Flow Boulevard; continuous flowing traffic on interrupted urban streets

• US 20150078820A1
• Filed: 09/16/2013
• Published: 03/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Phillip Jon Brown
• Original Assignee: Phillip Jon Brown
• Inventors: Brown, Phillip Jon
• Granted Patent: US 10,954,638 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 404/1
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 1/002 Design or lay-out of roads, e.g. street systems, cross-sections E01C1/005, E01C1/007 take precedence; of footpaths, sidewalks, berms, hard shoulders or cycle tracks E01C15/00; Design for noise abatement, e.g. sunken road reducing transmission of structure-born noise E01C3/06; arrangements for absorbing or reflecting air transmitted road traffic noise, e.g. barriers E01F8/00
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 1/02 Crossings, junctions or interconnections between roads on the same level construction of traffic islands E01F1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/07 Controlling traffic signals
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/081 Plural intersections under common control

Abstract

The Flow Boulevard concepts provide a system of transportation improvement for urban and suburban existing development and or new development. The system provides the optimization of vehicular capacity and level of service for at grade interrupted flow facilities without the widening of streets. The system is comprised of single and couplet street configurations that allow corridors and networks to be developed that have vehicles flowing without stopping throughout the corridor or network. Benefit of true bus rapid transit is attained by removing the necessity to stop at signals and with only stopping for boarding and alighting of bus riders. Consolidation of population increases in low density settings by introducing medium density corridors can dramatically reduce vehicular miles traveled in suburban locations to conserve resources and reduce greenhouse gases. The system of improvement is both inexpensive by using existing streets and has little impact on existing development by not widening streets.

Claims

1. A Flow Boulevard (FB) allows continuously flowing packs of vehicles, either being on a single street FB or a couplet FB (a FB made from a pair of one-way streets) by having spaced and timed intersections and the use of well formed flowing packs of vehicles and the well formed gaps (where no vehicles are flowing) between them on the Flow Boulevard which lets the well formed flowing packs of vehicles on the Flow Boulevard to flow through the spaced and timed intersections during the green portion of the intersection signal without stopping, and the following well formed gap behind the pack to then receive a red signal which allows the cross traffic at the spaced and timed cross street intersection to receive its green signal to allow cross traffic through the gap where upon the crossing traffic does not interrupt the continuously flowing packs of vehicles on the Flow Boulevard.

2. By the use of the traffic organization of well formed flowing packs of vehicles separated by well formed gaps between them on Flow Boulevards which have spaced and timed intersections for cross traffic, the continuously flowing packs of vehicles on the Flow Boulevard can be designed to go from a single street Flow Boulevards to a couplet Flow Boulevard (and visa versa) end to end or flow continuously through Flow Boulevard interchanges which have spaced and timed intersections that allow the well formed packs of vehicles to flow through the well formed gaps continuously without need to stop in order to flow to other Flow Boulevard corridors, where vehicular packs flow continuously, or to form Flow Boulevard network configurations where vehicular well formed packs also flow continuously.

3. A Flow Boulevard can exchange traffic with side streets by having it enter and exit the flow of a Flow Boulevard by designing turning movements that do not cross over and interrupt the flowing well formed packs of vehicles on the Flow Boulevard and by the timed use of crossing traffic through the well formed gaps between the flowing packs of vehicles on the Flow Boulevard by timed and controlled movements with traffic signals.

4. A Flow Boulevard can use standard at grade, timed and spaced intersections with timed signalization to let the flowing packs of vehicles flow through the intersection without stopping on the green signal and during the well formed gaps that follow the packs to let cross traffic through the gaps between the well formed continuously flowing packs on the Flow Boulevard and also during that gap period to have left and right turns from the Flow Boulevard traffic from merging lanes for right turns and from left turn pockets for left hand turns from the Flow Boulevard.

5. Well formed continuously flowing packs of vehicles which are spaced efficiently can be made by motorists responding to a system of traffic signals that are arranged to prompt the vehicles in each flowing traffic lane of the Flow Boulevard and to also make well formed gaps between the vehicular packs, where there are no vehicles, so that with these organized packs and gaps gain high levels of capacity and levels of service of vehicles traveling through the well timed and spaced signalized intersections of the Flow Boulevard where cross traffic also occurs on the appropriately timed and spaced intersections with traffic signals.

6. A couplet Flow Boulevard can make an interchange with a couplet Flow Boulevard where each Flow Boulevard traffic can flow to the other without stopping by timing and spacing the respective intersections of the interchange according to the speed and sequence of the flowing packs of vehicles and the gaps between them so as to allow the flowing packs of vehicles to go through respective gaps at the intersections of the interchange so that vehicular packs flow through the interchange without stopping to the other Flow Boulevard or the go through the interchange without changing to the other Flow Boulevard and continue in the same direction as originally traveled or to reverse direction on the Flow Boulevard that the traveler has approached the interchange all without stopping.

7. A single street Flow Boulevard can make an interchange with a couplet Flow Boulevard where each Flow Boulevard traffic can flow to the other without stopping by the timing and spacing of the respective intersections of the interchange according to the speed and the sequence of the flowing packs of vehicles and the gaps behind them so as to allow the flowing packs of vehicles to go through respective gaps at the intersections so that vehicular packs flow through the interchange without stopping and can flow to the other Flow Boulevard or to go straight through the interchange or reverse direction of flow of the original direction the motorist was taking on the respective approach to the interchange on a Flow Boulevard by circulating through the interchange, all without stopping.