Scope A ramp metering is a technique, developed in the 1960s, that regulates the flow of traffic entering freeways according

to current traffic conditions, and is typically composed of a traffic light together with a signal controller. Ramp meters reduce congestion on freeways by reducing demand and by breaking up groups of cars from being slowed down by incoming traffic. In 2001, an independent study on ramp metering in the Twin Cities metro area was released by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The study began with data collection of the existing ramp meters while they were turned on, followed by a period of data collection after the ramp meters were shut down spanning a period of approximately 12 weeks. The study focused on fully exploring the impacts of ramp metering on freeways, local roads, and on transit operations, while concurrently comparing Minnesota's ramp metering system and timing strategies with other regional systems across the country. To ensure that the work completed was reliable and accurate public committees were charged with providing policy oversight, technical guidance, and quality control for this study. Additionally, the consultant sought out individual traveler-oriented perspectives regarding ramp meters and ramp meter operations in order to gage the attitudes among area travelers that occurred while the meters were running, and, more importantly, whether the publics attitude changed after the meters were shut down.

Annotative References http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/systemops/ramp_meter/RMDM.pdf Ramp Meter Design Manual PDF, Covers the design of metered ramps, ramp meter hardware, and signing and pavement markings. Produced in January 2000 by the California Department of Transportation. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/rampmeter/rmstudy.html Minnesota Department of Transportation website. Has detailed information about the case study done in 2000 which analyzed the meter ramps in the twin cities of Minnesota. It also includes information about Meter ramps in North America.
http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/3982-S.pdf

Implementation of Arlington Ramp Metering System: Helps explain the installation process including how difficult it actually is to install and run.

http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/~cassidy/TRBMETERINGfinalvers.pdf Freeway On-Ramp Metering, Delay Savings and the Diverge Bottleneck: Michael J. Cassidy University of California, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Institute of Transportation Studies
Changes in commuter travel behavior brought by metering, and possible effects of these changes, are discussed as well as a detailed analysis regarding whether or not one algorithm can be used in all freeways, as opposed to tailoring the ramp meter algorithm to individual freeways. 2003

http://www.geauxwider.com/metering_info/ and http://www.geauxwider.com/pdfs/ramp%20metering%20flyer.pdf Baton rouge, La. Ramp metering implementation information for the public on their website. Gives good general facts about ramp metering and demonstrates how it is implemented by communicating effectively with the public through informational flyers and updated website info. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76QkOga3msM Ramp Metering Traffic Simulation. A microsimulation model developed by Braidwood Associates to demonstrate freeway ramp metering. www.braidwoodassoc.com Excellent for presentation portion of the white paper assignment. http://www.stancog.org/pdf/ramp-metering-hov-lane-study.pdf Ramp Metering Study Presentation. Developed a great summary for facts including costs, delay results charts, and safety impacts.

http://www.civil.uwaterloo.ca/bhellinga/publications/Publications/AAP2005%20Safety%20impacts%20of%20ramp%20metering.pdf Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA. Quantifying safety impacts report. The results of the study showed that ramp metering reduced crash potential by 5%-37% compared to freeways lacking ramp metering. Additionally, Driver responses to ramp metering and the consequent traffic flow changes were observed and studied