Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
(BEG469TE)
(Elective II)
Year: 4
Semester
Examination Scheme
Teaching Schedule Hours/week
T
Internal Assessment
Practical
20
100
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Final
Course objectives:
The main objective of the course "Traffic Engineering Management" is to impart knowledge about
traffic management systematically and scientifically with the use of concept of engineering. Traffic
management as a burning issue and is of high importance for the developing cities, it should be
followed by the future traffic load analysis. Key topics of the course attempt to impart knowledge in
the following contemporary concepts:
This course may be good platform for the Graduate (Masters' degree) course in Traffic Engineering and
Management.
1. Introduction
2 hrs.
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Course Contents:
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3 hrs.
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3 .Traffic Characteristics
3 hrs.
5 hrs.
5. Speed Studies:
5 hrs.
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5.4Critical Gap;
5 hrs.
6.4 Computation of capacity and level of service for two lane highways Multilane
highways and free ways.
5 hrs.
7.1Types of parking facilities - on street parking and off street Parking facilities;
7 hrs.
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8 Traffic Safety:
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8.2Causes of accidents - The Road, The vehicle, The road user and the Environment;
8.3Engineering, Enforcement and Education measures for the prevention of accidents.
5 hrs.
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3 hrs.
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2 hrs.
Tutorials:
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Publication.
3. Principles of Highways Engineering and Traffic Analysis - Fred Mannering & Walter
P. Kilareski, John Wiley & 50ns Publication.
Question Pattern:
Chapter
10
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allocated
Marks
10
10
10
10
10
10
11
Total
80
iii
Remarks
Contents
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Scope and significance of Traffic Engineering and Management .................................................. 1
1.2 Traffic planning and modeling using prototype............................................................................ 2
1.3 Traffic related problems in major cities ....................................................................................... 3
1.4 Transportation network and their characteristics .......................................................................... 6
CHAPTER TWO: URBAN TRAFFIC PLANNING ............................................................................. 8
2.1 Introduction to urban traffic planning.......................................................................................... 8
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progression Systems...................................................................................................................... 99
CHAPTER TEN: TRAFFIC AND ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................106
10.1 Detrimental effects of Traffic on Environment........................................................................106
10.2 Air pollution; Noise Pollution................................................................................................109
10.3 Measures to curtail environmental degradation due to traffic ...................................................112
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REFERENCES................................................................................................................................113
Traffic congestion, parking problem, environmental degradation, traffic accidents, has created the
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attention to the performance characteristics of highway transportation and continuous study and
developments for better geometric design, capacity, intersections, traffic regulations, signals,
signs, roadway marking, terminals, street lighting etc.
Basic objective is to achieve efficient, free, and rapid flow of traffic with minimum number of traffic
accidents. Traffic engineering includes a variety of engineering and management skills and the followings
are the main aspects:
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Continual research
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ROAD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT: As urban populations expand and city roads become increasingly
congested, policy makers and planners need to review urban development and transport policies in order
to address future needs taking into account anticipated social and demographic changes.
Traffic Engineering and Management /snlkhyaju@gmail.com
Strike a balance between different modes of transport: pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, cars
and public transport
Provide security, safety and optimum service for transport system users
Alongside longer-term solutions such as upgrading public transport systems and introducing city center,
road toll systems, high-performance traffic management systems can be crucial to the success of a city
planning and transportation policy
Improved road user safety: better traffic control for improved road safety and shorter response
times by emergency services
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Quicker travel times in urban areas: smoother traffic flows and shorter public transport journey
times
As the number of traffic is increasing exponentially, traffic related problems has born. For the smooth and
effective traffic flow with minimizing traffic accidents and travel cost and maximizing the comfort and
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easiness, traffic planning among the city has become inevitable. For the traffic planning, modeling using
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prototype study is the best solution for the selection of best among the best alternatives.
Model concept
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A model can be defined as a simplified representation of a part of real world-the system of interest-which
concentrates on certain elements considered for its analysis from a particular point of view. For the
analysis, any model made should be calibrated and validated to ascertain the realistic resemblance and the
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Model validation refers to the testing of a calibrated model using empirical data than those used to
estimate the model in the first place. It means to predict a situation from the past and to compare this with
the actual situation in the present (back casting). This is how scientific theories are tested, modified, or
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replaced.
Exponential growing of number of traffic within the limited fixed facilities like highway, interchange,
bridge etc is itself a great traffic related problem in the major city like Kathmandu. Followings are the
major traffic related problems:
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Road space and Traffic Congestion: According to reports there are 180,000 (most of them being two
and three wheelers) vehicles registered at The Bagmati Transport Office at present. Considering the
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narrow roads and the small area that the city is built in, these vehicles are too many for a city like
Kathmandu. The prevailing high degree of congestion, despite relatively low number of vehicles (private
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car ownership rate is relatively low though there is relatively high number of vehicles registered, the most
of them being the two and three wheelers) is often attributed to the small proportion of urban space
devoted to roads. It is also revealed that the annoying causes of traffic jams in the streets of the city are
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due to large number of motorbike riders. Traffic congestion is already an important constraint to urban
productivity and the vehicular air pollution is increasing and posing a serious health threat to urban
population.
Accidents: There has been an unprecedented trend in traffic accident in Kathmandu valley. While the
vehicles are increasing in geometric proportion, the roads are being constructed at a snail's pace.
Accidents are increasing in number and severity. Accidents occur more during working days when the
traffic is heavy. According to a report by the Traffic Engineering and Safety Unit at the Departments of
Roads, the frequency of accidents is at the peak at 4 pm followed by 8 am. Pedestrians are the ones who
Traffic Engineering and Management /snlkhyaju@gmail.com
are most at risk, followed by motorcycle riders. Accidents also occur when holidays are near and mostly
youngsters tend to drive under the influence of alcohol. Most accidents in the valley happen at
intersections. The places in Kathmandu that witness accidents frequently include Teenkune, Koteshwor,
Harihar Bhawan, Putali Sadak, Ring road and many other intersections, while nocturnal mishaps are more
frequent on the Ring Road, Kantipath and Naya Baneshwor because of over speeding.
The traffic condition: There is no doubt that the wide variety of traffic sharing the limited right of way is
a serious factor in congestion. Most road sections in Kathmandu city are not channelized for motor
vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The greater the pressure on road space, the more speeds of the slowest
moving vehicles tend to be reduced, and the potential of faster public, commercial and private vehicles are
wasted. Often pedestrians, market and parking activities intrude even the road space of major arteries. The
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greater number of traffic accidents and lower overall average speed of the vehicles in the streets are
attributed to the large number of motorbikes and tempos.
Parking: It is one of the city's chronic problems, particularly in the Business Districts and other sites
where jobs and retail activities are concentrated. The limited road space is further reduced due to
encroachment of the road space by street shops, vehicles and bicycle parking. In particular, parking on the
sidewalks of the streets causes danger to pedestrians. In many cases, construction materials can be seen
placed at footpath and sometimes even on the roads thus forcing the pedestrians to walk on the roadway
which is primarily meant for the motor vehicles. This may cause a great deal of danger for the safety of
the pedestrians. Many buses have to be parked on the streets. Bus terminals have not been well planned
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Public transport: Public transport in Kathmandu city can be seen in general as a well-connected but
inadequate capacity is reflected in extreme overcrowding during long periods of peak hour traffic and it
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takes a long time in reaching their destination. The development of public transport is often hindered by a
lack of capacity, low operating speed, and outdated equipment and management practices. As there is no
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single bus terminus, finding the different places from where buses leave can sometimes be an experience
because there is a lack of information at public places. Also the seating arrangements in most of these
buses are such that you would hardly get to see the scene outside as you journey.
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Pedestrians and cyclists: There is problem of movement by pedestrians and cyclists. Pedestrians (and
particularly the safety of pedestrians) are generally not accorded adequate priority by the city officials
responsible for planning and managing roads, as footpaths are inadequate and badly maintained.
Pedestrian crossings are placed in a long walking distance and many people simply don't cross the roads
using the overhead bridge. There are no any rules and regulations regarding punishment for those who
cross the road randomly. As a result walking and crossing streets in many places have become highly
dangerous. Conditions for cyclists are even worse than for pedestrians. Bicycle riding is increasingly
hazardous. As a result, this cheap and potentially very important mode of transport tends to be grossly
underutilized.
Road maintenance: Roads are inadequately maintained. Visual inspection and evaluation of road
network conditions show failures of the road pavement. A key factor contributing to this situation is the
lack of funding for the maintenance by the government. The situation is exacerbated by the absence of
computer based asset inventory and maintenance management systems. The available scarce resources are
allocated to meet the most pressing demands. In addition to managing existing roads more efficiently
additional capacity is needed by the construction of new roads.
Urban patterns: Physical patterns of cities also compound the difficulties. Central business districts are
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typically not so clearly demarcated as in the developed world. The main activities centers are however
often concentrated in narrow streets prone to the intense congestion. High densities of intersections,
winding configurations and changing road widths reduce capacity further.
Road user education: It has not been very efficient and had lacked proper methodology and facilities.
The striking feature of the city traffic is the poor driving behavior. Driving standards are generally low. It
may be amazing to know that many of the drivers have no idea about the traffic signs and rules, which
indicates that our license issuing system is also extremely unscientific and impractical, and it is helping in
adding traffic accidents indirectly. It is reported that in Kathmandu valley the number of accidents are
higher than in the rest parts of Nepal and it can be said that the root cause of increasing traffic accidents is
Traffic control measures: Effective road capacity of the city is further reduced by extensive uncontrolled
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parking of vehicles of all kinds and by ineffective signaling and other traffic control measures. Manual
control of junctions at peak hours is often required-land traffic signal timings are not appropriate. None of
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all the existing traffic signals in the urban area are coordinated, most of them operating under two phase
fixed time control. Although there have been some successful experiments with junction channelization
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recently in the city, the majority of the junctions have not been channelized and sometimes traffic island
itself is creating the traffic problem due to its inappropriate placement and bad design. Traffic signs and
markings are too much insufficient. Although some innovative pedestrian crossing facilities have been
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implemented in the city, there is still a striking need for better provision of pedestrian crossing facilities to
give pedestrians safer ways to cross the road.
