Traffic Network For Urban Settlement

Abstract

An urban settlement covering a rectangular area is encircled by a multilane peripheral highway connected with several outwardly radiating feeder roads by means of interchanges at the corners of the rectangle. The interchanges include traffic circles enabling left turns and U-turns. Between these interchanges, ramps lead to parking facilities in either direction alongside the peripheral highway and to subway entrances forming part of a rapid-transit system underneath the settlement. This system includes a set of three parallel tracks, formed into endless loops, with the center track traveled by a continuously running express train and the two lateral tracks utilized by shuttle trains which accelerate from standstill at loading and unloading platforms to the speed of the express train and dock with the latter to facilitate the transfer of departing and arriving passengers.

Parent Case Text

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 207,372 filed Dec. 13, 1971 and now abandoned.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

My present invention relates to a transit system serving an urban community.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern man is fast being driven from his cities by the enormous inconveniences inherent in getting from place to place therein. Even the most modern cities, wherein numerous high-speed superhighways provide theoretically easy access to the settlement, are being choked to death by increasingly heavy traffic which just cannot move fast enough through the relatively few major arteries interlinking the various business and residential centers. The familiar one-way rush-hour traffic pattern, with half the facilities severely overloaded and the other half largely underutilized, affects both motor and train transportation.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, the general object of my present invention to provide an improved urban transportation network affording a more balanced distribution of traffic at all times.

A more particular object is to provide a transportation network facilitating traffic between various parts of an urban community and a number of approach routes radiating in different directions.

Yet another object is to provide means in such network for facilitating the interchange between road and rail transportation at a large number of transfer points.

A further object is to provide a more efficient way of transporting passengers between stations of a railborne mass-transit system included in the network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with my invention, an urban settlement is girded by a preferably elevated peripheral highway forming several interchanges with generally radial feeder roads, e.g., at the corners of a polygonal area. Between these interchanges, the peripheral highway is provided with ramps leading to underground parking facilities in the border zone of the settlement. Local transport links these parking facilities with the inner city.

The various interchanges divide the peripheral highway into a number of more or less rectilinear sections, each with a multilane inner stretch and a multilane outer stretch. Drivers reaching the highway from different interchanges will take either an outer or an inner stretch to their destination, usually choosing the shorter of the two routes. The outer stretches are easier to reach from an access road, and vice versa, but carry counterclockwise traffic with left turns (over- or underpasses) at the interchanges; the inner stretches, carrying clockwise traffic, are directly interconnected but require over- or underpasses at their junctions with the access roads. Thus, city planners can promote a balanced distribution of motor traffic by a suitable choice of locations for these interchanges, taking into account the routes most likely to be taken by the majority of rush-hour travelers between the city and its suburbs.

Preferably, a motorist wishing to bypass the city or heading for a remote point on its periphery should be able to take the alternate route on finding the going heavy in the direction first selected. The availability of U-turn ramps at or between the interchanges will therefore have a self-balancing effect upon the traffic pattern. A more specific feature of my invention, accordingly, resides in the provision of an improved interchange enabling a crossover not only between a peripheral stretch and an access road but also from one stretch to the opposite one, this interchange including a traffic circle or rotary insersection at the intersection of two or more roadways but at a level different from theirs. The traffic circle (which in geometric terms need not be circular but could be elliptical, for example) is connected via ramps with the incoming and outgoing stretches of all adjoining roadway sections, these ramps advantageously terminating in a common lane of aligned stretches so as to leave the remaining lanes open to through traffic.

The elevation of the peripheral highway, at least in the region of the parking facilities, enables free pedestrian traffic between opposite sides of that highway and therefore favors the establishment of shopping centers in those areas. With underground parking there is also ready access to subway stations or subterranean bus terminals.

