TRAFFIC RESPONSIVE

SIGNAL COORDINATION
TRB
TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEMS COMMITTEE
MIDYEAR MEETING
JULY 25-27, 2003 TORONTO, ONTARIO
DENNIS EYLER
VICE PRESIDENT
SRF CONSULTING GROUP, INC.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN

Purpose of Presentation
Provideanoverviewofthecapabilitiesoftraffic
responsivemastercontrollersoperatingfulltraffic
actuatedintersections
Presentafewofthedifferencesbetweenadaptive
andtrafficresponsive
Suggestionsforsettingupatrafficresponsive
system

TOGETTHEOWNERSOFTRAFFIC
RESPONSIVEMASTERSTOUSETHEM!

Definition of a traffic signal

Atrafficsignalisadevicethat
allowstrafficengineerstoleave
theirintelligenceatanintersection
tooperateitintheirabsence.

My perspective
Ihavedesignedandoperatedover40
trafficresponsivearterialcoordination
systemsconsistingoffulltrafficactuated
intersections.Mostwereonsuburban
arterialroadwayswithspeedsinthe50to
60mphrange

Arterial
coordination
systems in the
Minneapolis
suburbs
50 +MPH

40- 45 MPH

Under 40 MPH

Audience poll
Howmanypeoplehereareoperatingorhaveoperated
trafficresponsivesystems?
Arethesesystemsalsooperatingwithfulltraffic
actuatedintersectioncontrollers?
Howmanyareonroadwayswithspeedsabove50
milesperhour?
Anyoneusedthistypeofsysteminanurbangrid?
Howmanypeopleherearecurrentlyrunningan
adaptivecontrolsystem?

Why the poll?

Iamalwayswillingtostandtrialbeforea
juryofmypeers.However,Idowantto
makesurethatIaminthepresenceofone.

Definitions
Trafficresponsivemastercontrolleralso
knownasclosedloop
Hasalibraryofpreparedsystemtimingplansmost
systemsarecapableof100+plans
Variables
Cyclelength,Offset,Splits,Grouping

Planselectionbasedon

Volumelevels,Directionaldistribution,Speed,Otherinputs

Fulltrafficactuatedcontroller

Vehicularandpedestrianphasesareenabledby
detection.Vehicularphasesarealsoextendedby
detection.

Definitions
Coordination
Merelyaseriesofforceoffsandholds
appliedinanorganized(presumablylogical)
mannertoprovideoptimalflowthrougha
groupoftrafficsignals

Optimal
Likebeauty,itisdefinedbytheeyeofthe
beholder

History of the traffic

responsive & adaptive
systems (at least that part that I can
Early1950sthe1022controllerwithplatooncarryovereffect
remember)
Actuallyprimitiveadaptivecontrol

1960selectromechanicaltechnology

Late1960sFirstsolidstatemastercontrollers

Mn/DOTinsistsonfullactuatedoperation&usesleasedphonelinesforsometwo
waycommunication

Early1970s

Pretimedcontrollersusedascoordinators
Mn/DOTusesmutualcoorddevicefor2to4intersectionsystems,whichcreatesa
virtualsinglecontroller

Mn/DOTmastercontrollercabinetsarefullATRswithdatarecordingsystems
Digitalmastercontrollerswithdigitalcoordinators

Late1970smicroprocessorsanddevelopmentofimprovedtiming
software

Microprocessormastercontrollersandmicroprocessorcoordinators
Type170controllers

History (continued)
Early1980s

Secondgenerationmicroprocessorcontrollerswithinternal
coordinationandprecisetimeclocksalsoallowswideruse
oftimebasedcoordination
Alltemperaturemodemsallowdialupsystemsandgiveus
theclosedloopsystemasweknowittoday
UseofpersonalcomputersandType170sasmaster
controllers

Mid1980s

Useofarterialmastersinurbannetworks
Duluth
Peoria
Others

History (continued)
1980sandbeyondAdaptivecontrolsystems
aredevelopedanddeployed

SCOOT,SCATS,UTOPIA
TRAC
RTTracks(OPAC,Rhodesandothers)
CityofLosAngeles

After1980fortrafficresponsivesystems
Developmentofareawidesupervisorysystems
Increasedsystemcapabilities

Sample equipment ca.