Remedial measures:
As mentioned earlier, with the very rapid growth in demand for transport, Kathmandu is facing serious
traffic problems. The immediate concern in the city is to maintain the existing levels of service of the road
system and personal mobility, whilst reducing the potential for road accidents. For this, traffic
management measures are to be utilized which typically will include junction improvements, one way
streets, segregation of two wheel vehicles with motor vehicle, channelization, markings, signaling,
Traffic Engineering and Management /snlkhyaju@gmail.com
selective road widening and provision of pedestrian facilities, continuous traffic awareness program
through the involvement of all the sectors of the society. But traffic management is the concern of the
number of policy and executive agencies. As a result there is pressing need for close coordination,
effective decision making machinery and enforcement, and clearly defined responsibilities because the
success or failure of traffic management measures largely depend on the institutional arrangements.
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changes in road types and the sites, for example of bridge and other specific infra structure facilities.
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Collectors: Collectors (not to be confused with collector/distributor roads, which reduce weaving on
freeways), collect traffic from local roads, and distribute it to arterials. Traffic using a collector is usually
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Length
Travel speed
Capacity of link
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Type of road
Road width
Presence of bus lane, prohibition for certain vehicle etc
Banned turns
Type of junction
Storage capacity for queues
Approximate equivalence with road classification in other countries is as follows: class I roads correspond
to expressways, class II to arterial roads, class III-to collector roads and class IV-to local roads.
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In Nepal the overall management of National Highways and Feeder Roads comes within the responsibility of the
Department of Roads (DOR). These roads are collectively called Strategic Roads Network (SRN) roads. District
Roads and Urban Roads are managed by Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads
(DOLIDAR). These roads are collectively called Local Roads Network (LRN) roads.
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As the traffic on the existing road system in cities grows, congestion becomes a serious. Medium and long
term solution like widening roads, providing elevated fly-overs and constructing bypasses and urban
expressways are costly. Simple and inexpensive solutions can tide over the crisis for some time. Planning
and managing the urban traffic could be a package of short term measures to make the most productive
and cost-effective use of existing transportation facilities, services.
The fundamental approach in traffic management measures is to retain as much as possible existing
pattern of streets but to alter the pattern of traffic movement on these, so that the most efficient use is
made of the system. In doing so, minor alternations to traffic lanes, islands, curbs etc. are inevitable, and
are part of the management measures. The general aim is to reorient the traffic pattern on the existing
streets so that the conflict between vehicles and pedestrians is reduced.
Some of the well-known traffic management measures are:
One-way streets
Tidal-flow operations
Exclusive Bus-lanes
Closing side-streets.
At a junction, the turning traffic includes left-turners and right-turners. Left-turning traffic does not
usually obstruct traffic flows through the junctions, but right-turning traffic can cause serious loss of
capacity. At times, right-turning traffic can lock the flow and bring the entire flow to a halt. One way of
dealing with heavy right-turning traffic is to incorporate a separate right-turning phase in the signal
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scheme which result in a long signal cycle. Another solution is to ban the turning movement altogether.
Prohibition of right-turning movement can be established only if the existing street system is capable of
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As the name itself implies, one-way streets are those where traffic movement is permitted in only one
direction. As a traffic management measures intended to improve traffic flow, increase the capacity and
reduce the delays, one-way streets are known to yield beneficial results. They afford the most immediate
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and the least expensive method of alleviating the traffic conditions in a busy area. In combination with
other methods such as banned turning movements, installation of signals and restrictions on loading and
waiting, the one-way street system is able to achieve great improvement in traffic conditions of congested
areas.
Whenever a system of one-way streets is introduced, it is imperative that proper signs should be put up to
foster safe and efficient traffic. 'No entry' signs are needed at all terminal points of the one-way streets. At
the entrances and exits of all intersections within the scheme, 'one-way' and/or 'two-way' traffic signs
should be displayed. It may be necessary to put up 'No left turn' and 'No right turn' signs at some
junctions.
Advantages
Increase capacity
Increase speed
progressive signal
Tidal-flow operations
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system
Figure 3Four legged intersection and conflict points
One of the familiar characteristics of traffic flow on any street leading to the city center is the imbalance
in directional distribution of traffic during the peak hours. For instance, the morning peak results in a
heavy preponderance of flow towards the city center, whereas the evening peak brings in heavier flow
away from the city center. In either case, the street space provided for the opposing traffic will be found to
be in excess. This phenomenon is commonly termed as "tidal flow". One method of dealing with this
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problem is to allot more than half the lanes for one direction during the peak hours. This system is known
A main street may have a number of side-streets where the traffic may be very light. In such situations, it
may be possible to close some of these side-streets without affecting adversely the traffic, and yet reap a
number of benefits.
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Traffic volume is the number of the vehicles crossing a section of road per unit time at any selected
period. Traffic volume is used as a quantity measure of traffic flow. A complete traffic volume study
includes the classified volume study by recording the volume of various movements and the distribution
on different lanes per unit time. The volume of different type is usually converted into Passenger Car Unit
(PCU).
NRS 2070
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Vehicle type
Equivalency factor
Bicycle, motorcycle
0.5
1.0
1.5
3.0
Non-motorized carts
6.0
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pick up
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Traffic volume study is generally accepted as true measure of the relative importance of roads and
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Traffic volume study is used in planning, traffic operation and control of existing facilities and
also for planning and designing the new facilities.
Traffic volume study is used in the analysis of traffic patterns and trends
Classified traffic volume study is useful in structural design of pavements, in geometric design
and in computing roadway capacity. Volume distribution study is used in planning one way
streets and other regulatory measures.
Turning movement study is used in the design of intersections, in planning signal timings,
channelization and other control devices.
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Pedestrian traffic volume study is used for planning sidewalks, cross walks, subways and
pedestrian signals.
Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT): expressed in vehicles per day. It is (1/365) th of the
total annual traffic flow. Total number of vehicles passing the site in a year is divided by 365
days. All vehicles are converted into passenger car unit.
Average Daily traffic (ADT): If the flow is not measured for all the 365 days, but only for few
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days (less than one year) the average flow is known as Average Daily Traffic (ADT).
Average Annual Weekday Traffic (AAWT): is the average 24 hour traffic volume occurring on
weekdays over a full year.
Average weekday traffic: is an average 24 hour traffic volume occurring on weekdays for some
period less than one year, such as one month or one season.
Traffic counts carried out over a very short time period can produce large errors because traffic flows
Hourly variations
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often have large hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal variations. These variations are described in
An example of hourly traffic variation throughout one day is shown below. In this example major traffic
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flow occurs between 05 and 21 hours. In practice traffic counts will usually be carried out for 12, 16 or 24
hour time periods. Typically, in tropical countries, a 12 hour traffic count (example from 6:00 to 18:00)
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will measure approximately 80 % of the days traffic whereas a 16 hour count (example from 6: 00 to
22:00) will measure over 90 percent.
In order to obtain estimates of 24 hour flows from counts of less than 24 hours duration, it is necessary to
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scale up the counts of shorter duration according to the ratio of flow obtained in 24 hours and the flows
measured in the shorter counting period.
Scale factor (converting a partial days count into a full days traffic count)
(
) (
(
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)
)
400
200
0
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Figure 5 Hourly Variation
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For reasons of statistical analysis, HCM (1997) suggests using 15 minutes for most operational and design
analyses. The relationship between hourly volume and the maximum rate of flow within the hour is
defined as the peak hour factor.
For 15 minutes periodsthe maximum value of the PHF 1.0 which occurs when the volume in each 15
minutes period is equal, the minimum value is 0.25 which occurs when the entirely hourly volume occurs
in one 15 minute interval.
Daily and weekly variation
The day to day traffic flows tend to vary more than the week to week flows over the year. Hence large
errors can be associated with estimating average daily traffic flows (and hence annual traffic flows) from
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traffic counts of only a few days duration, or which exclude the weekends. Thus there is a rapid increase
in the accuracy of the survey as the duration of the counting period increases up to one week. For counts
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8000
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6000
4000
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Series1
2000
SAT
SUN
MON
TUES
WED
THURS
FRI
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example, an increased traffic flow usually occurs at a harvest time, and a reduced traffic flow is likely to
occur in a wet season.
To reduce error in the estimated annual traffic data caused by seasonal traffic variations, it is desirable to
repeat the classified traffic count at different times of the year. A series of weekly traffic counts repeated
at intervals throughout the year will provide a much better estimate of the annual traffic volume than a
continuous traffic count of the same duration.
An example of seasonal variation is shown below. For one week traffic count carried out each month. A
seasonal factor (SF) of unity indicates average flow. A seasonal factor greater than unity, indicates a
higher proportion of traffic than the average. It can be seen that the traffic is lower than average in
December, January, February, July and August. The variation in flow for different classes of vehicle may
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not be the same and this will be revealed in the classified traffic survey.
1500
1000
Series1
500
0
Jan
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
seasonal factors
2.00
1.50
1.50
1.31
1.00
0.92
0.00
Feb
March
Apr
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Jan
0.96
0.83
0.80
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0.50
1.25
1.13
1.07
May
0.84
0.71
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
1.31
Nov
Dec
Volume
approach during the morning peak hour. Determine (a.) the hourly
8:00-8:15 AM
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volume, (b) the peak rate of flow within the hour and (c) the peak hour
8:15-8:30 AM
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factor.
