right lane to clear out and for the bus to cross the intersection prior to the parallel queued traffic on the arterial. Queue bypasses require careful study, but are often an effective solution to moving transit through major intersections where delays can otherwise be severe. . Bus-only Lanes and HOV Lanes. The highest-benefit and highest-impact solution to bus operating speed problems is the bus-only lane. The shoulder operations on several freeways . in the region are an excellenl example of this tool in an express mode, but there are also arterial applications. The bus-only lanes in downtown Minneapolis are not a good example, for reasons discussed in the next section. . Many cities eliminate parking during high-demand hours to create a busIHOV lane, though not . Nalaon \Nygaard Consulting 7-4 November 2, 1999