1970

Comparison
of Systems

Justification for adaptable operation

Arterial Signal Control

Theory
High
Isolated full actuated

Responsive or adaptive

Rigid coordination

Low
1

Intersections per minute of travel time

Justification for adaptable operation

Signal Control Theory

High

Signal control is
adapted to traffic
conditions

Traffic is adapted
to signal control

Low
1

Intersections per minute of travel time

Responsive and Adaptive

Objectives
Adaptivecontrolsystems

Minimizestopdelaybyoptimizingsplitsandreducingcyclelengths
Stopsareminimizedthroughoffsetoptimization

TrafficResponsivesystems

Stopdelayisreducedbycyclelengthselectionandsplitcontrol
Stops(particularlyhighspeed)areminimizedbystrictoffset
controlandcyclelengthcontrol

Oversimplifications

Adaptiveminimizesstopdelay,responsiveminimizesstops
Adaptiveworksbestinanopennetworkofequalroadways,
responsiveworksbestonahighspeedarterialorinagridof
regularlyspacedintersections

CYCLE LENGTH

Responsive and Adaptive

Adjustments

CYCLES

Understanding delay
(not handled adequately by the HCM)
Delayisthetimetotraverseanareathatisadditionto
thetimeitwouldtakeatthenormaltravelspeed
Delayconsistsof:
Addedpathlength(example:aloopramphasalongertravel
paththanadirectionalramp)
Geometricdelaytrafficmustslowbecauseofintersection
geometry(example:aroundabout)
Controldelaythishastwocomponents
Theinitialimpositionofthecontrol(example:astopsign)
Delaybecauseofadivisionofintersectioncapacity

Congestiondelaytraveltimeaddedbecauseoftheinteraction
ofthevehiclesinthetrafficstream
Speeddifferentialscarsversustrucks
Differentdriverbehavior

Understanding delay
Losttimeforstopping
Acar30MPHtostopto30MPHloses12to15
secondsovertravelingataconsistent30MPH
Atrucklosses30to35seconds
For55MPHacarloses25to30seconds
Atruckat55loses60to80seconds(asdoanyvehicles
behindthattruck)
Ifdelayis$13forcars&$21forheavycommercial
vehiclesat7%,thena30MPHstopisworth$0.058
A55MPHstopis$0.121
Vehiclestoppingcostsare$0.045and$0.15forcarsand
trucksat30MPHand$0.085and$0.30forcarsand
trucksat55MPH
Totalcostofstop$0.11(30)andat$0.22(55)
Idlingdelayis$0.22/minandfueladdsanother$0.03
foratotalof$0.25

Implications
Athighspeeds,reducingmainlinestopsbyadding
delaytothesidestreetistypicallyjustified.
EarlyversionsoftheHCMvirtuallyignoredlost
timeduetostopsandassigneditavalueof30%
ofotherintersectiondelay.
At55MPHandwithV/Cratiosof.5to.6
snappytimingcancauselosttimedueto
stoppingtobe2/3ofthetotaldelay.Forahigh
speedapproachnearcapacity,losttimefor
stoppingwouldbestillbeover40%.

Traffic responsive system

capabilities
Mastercontroller:
Usesalibraryofpreparedsystemtimingplans
Mostsystemsarecapableof100+plans

Variables

Cyclelength
Offset
Splitsrealtimewithactuatedcontrollers
Grouping
Crossingarterysynch

Planselectionbasedon

Volumelevels&directionaldistribution
Speed
Timeofday
Specialdetection&otherinputs

Servesasacommunicationhubandallowsremote
intersectionmonitoringandtimingplanchanges

Adaptive system
capabilities
Centralcontroller:

Processesdataandishometothealgorithm
Coordinationisrealtime
Infiniteplans

Communicationhubwithsomemonitoring
Mayhaveanemergencybackupfixedplan
Variables

Splits
Cyclelength
Offset
Grouping

Adjustmentsarebasedonpredictionofarrivingtraffic:
Sizeofplatoon
Turnpercentages
Arrivaltime

Adaptive Responsive
infrastructure comparison
Items

Adaptive

Responsive

Preliminaryefforts

Training,setupand

Traininganddevelopment
oftimingplans

calibration
Centralcontrolsystem

Centralcomputerhosting
algorithm

PCandonstreetmaster

Communication

Dedicated

Dialup

Detection

Dependsonsystem

Normalintersection

Controllers

Dependsonsystem

Offtheshelf

Software

Proprietarylicensefeesor
FHWA

CompetitiveNEMAor170

Inoperation

Setandforget???