8:30-8:45 AM
165
Example 2.3: The following traffic count data were taken from a
8:45-9:00 AM
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Time Period
2 .No. of weekdays in
Month(days)
22
3.Total days in
Month(days)
31
4.Total Monthly
volume(vehs)
200000
5.Total weekday
volume(vehs)
170000
Feb
20
28
210000
171000
Mar
22
31
215000
185000
Apr
22
30
205000
180000
May
21
31
195000
172000
13
Jun
22
30
193000
168000
Jul
23
31
180000
160000
Aug
21
31
175000
150000
Sep
22
30
189000
175000
Oct
22
31
198000
178000
Nov
21
30
205000
182000
Dec
22
31
200000
176000
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From this data, determine (a) the AADT, (b) the ADT for each month, (c) the AAWT, and (d) the AWT
for each month, from this information, what can be discerned about the character of the facility and the
demand it serves?
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Example 2.1: Following table shows the classified manual vehicle count of a 14th February 2015 for three hour at Pepsikola - Manohara - Thimi - Hanumante - Sallaghari
Road. Determine the AADT in term of PCU with given data: the three hour traffic figures out about 20% of the total traffic at tha t day, Lane factor for FR 0.6.
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Location: Pepsikola ,
Station:
Direction b:Manohara-Pepsikola
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Station No.:
Surveyed By:
Volume of Vehicles
Start Time
(Hrs)
Truck
Heavy
A
12:30-1:30
2015
2:30-3:30
Mini
Micro
13
13
12
14
10
12
Cycle
Utility
Vehicle
Tractor
17
23
194
203
32
30
183
188
aj
1:30-2:30
Light
Motor
Car
37
Three
Wheeler
a
52
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14th Feburary,
Bus
u@
Date
15
Rickshaw
a
Four Wheel
Power
Drive/Jeep,Van
Tiller
10
Total
a
247
268
515
266
261
527
41
57
98
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interactions. The theory of traffic flow can be defined as a mathematical study of the movement of vehicles
over road network. The subject is a mathematical approach to define, characterize and describe different
aspects of vehicular traffic. The development of the topics has taken inspiration from the various field of
knowledge such as, statistics, applied mathematics, psychology and operation research etc.
Approaches to understanding traffic flow: Three main approaches to the understanding and quantification
of traffic flow. The first being the macroscopic based on the analogies as fluid flow. This approach is most
appropriate for studying steady state of flow and hence best describes efficiency of the system. The second is
microscopic approach that consider the response of each individual vehicle in a disaggregate manner. In this
case, individual driver-vehicle combination is examined, and therefore is extensively used in highway safety
work. The third is the human-factor approach, which basically tries to define the mechanism by which an
individual driver and the vehicle locate oneself with reference to another vehicle and the highway guidance
system.
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Uninterrupted flow: it occurs on the facilities that have no fixed elements, such as traffic signals, external to
traffic stream , that cause interruption to traffic flow.
Interrupted flow: it occurs on transportation facilities that have fixed elements causing periodic interruptions
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to traffic flow. Such elements are traffic signals, stop signs, and other types of controls. These devices cause
traffic to stop periodically.
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It should be noted that uninterrupted and interrupted traffic flow are terms to describe the facility and not the
quality of flow.
Speed (v)
It is defined as the rate of motion, as distance per unit time, generally km/h. or m/sec. There is a wide
distribution of individual speed in a traffic stream, an average speed is considered. If travel time t1, t2 , t3 .
tn, are observed from n vehicles traveling a segment of length L, the average travel speed is:
vs
L
nL
n
n
ti
ti
n
i 1
i 1
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Example3.1: Three vehicles are traversing a 1.5 km segment of a highway and following observation is made:
What is the average travel speed of the vehicle?
Vehicle A: 1.2 min. (72 sec.)
Vehicle B: 1.5 min. (90 sec.)
Vehicle C: 1.7 min. (102 sec.)
The average travel speed calculated is referred as the space mean speed (v s). It is called space mean speed
because the use of average travel time essentially weights the average according to length of time each vehicle
spends in space.
Another way of defining average speed of traffic stream is by finding the time mean speed (vt ). This is the
arithmetic mean of the measured speeds of all vehicles passing, say, a fixed roadside point during a given
vt
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interval of time, in which case, the individual speeds are known as spot speeds.
v
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Volume and rate of flow are two different measures. Volume is the actual number of vehicles observed or
predicted to be passing a point during a given time interval. The rate of flow represents the number of vehicles
passing a point during a time interval less than one hour, but expressed as an equivalent hourly rate.
Density or concentration
It is defined as the number of vehicles occupying a given length of lane or roadway, averaged over time
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usually expressed as vehicles per km. direct measurement of density can be obtained through aerial
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photography, but more commonly it is calculated from the equation if speed and rate of flow are known,:
q v*k
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=
Now
Density, k =
Hence q=k*v
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v A Bk
Where, v is the mean speed of the vehicle.
k is the average density of vehicles veh/km.
A and B are empirically determined parameters
We know,
q kv Ak Bk 2
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(v A)v A v 2
q kv
v
B
B
B
At almost zero density, the free mean speed equals to A, and at almost zero speed, the jam density equals A/B.
The maximum flow occurs at about half the mean free speed and is equal to A2 /4B .
The theoretical relationship between flow and density on a highway lane, represented by a parabola. The flow
increases from zero to its maximum value, the corresponding density of this flow is optimum density (k o ).
From this point onward to the right, the flow decreases as the density increases. At the jam density (k j ), the
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V=A-Bk
Flow, veh/h
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A2 /4B
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a)
A/2
A2/4B
A/2B
A/B
Density, veh/km
A/B
Density, veh/km
b)
Flow, veh/h
c)
18
vs vsf (
vsf
Kj
)K
)K 2
..................(i)
gm
ai
l.c
om
Then, Q vsf K (
Q
vs
Then, vs vsf (
or, Q vs K j {
vsf
Kj
Kj
vsf
Q
or, Qvsf (vsf vs ) K j vs
vs
}vs2
.........................(ii)
Differentiating the equation (i) with respect to concentration, we can get the value of concentration
corresponding to the maximum flow.
dQ
k
v sf 2v sf
0
dK
Kj
Kj
Then, K
...........................(ii i)
2
ju
To obtain the speed corresponding to the maximum flow, the equation (ii) is differentiated with respect to vs .
lk
h
ya
2 K j vs
dQ
Kj
0
dvs
vsf
vsf
or, vs
..........................(iv)
2
sn
....................(v)
2
2
4
Q q1 q2 q3 .......................... q c qi
i 1
19
ki
qi
, t 1, 2, 3......c
vi
K ki
c
i 1
qi vi
i 1 Q
c
vt
ki vi
i 1 K
c
vs
vs
s2
gm
ai
l.c
om
vs
Example 3.2: Assuming a linear speed-density relationship, the mean free speed is observed to be 85 km/h
near zero density, and at the corresponding jam density is 140veh/km. Assume that, the average length of
vehicles is 6m.
Draw the v-k, v-q and q-k diagrams indicating critical values.
Example 3.3: Speed observations from a radar speed meter have been taken, giving the speeds of the
readings are as under.
2-5
6-9
Volume (qi)
10-13 14-17 18-21 22-25 26-29 30-33 34-37 38-41 42-45 46-49 50-53 54-57 58-61
0
ya
Speed range
ju
subsidiary streams composing the flow along with the volume of traffic of each subsidiary stream. The
20
44
80
82
79
49
36
26
10
lk
h
Calculate: a) time mean speed b) space mean speed c) variance about space mean speed
Example 3.4: The speed density relationship of traffic on a section of a freeway lane was estimated to be
Vs = 18.2 ln(220/k)
sn
Example 3.5: Determine the maximum flow for the free flow speed of 80 kmph. The aerial photograph shows
that average center to center spacing of two vehicle during jam (i.e. velocity is zero) is found to be 6.5 m.
20
Bicycle, motorcycle
0.5
1.0
pick up
3
1.5
3.0
Non-motorized carts
6.0
Objectives:
lk
h
ju
It is the true measure of relative importance of roads, which is important for improvement and
expansion.
Traffic volume is used in planning, traffic operation/control of existing facilities and for planning new
facilities.
Classified volume is used for structural design of pavements.
It is used to analyze traffic pattern and trends.
It is used for design intersections, signal timings, canalizations, and other control devices.
For the determination of one-way street or other regulatory measures.
Pedestrian traffic volume is uses for planning and design of sidewalks, cross walks, subways, and
pedestrian signals.
Hourly traffic volume varies considerably during a day. Peak hour is much higher than average hourly
volume. Daily traffic varies in a week and also with season.
ya
Equivalency factor
gm
ai
l.c
om
SN
sn
Continuous count:
21
Manual count
Combined Manual and mechanical counter
Automatic devices
Photographic Method.
Moving observer method
Manual Count:
gm
ai
l.c
om
The prescribed record sheet is provided for manual count. Vehicles are counted by the method of five-dash
system.
Date:
Road classification:
Direction:
Vehicle type
Hour
Car,
Jeep, Bus
Van
Klometrage /mileage
Micro
bus
8-9
9-11
Three-
Motor Cycle
wheeler bike
11-12
Truck
ju
It is more desirable to record traffic in each direction of travel separately. The data can be summarized for
each
day.
sn
lk
h
ya
of
hour
22
Disadvantages:
Costly
Continuous counting is not feasible.
Number of team member depends on the number of lane, total volume, complexity of area .
gm
ai
l.c
om
needed to be posted on each arm of the intersection. The count of traffic on each arm should be broken down
into three categories- left turning, right turning and straight ahead traffic.
An example of a combination of manual and mechanical method is the multiple pen recorders. The chart
moves continuously at the speed of a clock. Different pens record the occurrence of different events on the
chart. Particular pen may record specific type of vehicle. Advantage of this type is:
Classification and count is done simultaneously
lk
h
ya
ju
sn
Automatic device
The automatic devices consist of equipment for detecting the passage or presence of and another for recording
the count. The sensor transmits some form of electric impulse which activates the accumulating register or
record chart.
