CIVE1157 Transport Engineering 2 Lecture

Week 4

Sara Moridpour
Objectives

After completing this subject, you should be able to:

• Understand need for intersection control,

• Identify different types of intersection control,

• Become familiar with underlying concepts of traffic signal

design,

• Understand the procedure for traffic signal design.

2
Types of Traffic Flow

• Uninterrupted traffic flow

– Flow regulated by vehicle-to-vehicle interactions and
interactions between vehicles and roadway.

– e.g. vehicles travelling on a freeway.

• Interrupted traffic flow

– Flow regulated by external means such as traffic signal.

3
Uninterrupted Flow

4
Interrupted Flow

• Intersections,

• Roundabouts,

• Pedestrian Crossings.

5
Why Intersection Control?

• Separation among different vehicles on road,

• First priority: Space separation,
• If space separation is not possible, then

– Time separation.

6
Different types of intersection control

• Un-signalised Intersection,

– Give-way sign,

– STOP Sign,

– Roundabouts.
• Signalised Intersection.

7
Un-signalised Intersection: Give-way

• When traffic volumes are low,

• Minor street,
• Slow down,
• Check traffic from other direction,
• Stop if necessary,
• Move otherwise.

8
Un-signalised Intersection: STOP

• When traffic volumes are low,

• Minor street,
• Stop,
• Check traffic from other direction,
• Move when gap occurs.

9
Un-signalised Intersection: Roundabouts

• All the side and head-on conflicts are reduced to merge and
diverge conflicts,
• Require more space,
• Not efficient if traffic volume is high.

What are the main problems with

roundabouts?

10
WHY WE NEED TRAFFIC SIGNALS?

11
Traffic Signals

• Traffic control device used to ‘time-share’ an intersection which

is used by two or more conflicting traffic movements.
• They are installed to:
– Improve safety,
– Reduce delays.
• Installation of traffic signals would usually require full economic
evaluation of the benefits and costs of the installation.

12
Warrants for Traffic Signal

• Warrants are conditions which if satisfied justify the installation

of traffic signal,
• Guidelines:
– Not hard and fast rules which must be followed,
– But give a general direction.
• Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Series: Part 7 Traffic
Signals,
• If any of the next 5 warrants is satisfied, traffic signal can be
justified at that location.

13
Signalised Intersection Warrant (a)

• Traffic demand volumes:

– For 4 one-hour periods of an average day,
– Major road flow exceeds 600 veh/hr in both directions,
– The highest volume approach on the minor road exceeds
200 veh/hr.

14
Signalised Intersection Warrant (b)
• Continuous Traffic:
– For each of four one-hour periods of an average day,
– The major road flow exceeds 900 veh/hr in both directions,
– And the highest volume approach on the minor road
exceeds 100 veh/hr,
– The speed of traffic on the major road or limited sight
distance on the minor road causes undue delay or hazard
to the minor road vehicles,
– And there is no other nearby installation easily accessible
to minor road vehicles.

15
Signalised Intersection Warrant (c)
• Pedestrian Safety:
– For each of four one-hour periods of an average day,
– The major road flow exceeds 600 veh/hr in both directions
(or where there is a central pedestrian refuge at least 1.2 m
wide, the major road flow increases 1000 veh/hr in both
directions),
– And the pedestrian flow crossing the major road exceeds
150 ped/h,
– For high speed major road where 85th percentile speed
exceeds 75 km/hr, traffic flow criteria is reduced to 450
veh/hr without and 750 veh/hr with refuge.
16
Signalised Intersection Warrant (d)
• Crashes:
– The intersection has been the site of an average of three or
more reported casualty crashes per year over a three-year
period,
– Where the crashes could have been prevented by traffic
signals,
– The traffic flow are at least 80% of the volume warrants
given in (a) and (b),
– Signals should only be installed if simpler traffic devices will
not effectively reduce accident rate.

17
Signalised Intersection Warrant (e)
• Combined factors:
– In exceptional cases, signals occasionally may be justified
where no single guideline is satisfied,
– but where two or more of the warrants given in (a), (b)
and (c) are satisfied to the extent of 80% or more of the
stated criteria.

18
Question 1

Which of the followings is not correct about traffic signals?