Still another feature of my invention resides in the provision of an improved rapid-transit system which may serve as an adjunct to the aforedescribed roadway network by handling the intracity traffic from and to these peripheral stations. An express track flanked by two local tracks is traveled by a succession of cars moving nonstop between two terminals or in a closed loop; especially in the latter case, these nonstop cars could be part of a single train or a continuous conveyor. A first ancillary carrier picks up passengers from stations along one local track and, between these stations, accelerates to the speed of a nonstop car moving on the express track, docks with that car and allows the passengers to transfer to same; a second ancillary carrier on the other local track, subsequently docking with the same car or conveyor section, can then be boarded by any passsenger wishing to be discharged at a stop of the latter carrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The above and other objects, features and advantages of my invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the layout of an urban settlement and traffic network according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an interchange forming part of the network of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a sectional elevation taken on the line IIA -- IIA of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 3 - 9 are plan views of various modifications of the interchange;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are plan views of two roadways forming part of the interchange of FIG. 9;

FIGS. 9C and 9D are diagrammatic elevational views respectively taken on the lines IXC -- IXC and IXD -- IXD of FIG. 9;

FIG. 9E is a plan view of a traffic circle included in the interchange of FIG. 9;

FIGS. 10 - 13 are plan views of further modified interchanges;

FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic elevational view taken on the line XIV -- XIV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 14A is a plan view taken on the line XIVA -- XIVA of FIG. 14;

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the layout of a railborne transportation system forming part of the traffic network of FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is a simplified view similar to FIG. 15, illustrating a modified rail system;

FIG. 17 is a diagrammatic plan view showing details of the system of FIG. 16; and

FIG. 18 is a diagrammatic elevational view taken on the line XVIII --XVIII of FIG. 17.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIG. 1, an urban community comprises a rectangular settlement 1 including a residential district 1a, a park district 1b and an industrial district 1c. The settlement 1 is bounded by elevated sections 2, 3, 4 and 5 of a peripheral highway which meet at interchanges 6. Ramps 7 are shown connecting the several highway sections to towers 8 with helical ramps which permit vehicles to descend into or ascend from underground parking facilities indicates at 9. In addition the settlement is serviced by an underground transit system having two closed loops 10a, 10b which permit travel within the area bounded by the highway sections 2 - 5.

FIG. 2 shows an interchange 20 at the junction of two 20-lane roadways 21 (North-South) and 22 (East-West) each comprising two 10-lane stretches 21a, 21b and 22a, 22b, respectively. Each roadway 21 and 22 also is provided at each side with a respective shoulder 21c, 22c approximately as wide as three lanes.

The outer two lanes of the roadway (Nos. 9 and 10) all turn right, relative to the direction of travel, so that anyone in these two lanes will automatically make a right turn onto the intersecting roadway without having to cross other lanes or merge with other traffic.

The roadway 22 passes under the roadway 21; a two-lane traffic circle or rotary intersection 23 is elevated above the two roads at the crossover point, lying completely within their outlines. Lanes Nos. 5 and 6 of stretches 21a, 21b, 22a, 22b feed into two-lane entrance ramps 24a - 24d which open up onto the circle 23 for counterclockwise traffic flow. Any vehicle that is to make a U-turn or turn left need merely work itself into these fifth and sixth lanes (as counted from the left) to be automatically shunted onto the circle 23. Two exits 25a and 25b open into the same No. 5 and No. 6 lanes of stretches 21a and 21b downstream of the circle entrances 24a and 24b. Two further, generally diagonal exit ramps 26a and 26b open into lanes No. 5 and No. 6 of the lower roadway 22 downstream of the circle entrances 24c and 24d. Thus a vehicle, once traveling around on the circle 23, can descend to either stretch of either of the roadways 21, 22 so that a U-turn or a left turn is extremely simple.

Through traffic passes through the interchange 20 on lanes Nos. 1 - 4, 7, 8 of any of the roadways. There is plenty of time for traffic wishing to turn right to move into lanes Nos. 9 and 10, and other turns made from lanes Nos. 5 and 6 are equally easily executed. The distance between interchanges should of course be sufficient to permit such lane-changing with little difficulty.