Sensors (detectors):
1) Pneumatic tube (road tube): flexible tube with one end sealed is clamped to the road surface at right angles
to the pavement. Other end of the tube is connected to a diaphragm actuated switch. When an axle of the
vehicle crosses the tube a volume of air gets displaced thus creating a pressure which instantaneously closes
the electric contact through the switch. Two such contacts result in one count for the two axle vehicle. They
are cheap but it is difficult to fix on gravel surface and they are likely to be damaged by tractors and are easily
pilfered by vandals. They cannot detect vehicles by lane.
Traffic Engineering and Management /snlkhyaju@gmail.com
23
2) Electric contact: A pair of steel strip is contained in a rubber pad which is buried beneath the road surface.
By the load of the vehicle, steel strips come into contact with each other and cause the electric current to flow.
3) Co-axial cable: A co-axial cable is clamped across the road surface, with the capability of generating
signals with the passage of axles. These signals actuate a transistorized counter. They are more reliable the n
above-mentioned devices.
4) Photo-electric: A source of light is installed on the one side of the road, which emits a beam of light across
the road. At the other end a photo-cell which can distinguish the light beam and its absence, is fixed. By the
passage of vehicle, photo-cell records the obstruction to the light beam. There may be error due to passage of
vehicle at the same time in different lane.
5) Radar: A Radar (Doppler Effect) may detect the vehicle moving at a speed. When a moving object
gm
ai
l.c
om
approaches or recedes from the sources of signals, the frequency of the signal received back from the moving
object will be different from the frequency of the signal emitted by the source. This difference in two
frequencies causes the detection of the moving object. The initial cost is high but it is reliable and accurate.
6) Infra-red: Infrared sensors can detect the heat radiated from a vehicle or can react to the reflection from the
vehicle of infra-red radiation emitted by the sensors.
7) Magnetic: the disturbance caused by the passage of vehicle to the magnetic field, is taken as the basis of
sensing. Magnetic field is provided by a wire coil, which is buried beneath the road surface.
Recording Mechanism:
The signals generated by the automatic sensors can be recorded by the various methods:
1) Counting register: it is simply an accumulating counter, which indicates the number of the vehicle.
Readings must be taken before and after the counting period.
ju
2) Printed output: this device prints the accumulated totals at regular interval of time on a roll of paper.
3) Electronic system: they are modern system, which can record data directly on floppies or other magnetic
ya
disk.
lk
h
It gives the permanent record of volume counts. Its analysis can be done at office by replaying the cassette.
sn
24
30 th highest hour
year.
So for
gm
ai
l.c
om
20
40
60
80
100
Numbers of hours in one year
with traffic volume
exceeding that shown
1050
ya
ju
700
sn
lk
h
600
100
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96
25
Speed is a factor influencing traffic flow on existing roads. Speed studies are essential for:
Traffic operation like sign location and timings, establishing speed zones etc.
Geometric design of elements like curvatures, super elevation, stopping sight distance etc.
gm
ai
l.c
om
Average speed: average spot speed of several vehicles passing a specific section is termed as average speed.
Application:
For the traffic control and regulation, in geometric design, accident studies, studying traffic capacity
etc.
Effect of traffic flow constraints like bridge and intersection
Spot speed is affected by physical of road like pavement width, curve, sight distance and grade .
There are two types of average speed: Space mean speed and time mean speed.
ju
Space mean speed: Average speed of vehicles over a certain length of road at a given time. This is obtained
ya
from the observed time of the vehicles over a relatively long stretch of the road.
Vs
lk
h
3.6dn
n
ti
i 1
n=Number of individual vehicle observation; d - Length of the road section. ti - observed travel time in sec
sn
Time mean speed: it represents speed distribution of vehicles at a point on the roadway and it is the average
Vt
n
Vi
i 1
26
gm
ai
l.c
om
Those who require observation of time taken be the vehicle to cover a known distance;
Direct timing procedure;
Enoscope
Pressure contact tube
Radar speed-meter which automatically records the instantaneous speed;
Photographic method
General consideration for the site selection foe spot speed measurement:
ju
40-65
27
54
81
ya
Greater than 65
Base length
lk
h
Simple method
sn
Two reference points are marked on the pavement at a suitable distance apart and an observer starts
and stops an accurate stopwatch as a vehicle crosses these two marks.
From the known distance and measured time intervals spot speed is calculated;
Large effects may occur due to the parallax effect;
Reaction of individual observer may affect the result.
One observer stands at the first reference point and gives signal to the observer standing at last
reference point (with stopwatch).
27
b) Enoscope
It is a simple device consisting of L-shaped mirror box, open at both ends. It has a mirror set fixed at 45
degree to the arms of the instrument as in figure.
50 m
Light for night
gm
ai
l.c
om
In this method detectors are used to indicate the time of entering and leaving the base length by the vehicle.
ju
Two wire loops are inserted in the pavement at known distance apart and radio frequency at 85-115 kHz is fed
ya
to the circuit tuned to avoid electric interferences. When the vehicle passes over the loop it causes shift of
phase in frequency thus recording the vehicle presence.
lk
h
e) Radar speed meter: This automatic device works on the Doppler principle that the speed of a moving
body is proportional to the change in frequency between the radio wave transmitted to the moving body and
sn
28
gm
ai
l.c
om
98 th percentile speed: below this speed 98% of vehicles move, and it is taken as design speed for the
geometric design.
85 th percentile speed: 85% of the vehicles move below this speed. It is used to establish upper speed limit
for traffic management. It is taken as limit of safe speed in the road.
15 th percentile speed: 15% of vehicles move below this speed. It is used for determining minimum speed
limit for major highways.
Arithmetic mean or average spot speed: Summation of all variable speed divided by the number of
observations.
Spot speed observation table (say the stretch of the road section L=50 m):
ju
Observation
..
Observed time
3.52
3.45
2.85
3.25
2.65
..
Speed (km/h)
51.14
52.2
63.2
55.4
67.9
ya
number
lk
h
Large amount of data could be presented by arranging them in a frequency table . First data should be
sn
Range
Where, i is the class interval, N is the number of observations.
1 3.22 log 10 N
Parameters of Distribution
The frequency table, histogram and the cumulative frequency curve give only the rough idea of the
distribution and their inherent characteristics. An accurate idea about distribution can be expressed from the
parameters of distributions.
29
Histogram:
percentage
20.00
diagram:
15.00
10.00
found
graphically
using
0.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
gm
ai
l.c
om
5.00
is
LLR Smoother
frequency
%Frequency
The
speed, km/h
the
that
the
area
under
the
ju
ya
template intersects the right side of the curve, the pace located. This procedure identifies the 10 kmph
lk
h
increment that the peak of the curve; this contains the most area and, the highest percentage of vehicles.
Percent Vehicles within the Pace. The pace itself is a measure of the center of the distribution. The
percentage of vehicles traveling within the pace speeds is a measure of both central tendency and dispersion.
sn
The smaller the percentage of vehicles traveling within the pace, the greater the degree of dispersion in the
distribution. The percent of vehicles within the pace is found graphically using both the frequency distribution
and cumulative frequency distribution curves. The pace speeds were determined previously from the
frequency distribution curves. Lines from these speeds are dropped vertically to the cumulative frequency
distribution curve. The percentage of vehicles traveling at or below each of these speeds can then be
determined from the vertical axis of the cumulative frequency distribution curve
Example 4.1: Three cars with speed 20kmph, 40kmph and 60kmph travelling length D. Determine the space
mean speed and time mean speed.
Example 4.2: Twenty five spot speed observations were taken and were as under (km/h):
50, 40, 60, 54, 45, 31, 72, 58, 43, 52, 46, 56, 43, 65, 33, 69, 34, 51, 47, 41, 62, 43, 55, 40, 49
Calculate: a) time mean speed, b) space mean speed, and
Traffic Engineering and Management /snlkhyaju@gmail.com
30
Example 4.3: Consider the following spot speed data, collected from a freeway site operating under free-flow
conditions:
20-25
25-30
30-35
18
35-40
45
40-45
48
45-50
18
50-55
12
55-60
60-65
65-70
gm
ai
l.c
om
15-20
3
0
a) Plot the frequency and cumulative frequency curves for these data.
b) Find and identify on the curves: medium speed, modal speed, pace, percent vehicles in pace.
sn
lk
h
ya
ju
31
1000
; veh / km
average spacing (s), m
average spacing ( s ), m
h
, sec
average speed (v), m/sec
3600
q
; veh / hour
average headway ( h) , sec
gm
ai
l.c
om
Clearance (m)
gap (sec)
L, m
Figure:
Spacing (m) or
headway (sec)
ju
ya
Spacing of vehicles in a traffic lane can generally be observed from aerial photographs. Headway of the
vehicles can be measured using stopwatch observations as vehicles pass a point on a lane.
3
lk
h
80
Headw
40
ay, Sec
Minimum spacing, m
sn
60
30
ing
c
Spa
20
,m
1
10
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
Speed, km/h
Figure: Variation of Min spacing and headway with speed
32
Lane occupancy (R): is a measure used in freeway surveillance. If one could measure the lengths of vehicles
on a given roadway section and compute the ratio.
R could be divided by the average length of a vehicle to give an estimate of density (k).
Lane occupancy (LO) can also be described as the ratio of the time that vehicles are present at a detection
gm
ai
l.c
om
Loop detector
LO *1000
LC
ju
Lane clearance (c) and Gap (g) are related to the spacing parameter and headway. These four measurements
are shown in figure below. The difference between spacing and clearance is obviously the average length of a
sn
lk
h
vehicle (L/v):
ya
vehicle in m. Similarly the difference between headway and gap is the time equivalence of average length of a
33
ramps. All the road junctions designated for the vehicles to turn to different directions to reach their desired
destinations. Traffic intersections are complex locations on any highway. This is because vehicles moving in
different direction want to occupy same space at the same time. In addition, the pedestrians also seek same
space for crossing. Drivers have to make split second decision at an intersection by considering his route,
intersection geometry, speed and direction of other vehicles etc. A small error in judgment can cause severe
accidents. It causes delay and it depends on type, geometry, and type of control. Overall traffic flow depends
on the performance of the intersections. It also affects the capacity of the road. Therefore, both from the
accident perspective and the capacity perspective, the study of intersections are very important by the traffic
engineers.
