SAN DIEGO-As GlobeSt.com reported earlier this week, the Traffic Group in Baltimore had given a presentation at last week's ULI Spring Meeting here regarding the benefits of robotic parking garages to the commercial real estate industry. Another traffic and transportation topic the group spoke on is the diverging diamond interchange, which can help reduce developments' impact on nearby public roads, Wes Guckert, CEO of the Traffic Group, tells GlobeSt.com.
The firm designed the fifth DDI in the US, which opened last year by redesigning a major intersection in Maryland to create better operations and increased capacity for a new casino that was built near a major outlet center. One of the issues with some of the new, larger mixed-use projects is handling and accommodating traffic; the DDI can accommodate twice as many left turns per hour compared to a traditional left-hand turn and is much safer, according to the company.
DDIs utilize traffic lights to control traffic in many different directions. Rather than featuring multiple loops, the system allows alternating use of the same intersection in a diamond pattern that increases the capacity of the interchange in a very cost-effective way, says Guckert. “For most commercial developments, you have to determine what you impact is on the public road system, and the developer has to pay money to fix the roads where they're creating an impact. DDI allows the developer who's having an impact to fix an interchange without having to spend a fortune.”
The solution is obtained via the technique and design of the DDI, and the cost to create one is quite small, Guckert adds.
Videos that demonstrate the DDI concept can be viewed online by going to the Traffic Group's YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/1985traffic.
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