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Traffic Engineering

A N I L MA RS A N I
P RO G R A M CO O R D I N ATO R
M . S C . I N T R A N S P O RTAT I O N E N G I N E E R I N G
D E PA RT M E N T O F C I V I L E N G I N E E R I N G
P U LC H OW K C A M P U S

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Today

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Street lighting

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Factors influencing night visibility

Design of lighting system

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OVERHANG

C
B

A
Height of Mounting

C' C' B' A'

B'
Length of Shadow

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s
s s
s s

Staggered Single side Opposite plus central

s s s s
s

Oppsite Central on single carriageway Twin central on dual carriageway

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Cross Roads
Y-Intersection

Lighting Layout for Intersections

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lamp lumen * coefficien t of utilizatio n * maintenanc e factor

Spacing =
average lux * width of road

Coefficient of utilization

obtained from the appropriate chart

Maintenance factor

decrease in efficiency of lamp with age

average value of 80% may be assumed.

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Anil Marsani/Traffic Engineering/Pulchowk Campus 11

Intersection Control
Road intersections
◦ defined as the general area where two or
more roads joins or cross including the
roadway and roadside facilities for traffic
movement within it (AASHTO 2001).

◦ involves conflict between traffic

movement, potential bottlenecks to
smooth traffic flow

◦ two third of urban crashes and one third

of rural crashes within 18 m

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Intersection
Area shared by two or more roads

Enable vehicles to turn into different directions

Consideration:

◦ Guide and control traffic satisfying operational traffic flow needs with
available capacity

◦ Safety and efficiency

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Conflicts
Conflict points:
◦ Locations in or on the approaches to an intersection where traffic
movements merge, diverge or cross

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Conflicts

Conflict points are potential crash locations and hence intersection crashes are related to the number of
conflicts at the intersection

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Intersection Control
Drivers ability to avoid the conflict
◦ Able to see a potentially conflicting
vehicle/pedestrian in time to implement avoidance
maneuver
◦ Presence of reasonable opportunity for safe
maneuvering at the existing volume

Resolve the conflicts for safety and efficiency

Reduce or avoid severe conflicts

Two methods
◦ Time sharing
◦ Space sharing

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Basic requirements

What are the factors to be considered in the design?

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Design considerations and objectives

Human factors

Traffic consideration

Physical elements

Economic factors
Give examples of how these factors are considered.

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Basic requirements
◦ Reduce the number of conflict points

◦ Control the relative speed

◦ Protection for vehicles leaving or crossing

◦ Reduce area of conflict

◦ Favor predominant or high speed traffic flows

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Basic requirements
◦ Proper and safe locations for traffic control devices

◦ Control or restrict access in the vicinity

◦ Define travel paths to be followed

◦ Protect pedestrians and bicyclists

◦ Provide reference points

◦ Illuminate

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Control Mechanism
Passive Control
◦ No control: Rules of the road
◦ Traffic signs:
◦ Traffic signs plus marking:
Semi control
◦ Channelization:
◦ Traffic rotaries:
Active control
◦ Traffic signals:
◦ Grade separated intersections:

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Control Mechanism
Intersection control adequacy depends on
• drivers are able to perceive and avoid
type and number of conflicts by their own
judgement

•If capacity of intersection is adequate to

serve the traffic demand with desired level
of service

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Passive control
Right of way is not explicitly assigned
through the use of stop/yield signs,
signals

Driver is expected to obey the basic

rules of the road such as right of way
rule
◦ Drivers of a vehicle approaching the
intersection should yield the right of
way to any vehicle or pedestrian
already in the intersection

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Passive control
Right of way is not explicitly assigned
through the use of stop/yield signs,
signals

Driver of the vehicle on the left

should yield the right of way to the
vehicle on the right

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Passive control
Complimented by the use of
Traffic signs
◦ Regulatory
◦ Warning
◦ Informatory

Road markings
◦ Longitudinal and transverse
Sufficient sight distance is essential for safe traffic operation
◦ Object and words/arrows

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Uncontrolled Intersections
Sufficient stopping sight distance is crucial

Is sufficient stopping sight

distance provided?