Categories of Intersection
gm
ai
l.c
om
Intersection design can vary widely in terms of size, shape, number of travel lanes, and number of turn lanes.
Basically, there are four types of intersections, determined by the number of road segments and priority usage.
Priority Intersection: Occur where one of the intersecting roads is given definite priority over the other. The
minor road will usually be controlled by some form of sign marking, such as stop or yield sign; thus ensuring
that priority vehicles travailing on the main street will incur virtually no delay.
Space sharing intersection: Are intended to permit fully equally priority and to permit continuous movement
for all intersecting vehicle flows; example would be rotaries and other weaving areas.
Time Sharing Intersection: Are those at which alternative flows are given the right of way at different point
in time. This type of intersection is controlled by traffic signal or by police officer.
Uncontrolled intersection: are the most common type of intersection usually occurs where the intersecting
roads are relatively equal importance and found in areas where there is not much traffic shown in figure. At
uncontrolled intersection the arrival rate and individuals drivers generally determine the manner of operation,
ju
while the resulting performance characteristics are derived from joint consideration of flow conditions and
driver judgment and behavior patterns. In simplest terms, an intersection, one flow of traffic seeks gaps in
ya
At priority intersections, since one flow is given priority over the right of way it is clear that the secondary or
lk
h
minor flow is usually the one seeking gaps. By contrast at uncontrolled intersection, each flow must seek
gaps in the other opposing flow. When flows are very light, which is the case on most urban and rural roads
large gaps exist in the flows and thus few situation arise when vehicles arrive at uncontrolled intersection less
sn
than 10 second apart or at interval close enough to cause conflicts. However when vehicles arrive at
uncontrolled intersection only a few second apart potential conflicts exist and driver must judge their relative
time relationships and adjusts accordingly.
Generally one or both vehicles most adjust their speeds i.e. delayed somewhat with the closer vehicle most
often taking the right of way; in a sense, of course, the earlier arriving vehicle has priority and in this
instance when two vehicles arrive simultaneous, the rule of the road usually indicate priority for the driver
on the right. The possibility of judgmental in these, informal priority situation for uncontrolled intersection is
obvious. At an uncontrolled intersection, service discipline is typically controlled by signs (stop or yield signs)
using two rules two way stop controlled intersection (TWSC) and all way stop controlled intersection
(AWSC).
34
gm
ai
l.c
om
At TWSC intersections, the stop-controlled approaches are referred to as the minor street approaches; the
intersection approaches that are not controlled by stop signs are referred to as the major street approaches. A
three-leg intersection is considered to be a standard type of TWSC intersection if the single minor street
approach is controlled by a stop sign. Three-leg intersections where two of the three approaches are controlled
sn
lk
h
ya
ju
Figure 20Traffic flow stream in two way stop controlled intersection source
35
gm
ai
l.c
om
Rank 4 - Minor Street left-turning vehicles yield to all conflicting major street through, right-turning, and leftturning vehicles and to all conflicting Minor Street through and right-turning vehicles. The movements on this
rank are 7 and 10.
AWSC Intersection are mostly used approaching from all directions and is required to stop before proceeding
through the intersection as shown in Fig. 5. An all-way stop may have multiple approaches and may be
lk
h
ya
ju
sn
The analysis of AWSC intersection is easier because all users must stop. In this type of intersection the critical
entity of the capacity is the average intersection departure head way.
Secondary parameters are the number of cross lanes, turning percentages, and the distribution volume on each
approach. The first step for the analysis of capacity is select approach called subject approach the approach
opposite to subject approach is opposing approach, and the approach on the side of the subject approach is are
called conflicting approach.
Characteristics of AWSC Intersections
AWSC intersections require every vehicle to stop at the intersection before proceeding. Since each driver
must stop, the judgment as to whether to proceed into the intersection is a function of traffic conditions on the
other approaches. If no traffic is present on the other approaches, a driver can proceed immediately after the
36
stop is made. If there is traffic on one or more of the other approaches, a driver proceeds only after
determining that there are no vehicles currently in the intersection and that it is the drivers turn to proceed.
gm
ai
l.c
om
Gap acceptance is an important element in most lane-changing models. In order to execute a lane-change, the
driver assesses the positions and speeds of the lead and following vehicles in the target lane and decides
whether the gap between them is sufficient. Gap acceptance models are formulated as binary choice problems,
in which drivers decide whether to accept or reject the available gap by comparing it to the critical gap
(minimum acceptable gap).
Basic Terminologies
Gap means the time and space that a subject vehicle needs to merge adequately safely between two
vehicles. Gap acceptance is the minimum gap required to finish lane changing safely. Therefore, a gap
acceptance model can help describe how a driver judges whether to accept or not.
Gap acceptance: The process by which a minor stream vehicle accepts an available gap to maneuver.
Critical gap: The minimum major-stream headway during which a minor-street vehicle can make a maneuver.
ju
Lag: Time interval between the arrival of a yielding vehicle and the passage of the next priority stream
vehicle (Forward waiting time).
ya
Headway: The time interval between the arrivals of two successive vehicles. Headway differs from gap
because it is measured from the front bumper of the front vehicle to the front bumper of the next vehicle.
lk
h
Minimum Headway: The minimum gap maintained by a vehicle in the major traffic stream.
Follow-up time: Time between the departure of one vehicle from the minor street and the departure of the
next vehicle using the same gap under a condition of continuous queuing.
sn
37
vehicles with in a single stream of traffic or the interaction of two separate traffic streams. This interaction
takes place when a driver changes lanes merging in to a traffic stream or crosses a traffic stream. Inherent in
gm
ai
l.c
om
the traffic interaction associated with these basic maneuvers is concept of gap acceptance.
The subject vehicle tends to move from its current lane to target Lane, into the gap between 2 vehicles
travelling in the target lane. When a driver wants to do lane changing, the critical lead gap and the lag gap are
required to be acceptable for the driver. Otherwise, it is not safe for the driver to do the lane changing.
Critical Gap
The critical gap tcx for movement x is defined as the minimum average acceptable gap that allows
intersection entry for one Minor Street or Major Street. The term average acceptable means that the average
driver would accept or choose to utilize a gap of this size. The gap is measured as the clear time in the traffic
ju
stream defined by all conflicting movements. Thus, the model assumes that all gaps shorter than tcx are
rejected or unused, while all gaps equal to or larger than tcx would be accepted or used. The adjusted critical
ya
lk
h
Where,
sn
Follow up Time
The follow up time tfx for movement x is the minimum average acceptable time for a second queued minor
street vehicle to use a gap large enough admit two or more vehicles. Follow-up times were measured directly
by observing traffic flow. Resulting follow-up times were analyzed to determine their dependence on different
Traffic Engineering and Management /snlkhyaju@gmail.com
38
arameters such as intersection layout. This measurement is similar to the saturation flow rate at signalized
intersection. Following table shows base or unadjusted values of the critical gap and follow up time for
various movements. Base critical gaps and follow up times can be adjusted to account for a number of
conditions, including heavy - vehicle presence grade, and the existence of two stage gap acceptance. Adjusted
Follow up Time computed as:
t fx t fb t fHV PHV
Where,
tfx = Follow-up time for minor movement x
tfb = Base follow-up time from table 1
gm
ai
l.c
om
Adjustment
Values
tcHV
tcG
tcb, sec
Two-lane
Four-lane
Major Street
Major Street
Major LT
4.1
4.1
2.2
Minor RT
6.2
6.9
3.3
Minor TH
6.5
6.5
4.0
Minor LT
7.1
7.5
3.5
tfHV
source
ju
TcLT
tfb, sec
Movement
tcT
ya
0.0, Otherwise
lk
h
Conflicts
sn
39
Diverging traffic also produces about 4 conflicts. Therefore, a typical four legged intersection has about 32
different types of conflicts.
Determine Conflicting Volume
Conflicts at an intersection are different for different types of intersection. The essence of the intersection
control is to resolve these conflicts at the intersection for the safe and efficient movement of both vehicular
traffic and pedestrians. The movements for determining conflict in four legged intersection are:
Major Street left turns seek gaps through the opposing through movement, the opposing right turn movement
and pedestrians crossing the far side of the minor street.
Minor street right turns seek to merge in to the right most lane of the major street, which contains through
and right turning vehicles. Each right turn from the minor street must also cross the two pedestrians path
gm
ai
l.c
om
shown.
Through movements from the minor street must cross all Major Street vehicular and pedestrians flows.
Minor street left turns must deal not only with all major street traffic flow but with two pedestrians flows
and the opposing Minor Street through and right turn
movements.
ya
Potential Capacity
ju
Capacity is defined as the maximum number of vehicles, passengers, or the like, per unit time, which can be
lk
h
accommodated under given conditions with a reasonable expectation of occurrence. Potential capacity
describes the capacity of a minor stream under ideal conditions assuming that it is unimpeded by other
movements and has exclusive use of a separate lane.
sn
Once of the conflicting volume, critical gap and follow up time are known for a given movement its potential
capacity can be estimated using gap acceptance models. The concept of potential capacity assumes that all
available gaps are used by the subject movement i.e. there are no higher priority vehicular or pedestrian
movements and waiting to use some of the gaps it also assumes that each movement operates out of an
exclusive lane. The potential capacity of can be computed using the formula:
e (v cx t cx / 3600 )
c px v cx
(v cx t fx / 3600 )
1 e
Where,
Traffic Engineering and Management /snlkhyaju@gmail.com
40
gm
ai
l.c
om
The movement capacity is found by multiplying the potential capacity by an adjustment factor. The
adjustment factor is the product of the probability that each impeding movement will be blocking a subject
vehicle. That is
Where,
veh/hr
ju
ya
impedance
factor
for
movement i
=
probability
lk
h
Ppi
pedestrian
that
movement
impeding
is
not
sn
blocking the subject flow; also referred to us the pedestrian impedance factor for the movement j
Vehicular Movements
Priority 2 vehicular movements LTs from major street and RTs from Minor Street are not impeded by any
other vehicular flow, as they represent the highest priority movements seeking gaps. They are impeded,
however, by Rank 1 pedestrian movements. Priority 3 vehicular movements are impeded by Priority 2
vehicular movements and Priority l and 2 pedestrian movements seeking to use the same gaps. Priority 4
vehicular movements are impeded by Priority 2 and 3 vehicular movements, and P riority 1 and 2 pedestrian
movements using the same gaps. Following Table lists the impeding flows for each subject movement in a
four leg.