In FIG. 3 an intersection 40 is shown between an upper roadway 41 and a lower roadway 42, each roadway having 20 lanes. Here, too, all traffic wishing to turn left or right must move into the two far right-hand lanes, Nos. 9 and 10 as was described with respect to FIG. 2. Left-hand turns are made from roadway 41 by taking the same far right-hand lanes (Nos. 9 and 10) and then bearing left on ramps 43a and 43b which lead down onto lanes Nos. 5 and 6 of the lower roadway 42. To turn left from roadway 42, lanes Nos. 7 and 8 are taken which lead up into lanes 5 and 6 of the upper roadway. This simplified intersection, while not allowing for U-turns, again facilitates left-hand turns within an area lying entirely within the outline of the intersecting roadways.

In FIG. 4 two roadways 61 and 62 meet at a T-interchange 60, where roadway 62 terminates. Through traffic on roadway 61 use lanes Nos. 1 -6 (S-N) and 5 - 10 (N-S). A right turn from stretch 61a of roadway 61 is automatic from lanes Nos. 7 - 10. To turn left from stretch 61b one moves to lanes Nos. 1 - 4 thereof which lead up onto a ramp 63a opening into lanes Nos. 1 - 4 of stretch 62b of roadway 62. From stretch 62a a right-hand turn is made simply by following lanes Nos. 7 - 10 around the corner; a left turn is made by following lanes Nos. 1 - 4 down into a sublevel ramp 63b which opens into lanes Nos. 1 - 4 of stretch 61b. Lanes Nos. 5 and 6 of stretches 62a and 62b are interconnected by a lower ramp 64 in a loop for making a U-turn on roadway 62, e.g. for a bus stopping at the end of the ramp 64.

The T-interchange 80 in FIG. 5 has, once again, two roadways 81 and 82 meeting on the same traffic grade. A right-hand turn from stretch 81b is executed simply by bearing to the right in the six outer lanes (Nos. 5 - 10), as is a right-hand turn from stretch 82b. A six-lane lower-level loop 83 is connected at one end to a slightly narrower (four-lane) down ramp 84a in line with the innermost lanes of stretch 82a and at the other end to a similar four-lane up ramp in line with adjoining lanes of stretch 84b. A two lane down ramp 84c from stretch 81a and a two lane up ramp 84d into the same stretch, at lanes 7, 8 and 5, 6 thereof, permit left-hand turns from roadways 81 and 82 by vehicles approaching the intersection as well as U-turns from stretch 82a. Once again the entire interchange takes up no more space than the roads it interconnects.

FIG. 6 shows an interchange 100 between two roadways 101 and 102, the former passing over the latter. A traffic circle 103 is elevated above these roadways at their intersection and is supplemented on the same level by two loops 104E, 104W overlying the roadway 102. Right-hand turns are executed as in the previously described interchanges, and left-hand turns and U-turns are executed from the two middle lanes (Nos. 5 and 6) where entrance and exit ramps 105a - 105d and 106a - 106d lead to and from the circle 103. The provision of a traffic circle with bypass paths formed by supplemental loops increases the volume of traffic adapted to be handled by the interchange.

In FIG. 7 I have shown a modified interchange between two roadways 121 and 122 meeting at an acute angle. A traffic circle 123 overlying the crossover point functions exactly like the circle 23 of FIG. 2. Structure functionally similar to that of FIG. 2 has been given the same reference numerals augmented by 100.

An interchange 140 shown in FIG. 8 is designed for an elevated superhighway 141A and two other crossing North-South and East-West roadways 141 and 142, highway 141A extending in the N-S direction above roadway 141. A traffic circle 143 with four looped extensions 144N, 144S, 144E, 144W, all on the same level, handles the left-turning and backtracking traffic. Superhighway 141A, which is provided with down ramps 142a, 142b and up ramps 143a, 143b, passes over the connector 143 overlying the two other roadways. The elongate loops 144N, 144S together with their access ramps allow the vehicles to accelerate to or decelerate from the high speeds allowed on the superhighway 141A.