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Uncontrolled Intersections

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Semi controlled
◦ When basic road rules can not be applied due to restriction on
sight distance, frequent crashes, high traffic demand

◦ Right of way assigned by the use of stop or yield sign on one or

more approaches

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Semi controlled
When to use stop or yield sign?
◦ Intersection with a minor and major
roads where right of way rules would not
be expected to provide reasonable
compliance

◦ Unsignalized intersection

◦ Minor street entering a major road

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Semi controlled
Yield sign?
◦ Vehicles need to slow down or stop

◦ On approaches to through street where

not always need to full stop

◦ For channelized turn lane separated from

the adjacent travel lanes by an island

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Semi controlled: Channelization

◦ Traffic is directed to flow through specified channels

◦ Physical separation via traffic islands

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Channelization
Separation or regulation of
conflicting traffic movements into
definite paths of travel with the aid
of pavement markings, raised
islands, or other suitable means, to
facilitate safe and orderly
movements of both traffic and
pedestrians

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Objective: Channelization
Limit
◦ Conflict points
◦ Conflict Area Complexity
◦ Conflict Frequency
◦ Conflict Severity

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Principles: Channelization
•Reduce excessively large paved areas
•Favour predominant turning movements
•Control of speed
•Protection and storage of turning and crossing
vehicles
•Blockage of prohibited movements
•Provide space for traffic control devices
•Protection of pedestrians and reduction of
crossing distances between refuses

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Methods

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Traffic islands

Divisional islands

Channelizing islands

Pedestrian refugee islands

Rotary

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Channelization

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Semi controlled: Rotaries

No major conflicts
Central island
One directional movement
Merging, diverging and
weaving
Entering traffic should yield
to circulating traffic

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Numerical:
The entry and exit width of a rotary intersection are 9m and
11m respectively. The width of approaches at the
intersection is 15m. The traffic from the four approaches
traversing the intersection is given below. If the traffic
composition is 50% car, 40% two-wheelers and 10% trucks
and the passenger car units of two-wheelers and trucks are
0.5 and 3 respectively, find the capacity of the rotary using
TRL formulae.

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Active control: Traffic Signal

High traffic volume, restricted sight distance and
related crashes, traffic bottlenecks
Time sharing
Phase
◦ Group the non conflicting movements in one phase
Types
◦ Pre-timed
◦ Coordinated
◦ Vehicle actuated

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Active control: Traffic Signal

Advantages:
◦ Increased capacity, improved safety, orderly movements
◦ Reduced frequency and severity of crashes, coordinated
movements, permitting other traffic

Disadvantages
• Delay, disobedience, increased use of less adequate
routes to avoid signal, potential increase in frequency of
read end collision

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Active control: Grade separated

Crossings at different elevations
High speed/volume facilities
Increased capacity and efficiency,
low crash
High cost
Overpass/underpass
Interchange
◦ Trumpet, Diamond, Cloverleaf

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Active control: Grade separated

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Active control: Grade separated

Interchange: Trumpet, Diamond, Cloverleaf

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Unchanellized T Flared T T with turning roadways

Y with turning roadways

Unchannelized Y

3-Leg intersections

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unchannelized T
very light traffic -minor level roads

Flared T
additional lanes for left turn vehicles

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To facilitate right turn movements for

heavy right turning vehicles

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Full lane width

Full lane width Taper

Deceleration lanes

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Taper Full lane width

Acceleration Lanes
Acceleration lanes

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Traffic Signal
A traffic signal shall be defined as any
highway traffic signal by which traffic is
alternately directed to stop and
permitted to proceed

Requirements of traffic signal

◦ draw attention
◦ provide meaning and time to respond and
◦ have minimum waste of time