1. Reduce the risk of accidents,

2. Provide priority for vehicles,

3. Decrease the travel time,

4. Provide enough gap for the vehicles to turn when traffic

volume is high.

19
Basic Definitions
• Cycle
– One complete sequence of signal indications (green,
yellow, red).
• Cycle Length
– The total time for signal to complete one cycle,
– Symbol: C,
– Unit: seconds.
• Green Time
– Amount of time within a cycle for which a movement or
combination of movements receives green indication.
20
Basic Definitions Continued…

• Yellow Time
– Amount of time within a cycle for which a movement or a
combination of movements receives a yellow indication.
• Red time
– Amount of time within a cycle time for which a movement or
a combination of movements receives red indication.
• All red-time
– Amount of time within a cycle time for which all movements
receive a red indication,
– Clearance interval,
– Provided for safety reasons.
21
Basic Definitions Continued…

• Protected movement
– A movement that has the right-of-way and need not to give
way to conflicting movements,
– Through movements.
• Permitted movement
– A movement that must give way to opposing traffic flow or a
conflicting pedestrian stream,
– Example: Left turn vehicles need to wait for pedestrians to
cross.

22
Example: Protected and permitted movements

Protected Permitted
Movement Movement

Left turn can turn on green

Signal is green, both streams signal but have to stop and give
can move without any conflict way if pedestrians are on road
23
Signal Phasing

• A signal phase is the state of the signals during which one or

more movements receive Right-of-Way,
• A complete set of phases makes up a Cycle,
• Phase diagram shows all the phases in a sequence.

24
Signal Phases
Different possibilities:
• Decision is based on conflicting traffic
volumes,
• Less phases  More conflicts,
• More phases  More lost time,
3-Phase Control
• Final Decision  Trade off.
1 2 3
2-Phase Control
1 2

When turning movements are high for one

When turning direction while low for other direction
movements are low Example: Main road-side street intersection
25
How to find signal phasing

• Two possibilities, B

• Only one phase,

• Or two phases.
A

26
Cross product method

Think to provide protected right turn if,

Y
– One opposing lane
Cross product (X*Y) > 50,000
X
– Two opposing lanes Y Z
Cross product (X*(Y+Z)) > 90,000
X
– Three opposing lanes
Cross product > 110,000

27
28
Example: How to find signal phasing
900
900 300
• Check right turn conflict, 200
200
• Cross Product.

=150*(900+200) 150
150 200
=165000 > 90000
1000
300
= 300*(1000+200)
=360000 > 90000 200 HENCE, provide a
protected right turn for this
1000
phase

29
Anatomy of a signal timing plan 2 - Phase Control

2-Phase Control
1 2

Y1
AR
G1
1
2
G2
Y2 AR

Intergreen Time
30
Anatomy of a signal timing plan 3-Phase Control

3-Phase Control
1 2 3

AR
G1 Y

G2 Y
G3 Y

31
Why Yellow Time?
• To let drivers know that soon the right-of-way will be shifted to
other direction,
• Should you stop or keep moving?
– If you are so near to intersection that braking will be
dangerous  keep moving,
– If you are far, you should start braking to stop safely at
intersection.
• Yellow time
– Must be short enough that cars more than stopping distance
away start braking and stop at stop bar,
– Must be long enough that cars which cannot stop at the
intersection safely, can cross the intersection at normal speed.
32
Question 2

Which of the followings is correct about yellow time?

1. It may be a dilemma zone,

2. It can be used as a warning sign for the drivers,

3. It is considered as the lost time,

4. All of the above.

33
Yellow Time Calculation
W L V
YT  RT , I  
V 2(a  Gg )
Where:
YT = yellow time (sec),
RT,I = reaction time at intersections (usually 1 sec),
W = width of road which needs to be crossed (m),
L = length of design vehicle (usually 6 m),
V = speed limit on the road from where car is approaching, m/sec,
a = rate of deceleration, usually 3.4 m/sec2,
G = grade on the approaching road, positive if up, negative if down,
g = acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/sec2).

34
Why All Red?

• Safety reasons,
• To clear the intersection space before start of next phase.