In FIGS. 9, 9A - 9E I show an intersection 160 at the crossing of two superspeed highways 161 and 162 which codirectionally overlie two slower-speed roadways 163 and 164. Ramps 165a - 165h connect all these roads with two superimposed traffic circles 166 and 167 forming closed multilane loops which are elongated in the E-W and N-S directions, respectively. The two outer lanes of each loop merge into corresponding lanes of the other loop to form therewith, in effect, an eight-lobe pattern allowing traffic to pass from any level to any other level in either direction.

FIG. 10 shows an interchange 200 between two intersecting four lane roadways 201 and 202, the latter passing under the former. A right turn is made from the outermost lane of a stretch via short curves (spans 203a - 203d). A left turn is executed from the middle lane by veering first to the right and then turning left along a ramp 204a - 204d of gooseneck shape which passes over or under the other raodway and leads into its outer lane at the crossover point. It will be noted that this interchange is more compact than a conventional cloverleaf intersection, all the ramps lying within a generally rhombic (diamond-shaped) area bounded by the four curved spans. Symmetrical links 205a - 205d may be provided between the ramps 203a - 203d and 204a - 204d to permit the vehicles to make U-turns.

An interchange 220 between roadways 221 and 222, shown in FIG. 11, includes an elevated traffic circle 223 connected by entrances 224a, 224b and exits 225a, 225b to lanes Nos. 5 and 6 of their incoming and outgoing stretches, the exits lying inside and the entrances lying outside the circle. A right turn can be made in all cases directly from the two outside lanes, Nos. 9 and 10, but could also be made by way of the circle which is accessible from the fifth and sixth lanes of stretches 221a, 221b, 222a and from the ninth and tenth lanes of stretch 222b; the circle is also used for left and U-turns.

In FIG. 12 I have illustrated an interchange 240 between a dead-end road 241 and a throughway 242 (o-w) the end of road 241 being curved back on itself to facilitate the return traffic. A generally rhombic traffic circle 243, overlying the crossing of the two roadways, functions analogously to the circle 23 of FIG. 2; equivalent elements have been given the same reference numerals as in FIG. 2, augmented by 220. The rhombic shape of the junction 243 affords an even more compact structure.

FIG. 13 shows an interchange 260 serving three roadways 261, 262, 263 which pass one another at different levels. A right-hand turn from any roadway to the next one (in counterclockwise succession) is executed as in other embodiments from the two lanes farthest on the right. All other turns are again made from the fifth and sixth lanes of each stretch. Entrance ramps 266a - 266f on these lanes lead up onto a traffic circle 264 with looped extensions 265N, 265S. Exit ramps 267a - 267f from this connector 264, 265N, 265S are paired with entrance ramps 266a - 266f. In addition, a simple left turn between the orthogonally intersecting roadways 262 and 263 can be executed by use of generally gooseneck-shaped ramps 268a - 268d (similar to ramps 204a - 204d in FIG. 10) which lead from lanes Nos. 5 and 6 of an incoming stretch to lanes Nos. 3 and 4 of an outgoing stretch.

FIGS. 2, 2A, 14 and 14A show details of the round towers 8 with their exit and entrance ramps 7a, 7b connecting an elevated roadway 287 with two helical courses 281 and 282 preferably measuring 10 - 12 times the width of a highway lane, or about 40 meters, in diameter. Two underground parking levels 283, 284, forming part of one of the facilities 9 (cf. FIG. 11), have access to the interleaved courses 281, 282 via ramps 7c, 7d. These levels are joined through walkways 285 to grade-level streets 286 leading to subway kiosks 288 and to a shopping center 289.

