University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

An agent-based, multichannel simulation of a downtown area reveals the impacts of both redistributing traffic demand with time-dependent congestion pricing, and supplying extra capacity by banning left turns. The downtown street network was idealized, and loosely resembles central Los Angeles. On the demand-side, prices were set based on time-ofday and distance traveled. On the supply side, left-turn maneuvers were prohibited at all intersections on the network. Although both traffic management measures reduced travel costs when used alone, the left-turn ban was much less effective than pricing. When combined with pricing under congested conditions, however, the left-turn ban’s effectiveness increased considerably—it more than doubled in some cases. Furthermore, the two measures combined reduced travel costs in synergistic fashion. In some cases, this synergistic effect was responsible for 30% of the cost reduction. This strong synergy suggests that turning bans should be considered as an added option when contemplating congestion pricing.