35
Intergreen Time
• Intergreen Time = Yellow Time + All Red,
• It is considered as lost time,
• As no start of movement is legally permitted,
• More intergreen time  More lost time  Less efficient design,
• More phases  More intergreen time,
• Usually for each phase, sum of yellow and All-Red should not be
more than 5 sec unless the intersection is very large:
– In case intersection has small yellow time, all-red may be large,
– If intersection has large yellow time, all-red may be small or even zero,
– Rule of thumb is sum should be less than or around 5 sec.
36
 Clearance gain~3
Saturation Flow Rate sec
Loss time ~ Yellow + All Red Last few vehicles in
Cumulative # the queue are leaving,
of vehicles Loss time:Vehicles cannot use it flow is reduced

In an intersection, usually red is Effective Green

not loss time because it is green ~ Green
for other direction, all red is
lost time as other direction
cannot use it as well

Loss time is independent of C Saturation Flow

or G Rate(s): Maximum
Starting loss~2-3 sec discharge rate
First vehicle in the downstream of
queue is accelerating intersection

Time
Traffic Signal Sequence
37
Saturation flow rate
• Maximum rate at which vehicles pass through an intersection.

38
Peak Hour Volume
• Peak hour volume is volume of traffic that uses a certain
approach, lane and lane group during the hour of the day
that observes the highest traffic volumes for that intersection,
• This can be morning peak or afternoon peak,
• Peak hour volume is presented in passenger car units per
hour.

39
Peak Hour Factor, PHF
700
600
600
500
500
400
V

V15
300
PHF  300
200
V15  4
200
100
0
08:00 08:15 08:30 08:45
TIME

• V = hourly volume for hour of analysis,

• V15= maximum 15 min volume within that hour,
• PHF  1: Uniform flow,
1600
• PHF  0: Non-uniform flow. PHF   0.67
600  4

40
Design Flow Rate
• If you have:

– Peak Hour Volume,

– Peak Hour Factor.

• Design Flow Rate is:

= Peak Hour Volume / Peak Hour Factor.

41
Critical Movement
• Each phase has a combination of movements, for example
see the figure:
1
3 movements 3 movements
Left Turn, Left Turn,
Through, Through,
Right Turn Right Turn

• Movement which will require most time out of these six will be
“critical movement” as that will determine the phase length.

42
Cycle Length Determination
Deterministic
• Webster’s formula Delay

• Minimum Cycle Length

Webster’s
L
Cmin 
1 l
• Optimum Cycle Length Cmin Copt

1.5L  5
Copt 
1 l
• L is total lost time,
• l is the sum of normalised flow for each phase.
43
HOW TO SPLIT THE GREEN TIME?

44
Until now
• Understand need for intersection control,
• Identify different types of intersection control,
• Understand underlying concepts of traffic signal design,
• Understand the procedure for traffic signal design.

45
Green Split
• Once you have the cycle time,
• Find the effective available time,
• If cycle time is C,
• And total lost time is L,
• Available green time will be:
G=C-L
• Which should be divided in proportion to the critical lane
movements.

46
Timing Adjustment

• Last step,
• Check if green time for each direction is more than the
minimum green time,
• What is minimum green time?
– Maximum of:

– Pedestrian walking time to cross the road,

– Minimum time to clear the intersection.

47
Design Steps
• Field Study: Pre-Design on Data Collection,
• Desktop: Design Process:

1. Decide on phasing plan,

2. Calculate minimum green time,
3. Calculate the length of the intergreen period,
4. Calculate or measure the saturation flow rate for each
approach or lane,
5. Calculate the design flow rate for each direction:
1. Using peak hour factor,
2. Using peak hour volume.
48
Design Steps Continued…

6. Find critical movements or lanes and calculate critical

flow ratios,
7. Calculate optimum cycle length,
8. Allocate green time,
9. Timing Adjustment.