Generally the rule stated the probability that impeding vehicular movement i is not blocking the subject
movement is computed as
Traffic Engineering and Management /snlkhyaju@gmail.com
41
Where,
vi = demand flow for impeding movement i
Cmi=movement capacity for impeding movement i veh/hr
gm
ai
l.c
om
vehicular streams used. A factor accounting for pedestrian blockage is computed by following Eqn. on the
basis of pedestrian volume, the pedestrian walking speed, and the lane width that is:
( )
Where,
The capacities of individual streams (left turn, through and right turn) are calculated separately. If the streams
share a common traffic lane, the capacity of the shared lane is then calculated according to the shared lane
procedure. But movement capacities still represent an assumption that each minor street movement operates
lk
h
Where,
ya
ju
out of an exclusive lane. Where two or three movements share a lane its combined capacity computed as:
= flow rate, movement y sharing lane with other minor street flow
sn
42
3600 v x
(
)(
)
vx
vx
c mx c mx
3600
2
dx
900T (
1) (
1)
5
c
c mx
c mx
450T
mx
Where,
dx = average control delay per vehicle for movement x, s/veh
Cmx = capacity of movement or shared lane x, veh/hr
T = analysis period, h (15min=0.25h)
Vx = demand flow rate, movement or shared lane x, veh/hr
Table 5Level of service criteria for TWSC intersection
Performance Measures
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for individual movements, a delay estimate for each minor street movement and minor street approach can be
achieved.
For AWSC intersections, the average control delay (in seconds per vehicle) is used as the primary measure of
performance. Control delay is the increased time of travel for a vehicle approaching and passing through an
AWSC intersection, compared with a free flow vehicle if it were not required to slow or stop at the
intersection. According to the performance measure of the TWSC intersection, LOS of the minor-street left
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Example 5.1: four vehicles 6, 6.5, 6.75 and 6.9 m long, are distributed over a length of freeway lane 200 m.
long. What is the lane occupancy and density?
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Example 5.2: In example 3.2 compute the average headways, spacing, clearances and gaps when the flow is
maximum.
Example 5.3: For the given three legged intersection of above figure the total volume pedestrian and
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vehicular at each movement is given in the fig itself. Taking the following:
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Example 5.4: In the adjoining figure the amount of volume for the pedestrians, volume vehicles and the width
of the lane in (m) at each movement are given. Taking the following:
All flows contains 8% trucks
The percentage of the grade is 0.00
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Capacity of a transport facility is defined as the maximum number of vehicles, passengers, or the like, per unit
time which can be accommodated under given conditions with a reasonable expectation of occurrence. The
Highway Capacity Manual (2010) defines the capacity as the maximum howdy rate at which persons or
vehicles can be reasonably expected to traverse a point or a uniform segment of a lane or roadway during a
given time period, under prevailing roadway, traffic and control conditions. Several observations can be made
from the above definition. Although capacity is the maximum howdy rate, in many situations the break 15
minute flow rate is expressed as the capacity. The above definition also contains the term reasonably
expected to account for the variation in traffic and driving habit at various location. However, it can be
termed as a probabilistic measure. Further, analytical derivations are possible for getting the maximum flow
rate, seldom it is achieved in the field. However, capacity measures are often empirically derived. Capacity is
usually defined for a point or a uniform segment where operating conditions do not vary.
The capacity measure depends on these operating conditions. The first is the traffic conditions and the factors
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that influence the capacity includes vehicle composition, turning, movements, etc. The second factor is the
roadway conditions and it includes geometrical characteristics such as lane width, shoulder width, horizontal
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alignment, and vertical alignment. The third factor is the control conditions such as the traffic signal timings,
round-about characteristics. It is also to be noted that the above capacity definition holds good for a point or at
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a section of the road having uniform control conditions. Another aspect of the above capacity definition is the
expression that the maximum flow rate which accounts for the worst 15 minutes traffic within the peak hour
traffic. Lastly the term reasonable expectancy indicates that the capacity measure is probabilistic and not an
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analytically derived deterministic value. The capacity measure is probabilistic, for it accounts for the
unexplainable variation in traffic and diverse driving characteristics.
Types of capacity:
An important operation characteristic of any transport facility including the multi-lane highways is the
concept of capacity. Capacity may be defined as the maximum sustainable flow rate at which vehicles or
persons reasonably can be expected to traverse a point or uniform segment of a lane or roadway during a
specified time period under given roadway, geometric, traffic, environmental, and control conditions; usually
expressed as vehicles per hour, passenger cars per hour, or persons per hour.
There are two types of capacity, possible capacity and practical capacity. Possible capacity is defined as the
maximum number of vehicles that can pass a point in one hour under prevailing roadway and traffic
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condition. Practical capacity on the other hand is the maximum number that can pass the point without
unreasonable delay restriction to the average drivers freedom to pass other vehicles.
Basic Capacity or theoretical capacity or capacity under ideal conditions: Basic Capacity maximum
number of passenger cars that can pass a given point on a lane in one hour under the most nearly ideal
roadway and traffic conditions which can possibly be attained.
traffic congestion
possible capacity
possible capacity
zero.
basic capacity.
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Design features, governed by the capacity are highway type, number of lanes required, width of lane,
intersection geometry etc.
To study adequacy or deficiency of highway network present traffic volume is compared with the
capacity of the existing facility.
Improvements and changes in geometric features, junctions, traffic control devices traffic
management measures can be planned effectively if capacity of facility is known.
1000 V
S
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V = speed, km/h
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The value of S, the headway distance is known from the actual observations or can be calculated from
considerations of perception time braking distance and length of vehicle.
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S L
tV 1000 V 1000 2 1
V2
[
]
L 0.278Vt
;
3600
3600 2 gf
254 f
3600
vehicle per hour
ht
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Peak value of the maximum theoretical capacity is reached at an optimum speed. As speed is increased
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further, the maximum capacity of the lane starts decreasing due to increase in headway
Many of the procedures in this manual provide a formula or simple tabular or graphic presentations for a set of
specified standard conditions, which must be adjusted to account for prevailing conditions that do not match.
The standard conditions so defined are termed base conditions.
Base conditions assume good weather, good pavement conditions, and users familiar with the facility, and no
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Clearance of 1.8 m between the edge of the travel lanes and the nearest obstructions or objects at the
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Level terrain.
Level grade,
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No pedestrians.
In most capacity analyses, prevailing conditions differ from the base conditions. And Computations of
capacity, service flow rate, and level of service must include adjustments. Prevailing conditions are generally
categorized as roadway, traffic, or control.
ROADWAY CONDITIONS
Roadway conditions include geometric and other elements. Iii some cases, these influence the capacity of a
road: in others, they can affect a performance measure such as speed. but not the capacity or maximum flow
rate of the facility. Roadway factors include the following:
Number of lanes.
Lane widths.
Design speed,
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The horizontal and vertical alignment of a highway depend on the design speed and the topography of the land
on which it is constructed.
In general the severity of the terrain reduces capacity and service flow rates. This is significant for two-lane
rural highways, where the severity of terrain not only can affect the operating capabilities of individual
TRAFFIC CONDITIONS
vehicles in the traffic stream, bitt also can restrict opportunities for passing slowmoving vehicles.
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Traffic conditions that influence capacities and service levels include vehicle type and lane or directional
Vehicle Type
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distribution.
The entry of heavy vehiclesthat is vehicles other than passenger cars (a category that includes small trucks
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and vans) into the traffic stream affects the number of vehicles that can be served. Heavy vehicles are
vehicles that have more than four tires touching the pavement. Trucks, buses, and recreational vehicles (RVs)
are the three groups of heavy vehicles addressed by the methods. Heavy vehicles adversely affect traffic in
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two ways:
They are larger than passenger cars and occupy more roadway space: and
They have poorer operating capabilities than passenger cars, particularly with respect to
acceleration, deceleration, and the ability to maintain speed on upgrades.
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peak direction. Typically, morning peak traffic occurs in one direction and evening peak traffic occurs in the
opposite direction. Lane distribution also is a factor on multilane facilities. Typically, the shoulder lane carries
less traffic than other lanes.
CONTROL CONDITIONS such as the traffic signal timings, round-about characteristics.
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LOS:
Speed and travel time, including the operating speed and overall travel time;
Traffic interruption or restrictions, with due consideration to the number of stops per mile;
Driving comfort and convenience reflecting the roadway and traffic conditions;
Freedom to maneuver to maintain the desired operating speed;
Economy, with due consideration operating cost
of vehicle.
Six level of LOS: A, B, C, D, E, and F
&F
: forced flow
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Level of Service B: Reasonably free flow; generally free flow speed; ability to maneuver within the traffic
stream slightly restricted; average spacing 330 ft.
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Level of Service C: Provides flow with speeds still at or near free flow speed; freedom to maneuver within
the traffic stream noticeably restricted and lane changes require more care by driver; average spacing 220 ft.
behind any significant
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Level of Service D: Speed begins to decline slightly with increasing flow; density begins to increasing
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somewhat quickly; freedom to maneuver is more limited. Average spacing 165 ft.
