Cluster Intersection

[ravi]

Greg,

My Q is in Synchro we can model 2 intersections with one controller. I just wanted to know is there a way we can do that in our software.

Thanks,
Ravi

[bullock]

Hi, Ravi.

TS/PP-Draft allows you to link "all timings" between two intersections. I think that's equivalent to using a common controller, but please let me know if I've got that wrong.

In either the Outline View or the Network View, drag one intersection to the other to establish the link. You'll get a choice of what kind of link, Offsets Only, All Timings, or Everything. Choose All Timings in this case. Thereafter, TS/PP-Draft will ensure that the timings are common between the linked intersections.

Note that if you've already set the timings at one of the intersections, you should drag "from" that intersection to the other one, as its existing timings will overwrite the ones in the "to" intersection upon creating the link.

Regards.
Greg

[ravi]

Greg,

Thanks for the reply. That is what i want. When i imported i guess software did not recongnize that but i just did as you said it worked .

Thanks
Ravi.

[bullock]

Hi, Ravi.

Thanks for mentioning that you imported the file.

Normally, when you import UTDF files, the program is supposed to recognize when two intersections are working from a common controller, and it will establish the "all timings" automatically. But it sounds like that didn't work in this case.

Would you please email me the files you imported, either the UTDF files or the Synchro file, so I can reproduce this? If I can confirm it's an error, I'll fix it and post a bug-fixed version on the web site. In any case, I should be able to report back to you why it didn't work automatically.

Regards.
Greg

[bullock]

Thanks for sending the file to me, Ravi.

Looking it over, it seems that there's a deeper problem. These two intersections share a common controller, but they don't share common phases. In that sense, they're something like a diamond interchange. That is, one has a NB left turn phase, but not a SB LT, and the other has a SB left turn phase, but not a NB LT.

TS/PP-Draft didn't handle this case properly upon importing from UTDF. Ver. 6.0.0.24, now on the web site, mostly fixes the problem, but a better solution will have to wait for the next major upgrade, as it would involve a change in the file format.

I'm thinking the better solution is to support a new type of all-timings link, one customized for diamond interchanges or that style of intersection pairs. The current all-timings link assumes that the two intersections are similar -- both have the same movements. The new link would recognize that the two intersections have different movements, but share some phases all the same.

Further comments on this would be most welcome.

Regards.
Greg