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Traffic Signal
For conflict resolution
◦ Time sharing principle
◦ Improve overall safety (reduce the frequency and
severity of certain types of crashes)
◦ Orderly movement of traffic
◦ Increase the traffic handling capacity of the
intersection (if proper layout and control measures are
used with updated parameters)
◦ Continuous movement if coordinated
◦ Used to interrupt the heavy traffic to permit other
traffic to cross
◦ Equalize the quality of service

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Traffic Signal
If ill designed, ineffectively placed,
improperly operated or poorly
maintained
◦Excessive delay
◦Disobedience
◦Increase in frequency of rear end
collision

Prior Knowledge?

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Different types
Flashing yellow
Flashing red

Traffic control
Pre timed
Actuated

Pedestrian signal

Special traffic control signal

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Traffic signal system

Isolated intersection control

Arterial system control and

Network system control

Simultaneous system
Alternate system

Simple progression system

Flexible progressive system

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Warrants for signalization

A traffic control signal should not be installed

• unless one or more of the factors are met.

• unless an engineering study indicates that installing a traffic

• control signal will improve the overall safety and/or operation of the
intersection.

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Definition of terms
Cycle
All red intervals
Cycle length
Green interval

Interval
Red interval

Change interval Phase

Green ratio

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Definition
Cycle
◦ One complete rotation through all the indications provided

Cycle length C
◦ Time in seconds that it takes a signal to complete one full cycle
of indications
◦ The amount of time required to display all phases associated
with the corresponding movements at an intersection before
returning to the starting point or the first phase of the cycle
◦ Time interval between start of a green till next green for a any
approach

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Definition
Interval
◦ A period of time during which no signal indication changes
◦ Indicates change from one stage to another

Change interval
◦ Yellow or Amber Yi
◦ Interval between the green and red

Clearance interval
◦ All-Red
◦ After each yellow all signals show red
◦ Used for clearing off the vehicles

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Definition
Green interval Gi
◦ Duration the green light of a traffic signal is turned on
◦ Actual green time

Red interval Ri
◦ Duration the red light of a traffic signal is turned on

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Definition
Phase
◦ The part of a cycle allocated to a movement or a combination of two
or more movements having the RoW simultaneously
◦ Green interval + change interval + clearance interval
◦ During green interval non/less-conflicting movements are cleared

Lost time
◦ Time during which intersection is not effectively utilized for any
movement
◦ E.g. reaction time of the first driver in the queue

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Permitted movements
oPermitted right turning vehicles yield to conflicting oncoming
vehicles and conflicting pedestrians.

oPermitted left turning vehicles yield to conflicting pedestrians.

oThe efficiency depends on the availability of gaps in the conflicting

movements

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Protected movements
oGives turning vehicles the RoW during associated turn phase while
all conflicting movements are required to stop

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Protected-permitted movements
oCombination of the permitted and protected modes

oTurning vehicles have the RoW during the turn(protected)

phase

oTurning vehicles can also complete the turn permissively when

the adjacent through movements receives green

oProvides efficient turn movement service often without causing

a significant increase in delay to other movements

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Movement

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Signal Design Procedure

➢Phase design
➢Determination of amber time and clearance time
➢Determination of cycle length
➢Apportioning of green time
➢Pedestrian crossing requirement
➢Performance evaluation

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Phase design
Objective
◦ Separate the conflicting movements into various phases
◦ Complete separation implies large number of phases
results in large cycle time
◦ So design phases with minimum conflicts or with less
severe conflicts

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Phase design
• Phase plans are illustrated using phase diagram and
ring diagrams

• A phase diagram shows all the movements in a

given phase within a single block of the diagram

• A ring diagram shows which movements are

controlled by which ring on a signal controller

• Phase diagram shows a phase involving two

opposing through movements in one block but
each movement would be separately shown in
ring diagram