Level of Service E: Describes operation at capacity at its highest density values; operations are volatile and
virtually no useable gaps exist in the traffic stream; maneuverability is extremely limited; average spacing is
110 ft. Level of physical and psychological comfort afforded the driver is poor.
Level of Service F: forced flow at low speeds; describes breakdown in vehicular flow at points of recurring
congestion such as merge, weave or diverging locations.
Passenger Car Unit (PCU):
The basic consideration behind using the concept of PCU is that different types of vehicle offer different
degree of interference to other traffic and it is necessary to bring all types to a common unit.
49
6.3 Computation of capacity and level of service f or two lane highways, multilane highways and
freeways .
Multilane Highways
Increasing traffic flow has forced engineers to increase the number of lanes of highways in order to provide
good maneuvering facilities to the users. The main objectives is to present the basics of multilane highway, its
operational characteristics, capacity and level of service (LOS) concepts. An important parameter in the
capacity and LOS analysis is the free flow speed.
A highway is a public road especially a major road connecting two or more destinations. A highway with at
least two lanes for the exclusive use of traffic in each direction, with no control or partial control of access,
but that may have periodic interruptions to flow at signalized intersections not closer than 3.0 km is called as
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multilane highway. Multilane highways exist in a number of settings, from typical suburban communities
leading to central cities or along high volume rural corridors that connect two cities or important activities
generating a considerable number of daily trips.
Highway Classification
Although there are various ways of classification of highways; the most common one is based on the number
of lanes. Thus highways may be classified as:
Two lane highways.
Three lane highway, and
Four or more lane highway
The procedure for computing practical capacity for the uninterrupted flow condition is as follows:
Select an operating speed which is acceptable for the class of highways the terrain and the driver.
Determine the appropriate capacity for ideal conditions from table shown below.
Determine the reduction factor for conditions which reduce capacity (such as width of road,
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The total lateral clearance is 3.6 m, with minimum of 1.8 m on either sides of in the direction of
travel. The clearance distance is measured from the edge of the outer lane and is inclusive of the
shoulder. If lateral clearance is more than 1.8 m, then it is considered as equal to 1.8 m.
Divided highway.
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(HCM, 2000)
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(HCM, 2000)
Figure 30Speed-flow curves with LOS criteria for multilane highways (HCM,
2000)
A free-flow
speed of 90 km/h or more.
When field data are not available, the free-flow speed can be estimated indirectly as follows:
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Where,
FFS is the estimated FFS (km/h),
BFFS= base FFS (km/h),
= adjustment for lane width, from Table (km/h),
= adjustment for lateral clearance, from Table (km/h),
= adjustment for median type, from Table (km/h), and
= adjustment for access points, from Table (km/h).
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HCM, 2000)
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Table 11 Level of Service criteria for a typical free flow speed of 100 km/hr. (Source: HCM,
Two adjustments must be made to hourly volume counts or estimates to arrive at the equivalent passenger-car
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flow rate used in LOS analyses. These adjustments are the PHF and the heavy-vehicle adjustment factor. The
number of lanes also is used so that the flow rate can be expressed on a per-lane basis. These adjustments are
applied in the following manner using the equation below.
Where,
= 15-min passenger-car equivalent flow rate (pc/h/ln),
= the hourly volume (veh/h),
= the peak-hour factor,
N
= number of lanes,
= heavy-vehicle adjustment factor, and
= driver population factor.
Heavy-vehicle adjustment factor:
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Besides that, the presence of heavy vehicles in the traffic stream decreases the FFS because base conditions
allow a traffic stream of passenger cars only. Therefore, traffic volumes must be adjusted to reflect an
equivalent flow rate expressed in passenger cars per hour per lane (pc/h/ln). This is accomplished by applying
. Once values for ET and ER have been determined, the adjustment factors for
Where,
= adjustment factor for heavy vehicles.
ET and ER
= equivalents for trucks and buses and for recreational vehicles (RVs), respectively,
PT and
= proportion of trucks and buses, and RVs, respectively, in the traffic stream (expressed as a
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al fraction),
reflects the effect weekend recreational and perhaps even midday drivers have on the
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facility. The values for f range from 0.85 to 1.00. Typically, the analyst should select 1.00, which reflects
weekday commuter traffic (i.e., users familiar with the highway) unless there is sufficient evidence that a
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lesser value, reflecting more recreational or weekend traffic characteristics, should be applied. When greater
accuracy is needed comparative field studies of weekday and weekend traffic flow and speeds are
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recommended.
Define and segment the highway as appropriate. The following conditions help define the
segmenting of the highway,
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On the basis of the measured or estimated free-flow speed on a highway segment, an appropriate speedflow curve of the same as the typical curves is drawn.
3. Locate the point on the horizontal axis corresponding to the appropriate flow rate (vp) in pc/hr/ln and
draw a vertical line.
4. Read up the FFS curve identified in step 2 and determine the average travel speed at the point of
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intersection.
5. Determine the level of service on the basis of density region in which this point is located.
Density of flow can be computed as
Where,
D is the density (pc/km/ln),
is the flow rate (pc/h/ln), and S is the average passenger-car travel speed (km/h).
The level of service can also be determined by comparing the computed density with the density ranges shown
in table given by HCM. To use the procedures for a design, a forecast of future traffic volumes has to be made
and the general geometric and traffic control conditions, such as speed limits, must be estimated. With these
data and a threshold level of service, an estimate of the number of lanes required for each direction of travel
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can be determined.
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The capacity of a two-lane highway is 1,700 1jc/h for each direction of travel. The capacity is nearly
independent of the directional distribution of traffic on the facility, except that for extended lengths of twolane highway, the capacity will not exceed 3,200 pc/h for both directions of travel combined. For short lengths
of two-lane highway such as tunnels or bridges a capacity of 3,200 to 3,400 pc/li for both directions of travel
combined may be attained but cannot be expected for an extended length.
Level of Service
On Class I highways, efficient mobility s paramount, and LOS is defined in terms of both percent time-spentfollowing and average travel speed. On Class II highways, mobility is less critical, and LOS is defined only in
terms of percent time spent-following, without consideration of average travel speed. Drivers will tolerate
higher levels of percent time spent-following on a Class II facility than on a Class I facility, because Class II
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Two-Way Segments
The two-way segment methodology estimates measures of traffic operation along a section of highway, based
on terrain, geometric design, and traffic conditions. Terrain is classified as level or rolling. Mountainous
terrain is addressed in the operational analysis of specific upgrades and downgrades. The methodology
typically is applied to highway sections of at least 3 km. Traffic data needed to apply the two-way segment
methodology include the two-way hourly volume, a peak-hour factor (PHF), and the directional distribution of
traffic flow. The PHF may be computed from field data, or appropriate default values may be selected. Traffic
data also include the proportion of trucks and recreational vehicles (RVs) in the traffic stream. The operational
analysis of extended two-way segments for a two-lane highway involves several steps, described in the
following sections.
Estimating FFS
The FFS can be estimated indirectly if field data are not available. This is a greater challenge on two-lane
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highways than on other types of uninterrupted-flow facilities because the FFS of a two-lane highway can
range from 70 to 110 km/h. To estimate FFS, the analyst must characterize the operating conditions of the
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facility in terms of a base free-flow speed (BFFS) that reflects the character of traffic and the alignment of the
facility. Because of the broad range of speed conditions on two-lane highways and the importance of local and
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regional factors that influence driver-desired speeds, no guidance on estimating the BFFS is provided.
Estimates of BFFS can be developed based on speed data and local knowledge of operating conditions on
similar facilities. The design speed and posted speed limit of the facility may be considered in determining the
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BFFS; however, the design speeds and speed limits for many facilities are not based on current operating
conditions. Once BFFS is estimated, adjustments can be made for the influence of lane width, shoulder width,
and access-point density. The FFS is estimated using the following equation
Where
=
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Three adjustments must be made to hourly demand volumes, whether based on traffic counts or estimates, to
arrive at the equivalent passenger-car flow rate used in LOS analysis. These adjustments are the PHF, the
grade adjustment factor, and the heavy vehicle adjustment factor. These adjustments are applied according to
equation:
Where
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Table 18 Grade Adjustment factor (fg) to determine speeds on two-way and directional segments
Table 19Grade Adjustment factor (fg) to determine the percent time-spent-following on two-way and directional
segments
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Once values for ET and ER have been determined, the adjustment factor for heavy vehicles is computed using
equation
(
Where,
ET and ER
PT and
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Table 20 Passenger-car equivalents for trucks and RVs to determine speeds on two-way and directional segments
Table 21 Passenger-car equivalents for trucks and RVs to determine time-spent-following on two-way and directional segments
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The average travel speed is estimated from the FFS, the demand flow rate, and an adjustment factor for the
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Where
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percentage of no-passing zones. Average travel speed is then estimated using equation
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ATS = average travel speed for both directions of travel combined (km/h.
= adjustment for percentage of no-passing zones and
= passenger-car equivalent flow rate for peak 15-min period (pc/h).
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Table 22 Adjustment factor (fnp) for effect of no-passing zones on average travel speed on two-way segments
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traffic, and the percentage of no-passing zones. Percent time-spent-following is then estimated using equation.
Where
Determining LOS
The first step in determining LOS is to compare the passenger-car equivalent flow rate (Vp)) to the two-way
capacity of 3,200 pc/h. If vp is greater than the capacity, then the roadway is oversaturated and the LOS is F.
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Similarly, if the demand flow rate in either direction of travelas determined from the two-way flow rate and
the directional split is greater than 1 ,700 pc/h, then the roadway is oversaturated and the LOS is F. In LOS F,
percent timespentfollowing is nearly 100 percent and speeds are highly variable and difficult to estimate.