Periodicplanupdates

Incidentmanagement

Adaptstohandle

Callforspecialplans

Adaptive Responsive
comparison of operation
Items

Adaptive

Responsive

Cyclelengths

Infinite

6ormore

Splits

Infinite,butsmall
adjustmentspercycle

Multiple,plusaddlmax.plus
queueresponse

Minimumsplit

Pedsplusyellows&allreds

Pedstreatedasexceptions

Offsets

Infinite

5ormore

Dilemmazone
protection

NotwithSCOOT&SCATS

Withactuatedoperation

Phaseorderchanges

Difficultorimpossible

Readilychanged

Inoperation

Setandforget???

Periodicplanupdates

Incidentmanagement

Adaptstohandle

Callforspecialplan(s)

Transitpriority

Prioritycontrolrequired

Greatfortimetableoperation

Highspeedflow

Allvehiclesareequal

Coordinationfavorsthemainline

Arterial time-space diagram

mile spacing - 45 mph progression speed 120 second cycle

Lead lag
lefts

Lead lefts

Lag - lead
lefts

Arterial time-space diagram

1/2 mile spacing - 50 mph progression speed 75 second cycle

Time-space (busway)

Stated objections to traffic

responsive control

Labortodevelopandmaintaintimingplans
Expertiserequiredtosetupsystem
Rigidcyclelengths
Slownessofresponsetochangingconditions
Earlyreleasescausescoordinationproblems
Fundingisavailabletoinstalladaptivecontrol,
fundingmaynotbeavailabletohirestafffor
operatingatrafficresponsivesystem

Actuated mainline green in

coordination
Mainline extension
Added mainline green from
no call on following phases
and force offs held in place

Coordinated green

Added front end green from

unused phase time and force-offs
moved forward

TR Systems Setup Issues

Understandwhatdetectionyourmaster
controllerwillhaveavailabletomakeits
planselection
Whereiscapacityanissue
Whereisdirectionalityofflowanissue
Detectiontodetermineoffsetandcyclelength
maybeatdifferentlocations

TR Systems Timing
Issues

Systemtimingplansshouldcoverarangeof
representativeconditions,notbeacollection
thatissimplycreatedfromcomputer
solutionsthatarebasedondatasnapshots

Roundofftrafficdata
Chartthedaysexpectedflowsandfluctuations
Checkthenaturalcyclelengths
Constrainsoftwareforbestsolutionswithincycle
lengthranges

TR Systems Timing
Createplanlibrarytohandletherangeoftraffic
conditions
Createtimingplansforsaturatedconditions
Createtimingplansforincidents
Determinethefreetocoordinatedthreshold(about
100vehiclesperlaneperhour)
Testplanstoseewhichconditionsoverwhelmandat
whichpointtheyaresluggish
Outlineatypicaldailyscheduleofwhichplansarein
useatwhichtimes
Lookathowoffsetadjustmentsandcyclelength
changeswillbemade.Havemajorchangesoccurat
themostcongestedintersection

The future of arterial

systems
Modernadaptivecontrolandtrafficresponsive
controlarenotfarapart
Eventually,severaladaptivecontrolalgorithms
willresideinasystemandbeavailableforuse
whenneeded.Thisissimilartowhathappens
todaywithsystemsthatswitchbetweenTOD&
TR
Adaptivecontrolalgorithmswillusenormal
detectorlocationsorusealternatedetection
locationswithvideodetection

Observations and lessons

learned
Hardwareandtechnologycanonlygosofar,
youstillneedqualitypeople
Earlyreleaseisconsideredaproblemfora
trafficresponsivearterialsystem.Foradaptive
controlitsconsideredafeature
Ifyoucanunderstandit,itsobsolete

ADAPTIVESHMADATIVE