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Phase diagram

Phase I Phase II

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Phase diagram

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Phase diagram
Pedestrian

Phase A
Vehicle

Phase B

Two Phase System

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Phase diagram

Phase A

Phase B

Pedestrian

Phase C
Vehicle

Three Phase System

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Phase diagram

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Movement groups
➢ A turning movement served by one or more
exclusive lanes and no shared lanes should be
designated as a movement group
➢ Any lanes not assigned to a group by the
previous rule should be combined into one
movement group

➢ Lane groups
➢ Exclusive turn lane(s) should be designated as a
separate lane group
➢ Any shared lane should be designated as a
separate lane group
➢ Any lanes that are not exclusive turn lanes or
shared lanes should be combined into one lane
group

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Movement groups

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Lost time

N 3 2 1

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Discharge headways
➢ The first headway is the time lapse between the initiation
of green signal and the time when the front wheels of the
first vehicle cross the stop line

➢ The second headway is the time lapse between the time

the first vehicle’s front wheel cross the stop line and the
time that second vehicle’s front wheels cross the stop line

➢ Subsequent headways are same

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Saturation headways
➢ The constant headway achieved by the stored vehicles in
queue after the signal turned green is saturation headway
(h)

➢ If every vehicles consume the constant headway equal to

saturation headway and if the signal were always green
then the flow will be saturation flow

➢ The saturation flow rate is the capacity of the approach lane

or lanes if they were available for use all of the time (signal is
always green) 3600
Saturation flow rate s =
h

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Lost time
➢ Start up lost time: additional time required
for the first three or four headways as
drivers react to the green signal and
accelerate are referred as the start up lost
time

Start up lost time ll =  e(i)

e(i) = (actual headway – h) for vehicle i

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Lost time
➢ Clearance lost time: as the green phase
ends, yellow is shown and the approaching
vehicles prepare to stop

➢ During the initiation of yellow, drivers who

are unable to stop enter the intersection to
cross (flow lower than saturation flow)

➢ All red is provided to ensure that the last

vehicle which enters the intersection legally
(in yellow) is able to cross the intersection
safely before the green is initiated for the
conflicting movement(s)

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Lost time

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Total Lost time

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Recall

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Recall

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Problem
Timing of change (yellow)
One case: Consider a case of intersection with approach speed of 50
kmph, a coefficient of friction 0.45 and assume that the driver’s
perception reaction time of 0.5 s.
Suppose the width of the road to be crossed is 25 m wide and the
length of the vehicle is 5.8m.

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ITEchange interval
recommendation
Institute of transportation engineers (ITE)

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Interval design
Approximate Calculation

SSD is the stopping sight distance

v is the speed of the vehicle

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Recall

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Interval Design

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Example:

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Principles of signal design

Stop or red phase (R1)

Amber time

◦ 2~5 seconds

Green time

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Trial cycle method (Recap of BE)

Let n1 and n2

◦ 15 minutes traffic counts on roads 1 and 2 during the design peak hour
flow

C1—assumed trial cycle (seconds)

15 * 60 900
No. of cycles in 15 minutes = =
C1 C1

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Trial cycle method

Suppose average time headway = 2.5 seconds

G1 and G2

green periods of roads 1 and 2 respectively.

2.5 * n1 * C1 2.5 * n2 * C 2
 G1 = and G2 =
900 900

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Approximate method

Suitable amber periods

Clearance pedestrian (time) based on speed of 1.2

m/s.

Minimum red time of traffic signal

Red time = (minimum green time + amber time) for

the cross road

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Approximate method

Minimum green time

Red time for cross road – amber time

 Actual green time needed based on the ratio of approach

volume for the heaviest traffic volume per hour per lane.

 The cycle length adjusted for the next higher 5 seconds

interval.