The rapid-transit system shown in FIG. 1 at 10a, 10b, served by the kiosks 288 of FIG. 2, has been more fully illustrated in FIGS. 15 - 18. Each of the loops 10a and 10b actually comprises two concentric transport paths 10a', 10a" and 10b', 10b" each having three parallel sets of tracks, i.e., a central track 290 flanked by two lateral tracks 291, 292. The trains on the inside paths 10a', 10b' run clockwise whereas those on the outside paths 10a", 10b" move counterclockwise. In FIG. 16 there are shown two further loops 10c and 10d crossing the loops 10a and 10b at various transfer points to allow travel across the settlement area in virtually any direction. Each rectangle defined by the intersecting loops has numerous stations 300 spaced, for example, 300 - 500 meters apart.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show a station 300 having a loading platform 293 adjacent track 291 and an unloading platform 294 adjacent track 292. Three trains 295 - 297 are shown between these two facing platforms. The central train 296 on track 290 travels continuously at high speed, e.g., of approximately 50 km per hour, making a full tour of its loop in 10 to 20 minutes. Each train consists of an endless chain of cars or conveyor sections.

The loading platform 293 is provided with a plurality of enclosed boarding areas 293' having doors which open onto the train 295 when this train stops, thereby letting a group of waiting passengers enter the cars of train 295 whose confronting doors thereupon close as the train pulls out of the station and accelerates to the speed of train 296 with which it then docks, door sills 298 on the train 296 linking up with train 295 so that the two trains are locked together with their doors aligned. These doors now open to allow express passengers to transfer from the train 295 to the train 296. The doors thereafter shut, the sills 298 are retracted, and the train 295 slows down to stop at the next station where local riders may disembark while new passengers are taken on.

The express passengers remain on the central train 296 until the other lateral train 297 docks with it in like manner just before the stop at which they intend to get off. As the aligned doors of trains 296 and 297 open, these passengers transfer to the latter train which thereupon closes its doors, slows down and comes to a stop at the unloading platform 294 of the desired station where it opens its outer doors and lets the riders out. If the two shuttle trains 295, 297 are synchronized to dock simultaneously with the continuously moving train 296, a local passengers may walk directly across from train 295 to train 297 whereby the need for discharging these passengers into the boarding areas 293' is avoided.

The mechanical linkage between the cars of the endless trains 295, 296, 297 could also be replaced by computer-controlled switching gear keeping shorter trains or possibly individual cars at a predetermined distance from one another along the track. It is also possible to make the actual trains continuous and to break up the shuttle trains into shorter sequences of cars.

The shuttle train 295 or 297 may remain stopped for, say, 20 seconds at a station with its doors opening 2 seconds after it pulls in and closing 2 seconds before it pulls out so that an entry or exit time of 16 seconds is available, more than enough time for 10 or 12 passengers in a boarding area to get through the double doors. The acceleration to 50 km/hr may take 10 seconds; the docked trains may then ride together for 20 seconds with their doors opening 2 seconds after docking and closing 2 seconds before separating. The shuttle train then takes 10 seconds to come to a stop at the next station so that the travel between two adjoining stations may take 40 seconds.

As schematically illustrated, sections 299 of express trains 296 may be provided with seats for the passengers.

Claims

I claim:

1. A traffic network comprising a plurality of interchanges between a highway and a plurality of intersecting roadways, said highway peripherally encircling an urban settlement, with off-street parking facilities at a plurality of locations between said interchanges, and local transport means connecting said parking facilities with the interior of said settlement, said local transport means comprising:

at least one rail link with three parallel tracks including a central track and two lateral tracks;

a continuously running passenger carrier on said central track;

a pair of intermittently moving shuttle carriers on said lateral tracks; and

several stations each forming a loading platform alongside one of said lateral tracks and an unloading platform alongside the other of said lateral tracks;

said loading platform giving access to one shuttle carrier upon a halting thereof at the station for boarding by waiting passengers, said unloading platform being accessible to arriving passengers on the other shuttle carrier upon a halting of the latter at the station, said shuttle carriers being accelerable to the speed of said continuously running carrier and being provided with docking means for temporarily locking onto said continuously running carrier to facilitate the transfer of passengers therebetween.

2. A traffic network as defined in claim 1 wherein said tracks form a closed path for said carriers.