49
 14m
Example

480
150
N
180
• Step 1: Phasing Plan: 540
300
21m
• N-S is obvious 360
300
120
– Only one phase is needed

360
• E-W: lets check for the cross product

60
• 300*(300+120) 300
300
= 126000 > 90000 120
SEPARATE PHASE
• 360*(180+540) FOR RIGHT TURN
180
540 IN E-W
= 259200 > 90000
360

50
Decided Phasing Plan

3-Phase Control
1 2 3
l11 l21 l34 l33
l12 l13
l14 l22 l31 l32

51
Step 2: Calculate minimum green time for each phase
• Minimum green time for E-W,
• Assume pedestrian speed = 1.2 m/s,
• Pedestrian Crossing Time for:
– N-S
= 21/1.2 ~ 18 sec (phase 3)
– E-W
= 14/1.2 ~ 12 sec (phase 1)
• Minimum time for vehicle to cross:
– Distance/Speed
= 20m / (20km/hr) ~ 4 sec (phase 2)
52
Step 3: Calculate Intergreen time

• Number of phases: 3,
• Intergreen time,
– 5 sec for each phase.
• Total Intergreen time:
– L = Number of phases * Intergreen Time = 3*5 = 15 sec.

53
Step 4: Saturation Flow Rate
• Measured as following:
– s11 = 600
– s12 = 1800 3-Phase Control
1 2 3
– s13 = 1800
l11 l21 l34 l33
– s14 = 600
l12 l13
– s21 = 1800 l14 l22 l31 l32
– s22 = 1800
– s31 = 600
– s32 = 1800
– s33 = 600
– s34 = 1800
54
Step 5: Design Flow volume
• I am assuming a Peak Hour Factor of 1,

– But you should calculate the real value based on your

actual collected data.

• As Peak Hour Factor is 1,

• So:

– Design Hour Volume = Peak Hour Volume

55
 14m

480
150
Step 6: Critical Flows
N
180
540
• lij = Qij/sij 21m
300
360
300
120
– l11 = 180/600, l12 = 540/1800
– l13 = 300/1800, l14 = 120/600

360
60
– l21 = 300/1800, l22 = 360/1800 3-Phase Control
– l31 = 60/600, l32 = 360/1800 1 2 3
– l33 = 150/600, l34 = 480/1800 l11 l21 l34 l33
l12 l13
l14 l22 l31 l32
• l1 = max(l11, l12, l13, l14)=180/600 = 0.3
• l2 = max(l21, l22)=360/1800 = 0.2
• l3 = max(l31, l32, l33, l34)=480/1800 = 0.27
56
Step 7: Optimum Cycle Length

l   j l j 0.77 ~ 0.8
L  15 sec
(3 phases, each phase lost time  5 sec)
1.5 L  5
Copt   120 sec
1 l
Available Green Time  C  L  120  3 * 5  105 sec

57
Step 8: Allocate Green Time

0.3 3-Phase Control

G1  *105  41sec 12 sec (ok ) 1 2 3
0.77
0.2 l11 l21 l34 l33
G2  *105  27 sec  4 sec (ok )
0.77 l12 l13
G3 
0.27
*105  37 sec 18 sec (ok ) l14 l22 l31 l32
0.77

STEP 9: NO ADJUSTMENT NEEDED AS GREEN TIME IS

GREATER THAN MINIMUM GREEN TIME FOR EACH
DIRECTION

58
Final Phasing Scheme and Timing
3-Phase Control
1 2 3
l11 l21 l34 l33
l12 l13
l14 l22 l31 l32

All Red=2sec
each
G1=41 sec Y

G2=27 sec Y
G3=37 sec Y

Y=Yellow= 3sec each

59
Arterial Coordination

Space

X
C
R G

Time
Definitions
C – Cycle Time R – Red Time G – Green Time
g = G/C – split X – Offset x = X/C – % offset

60
 Next Lecture and Tutorial
• In this week’s tutorial class, the problem set 2 (Queue Theory
and Unsignalised Intersection Analysis) is covered,
• Different types of traffic survey will be explained in the next
lecture class.
• Signal design will be covered in the next tutorial class. Please
bring your calculators and week 4 lecture slides to the next
week’s tutorial class,
• Deadline for Assessment Task 1 is Friday week 5 (6th April), at
4 PM. Please submit the softcopy of your Assessment Task 1
through Canvas.

61
 Next Lecture and Tutorial Continued…

• I suggest you to read the description of Assessment Task 2 once

before you come to the tutorial. You can design the intersection step-
by-step.

• Please select a congested intersection for Assessment Task 2 and

bring the map of the intersection with you which can identify:
– Number of lanes,
– Types of movements allowed in each lane,
– Dimensions (have good scale maps with you, e.g. Google Map).

62
Questions?

63