 The extra time is distributed to green timings

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Webster method (two phase)

Optimum signal cycle C0 corresponding to least total delay
Saturation flow S per unit time
Normal flow q during design hour. q1 q
y1 = and y 2 = 2
S1 S2

1.5L + 5
C0 =
1−Y Where L—total lost time per cycle (secs) L = nl + R
n—no. of phase and R – all red time
l– lost time per phase
Y = y1 + y2

y1 y2
G1 = (C0 − L) and G 2 = (C0 − L)
Y Y
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Webster Method
◦The minimum green is 15 seconds

◦The cycle length adjusted to the nearest highest length

divisible by 5 seconds (if C < 90 secs) or 10 (if C > 90 secs).
Redistribute the extra green as earlier

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Webster method

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Webster method

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Start up lost
Capacity of time
a lane group

green ratio

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Problem:
Let the cycle time of an intersection is 60 seconds, the
green time for a phase is 27 seconds, and the
corresponding yellow time is 4 seconds. If the saturation
headway is 2.4 seconds/vehicle, the start-up lost time is
2 seconds/phase, and the clearance lost time is 1
second/phase, find the capacity of the movement per
lane?

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Capacity

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Webster’s Method

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Critical lane, critical lane volume

Time budget is the allocation of time to various
vehicular and pedestrian movements at an
intersection through signal control

In any given hour time is budgeted to legal

vehicular and pedestrian movements and to lost
times

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Critical lane
Critical lane concepts involve the identification
of specific lane movements that will control the
timing of a given signal phase.

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Critical lane
Critical lane is identified as the lane with the most
intense traffic demand (not the lane with highest traffic
volume)

Determining the intensity of traffic demand in a lane

involves accounting for prevailing conditions that may
affect flow in that particular lane.

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Critical lane
There is a critical lane and a critical lane flow for each discrete
signal phase provided

Except for lost times, when no vehicles move, there must be one
and only one critical lane moving during every second of effective
green time in the signal cycle.

When there are overlapping phases, the potential combination of

lane flows yielding the highest sum of critical lane flows identifies
critical lanes.

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Cycle length

Derive the equation considering the delay

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Cycle
Lets start length
from basics
tLi is the lost time for a phase i,
the total lost time per cycle

total lost time per hour

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Total effective green time Tg

Lets start from basics

total number of critical lane volume that can be accommodated per

hour is given by Vc

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Lets start from basics

uniform flow of traffic in an hour

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Highway capacity manual

N is the number of phases

L is the lost time per phase

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Example
Two phase signal
Cycle time = 60 seconds
Total lost time = 4 seconds
Saturation headway = 2.5 seconds

What is critical lane volume?

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Example
Example
The traffic flow in an intersection is shown below. Given start-
up lost time is 3 seconds, saturation head way is 2.3 seconds.
Assume a two-phase signal. Determine the cycle length.

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Numerical:

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Summary:
➢ Relationship between number of lanes and cycle length

➢ Additional lanes could be provided in either direction which would allow the
use of a shorter cycle length

➢ Unfortunately in many cases signal timing is considered with a fixed design

already in place

➢ Only where RoW is available or a new intersection is being constructed,

major changes in the number of lanes can be considered

➢ Optimal solutions are found more easily when physical design and
signalization can be treated side by side

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Cycle length and critical lane volume

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Example: Minimum cycle length

Actual sum of critical lane volumes = 1000 veh/h
Saturation headway = 2.5 seconds
Two phase
Lost time per phase = 4 seconds

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Desired cycle length

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Desired cycle length

Actual sum of critical lane volumes = 1000 veh/h
Saturation headway = 2.5 seconds
Two phase
Lost time per phase = 4 seconds
PHF = 0.95
Desired to use no more than 90% of capacity available during
the peak 15 minute period of the hour.

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Example
Three phase signal
tL= 4s/phase
Saturation headway = 2.2 sec/veh
PHF = 0.90
V = 1200 veh/h
Compute desirable cycle length for target v/c ratios varying from
1.00 to 0.80

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Relationship

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Any Queries?

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