When a segment of a Class I facility has a demand less than its capacity, the LOS is determined by locating a
point on figure 22 that corresponds to the estimated percent time-spent-following and average travel speed. If
a segment of a Class II facility has a demand less than its capacity, the LOS is determined by comparing the
percent time spentfollowing with the criteria in table 6. The analysis should include the LOS and the
estimated values of percent timespentfollowing and average travel speed. Although average travel speed
is not considered in the LOS determination for a Class II highway, the estimate may be useful in evaluating
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the quality of service of twolane highway facilities, highway networks, or systems including the segment.
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Table 23 Adjustment factor (fnp) for combined effect of directional distribution of traffic and percentage of no-passing zones on percent
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independent analysis of both directions constitutes the analysis of a two direction freeway facility.
The base conditions under which the full capacity of a basic freeway segment is achieved are good weather,
good visibility, and 110 incidents or accidents. For the analysis procedures in this chapter, these base
conditions are assumed to exist. If any of these conditions fails to exist, the speed, LOS, and capacity of the
freeway segment all tend to be reduced.
The specific speed-flow-density relationship of a basic freeway segment depends on prevailing traffic and
roadway conditions. A set of base conditions for basic freeway segments has been established. These
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Minimum right-shoulder lateral clearance between the edge of the travel lane and the nearest obstacle
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Five or more lanes for one direction (in urban areas only)
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These base conditions represent a high operating level, with a free-flow speed (FFS) of 110 km/h or greater.
LOS
A basic freeway segment can be characterized by three performance measures: density in terms of passenger
cars per kilometer per lane, speed in terms of mean passenger-car speed, and volume-to-capacity (v/c) ratio.
Each of these measures is an indication of how well traffic flow is being accommodated by the freeway.
The measure used to provide an estimate of level of service is density. The three measures of speed, density,
and flow or volume are interrelated. If values for two of these measures are known, the third can be computed.
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Table 25 required input data and default value for basic freeway segment
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Table 26 Example service volumes for basic freeway segment (see footnote for assumed values)
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Dete
rmining FFS
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FFS is the mean speed of passenger cars measured during low to moderate flows (up to 1300 pc/h/in). For a
specific segment of freeway, speeds are virtually constant in this range of flow rate. Two methods can be used
to determine the FFS of a basic freeway segment: field measurement and estimation with guidelines provided
the field-measurement procedure is provided for users who prefer to gather these data directly. However, field
measurements are not required for application of the method. If field-measured data are used no adjustments
are made to the free-flow speed. The speed study should be conducted at a location that is representative of
the segment when flows and densities are low (flow rates may be up to 1,300 pc/h/ln).
If field measurement of FFS is not possible. FFS can be estimated indirectly on the basis of the physical
characteristics of the freeway segment being studied. The physical characteristics include lane width, number
of lanes, right-shoulder lateral clearance, and interchange density. Following is used to estimate the free-flow
Where,
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The hourly flow rate must reflect the influence of heavy vehicles, the temporal variation of traffic flow over
an hour, and the characteristics of the driver population. These effects are reflected by adjusting hourly
volumes or estimates, typically reported in vehicles per hour (veh/h), to arrive at an equivalent passenger-car
flow rate in passenger cars per hour (pc/h). The equivalent passenger-car flow rate is calculated using the
heavy-vehicle and peak-hour adjustment factors and is reported on a per lane basis (pc/h/in). Following is
used to calculate the equivalent passenger-car flow rate.
Where
= passenger-car equivalent flow rate for peak 15-min period (pc/h),
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reflects the effect weekend recreational and perhaps even midday drivers have on the
facility. The values for f range from 0.85 to 1.00. Typically, the analyst should select 1.00, which reflects
weekday commuter traffic (i.e., users familiar with the highway) unless there is sufficient evidence that a
lesser value, reflecting more recreational or weekend traffic characteristics, should be applied. When greater
accuracy is needed comparative field studies of weekday and weekend traffic flow and speeds are
recommended.
Where,
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ET and ER
PT and
The effect of heavy vehicles on traffic flow depends on grade conditions as well as traffic composition.
Passenger-car equivalents can be selected for one of three conditions: extended freeway segments, upgrades,
and down2rades
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The first step in determining LOS of a basic freeway segment is to define and segment the freeway facility as
appropriate. Second, on the basis of estimated or field measured FFS, an appropriate speed-flow curve of the
same shape as the typical curves Figure 34 is constructed. On the basis of the flow rate,
speed-flow curve, an average passenger-car speed is read on the y-axis of figure 34. The next step is to
calculate density using following equation
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Where,
D is the density (pc/km/ln),
is the flow rate (pc/h/ln), and S is the average passenger-car travel speed (km/h).
Examples:
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Example 6.1: A segment of undivided four-lane highway on level terrain has field-measured FFS 74.0-km/h,
lane width 3.4-m, peak-hour volume 1,900-veh/h, 13 percent trucks and buses, 2 percent RVs, and 0.90 PHF.
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What is the peak-hour LOS, speed, and density for the level terrain portion of the highway?
Example 6.2: A segment of an east-west five-lane highway with two travel lanes in each direction separated
by a two-way left-turn lane (TWLTL) on a level terrain has- 83.0-km/h 85th-percentile speed ,3.6-m lane
width, 1,500-veh/h peak-hour volume, 6 % trucks and buses, 8 access points/km (WB), 6 access points/km
(EB), 0.90 PHF, 3.6-m and greater lateral clearance for westbound and eastbound. What is the LOS of the
highway on level terrain during the peak hour?
Example 6.3: A Class I two-lane highway has a base free-flow speed of 100 km/h. Lane width is 3.6 m and
shoulder width is 1.2 m. There are six access points per kilometer. The roadway is located in rolling terrain
with 40 percent no-passing zones. The two-way traffic volume is 800 veh/h, with a PHF of 0.90. The
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directional split is 60/40. Traffic includes 5 percent trucks and 10 percent recreational vehicles. Determine the
level of service.
Example 6.4: A Class I two-lane highway has a base free-flow speed of 100 km/h. Lane width is 3.4 m and
shoulder width is 1.2 m. There are 12 access points per kilometer. The roadway is located in rolling terrain
with 50 percent no-passing zones. The two-way traffic volume is 1600 veh/h, with a PHF of 0.90. The
directional split is 50/50. Traffic includes 14 percent trucks and 4 percent recreational vehicles. Determine the
level of service.
Example 6.5: The Highway A Class Il two-lane highway segment on a scenic and recreational route. What is
the two-way segment LOS?
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The Facts:
7 percent RV5,
0.85 PHF,
Rolling terrain,
6 access points/km.
Example 6.6: The Freeway Existing four-lane freeway, rural area, very restricted geometry, rolling terrain,
110-km/h speed limit. What is the LOS during the peak hour?
The Facts
5 percent trucks,
0.92 PHF,
Commuter traffic,
Rolling terrain.
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Example 6.7: New suburban freeway is being designed. How many lanes are needed to provide LOS D
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3 percent RVs,
0.85 PHF,
15 percent truck
Level terrain.
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Accidents:
Parking space inventory: Sketch plan is prepared; number and type of parking space are counted and recorded.
Cordon count
Purpose of parking studies:
To estimate the desires and demands of the public for parking facility
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Method of Parking
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On street parking
On street parking
This will be usually controlled by government agencies itself. Common types of on-street parking are
as listed below.
This classification is based on the angle in which the vehicles are parked with respect to the road
alignment.
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Parallel parking:
Angle parking
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30 parking:
45 parking:
60 parking
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Surface parking
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TYPES
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Parking
accumulation:
number of vehicles
parked in an area at a
specific
moment.
accumulation
for
PARKING
The
curve
The
of
total
parking
Average Accumulation
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6
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Traffic Engineering and Management
Time of day
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Parking volume: The number of vehicles parking in a particular area over a given period of time. It is usually
measured in vehicles per day.
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Parking load: The area under the parking accumulation curve during a specific period. For example the
hatched area (in fig.) represents the parking load in vehicle-hour for a period of 3 hours from 6am to 9 am.
Parking duration: The length of time spent in a parking space.
Parking index: percentage of parking bays actually occupied by parked vehicles as compared to the
theoretical numbers available.
Parking turn- over: Rate of the usage of the available parking space. Thus if there were 10 parking spaces
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used by 100 vehicles in a period of, say 12 hours, then the parking turnover would be
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The first step in a parking survey is to collect data on the amount, type and location of space actually or
potentially available for parking in an area. The area to be surveyed should first be delineated. The CBD is
usually the area where parking survey is needed. Items to be recorded are:
Total length of curb, and lengths governed by no waiting and limited waiting restrictions.
Street width
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Location of bus stops, Bus bays, pedestrian crossings, loading zones, taxi stands and other features
that are likely to affect the use of the street for parking.
Traffic management measures in force, such as prohibited turns, one way streets etc.
Private streets
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A typical sketch plan for a street with the above information recorded given in fig.
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Purpose: the purpose of parking usage survey is to obtain data on the extent of usage of parking spaces. The
survey will include counts of parked vehicles at regular intervals through a period, covering both the morning
and evening peak period, and the parking accumulation and turn over.
The survey can be for on-street and off-street parking. The general methodology for both the survey is similar.
This method consists of making periodic observations of
parked vehicle on each patrol.
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A speed of 900m in half an hour is useful guide, which should be altered to suit the density of
parking.
Frequency of patrol:
A frequency of half an hour is considered to be satisfactory for on-street parking, while a frequency of one
hour could be used for off-street parking. A frequency of half an hour is likely to miss short term parkers (up
to 29 minutes duration) and this makes it necessary to have more frequent patrols in selected areas where short
term parking may be significant e.g. near banks, post offices etc.
Method of observation:
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Usually patrols are by foot, but where vehicles are not parked, too close to one another a moving car may also
be used. As an aid a tape recorder may be used to record the registration numbers of vehicles.
Timing of survey:
The survey should be done on a typical week day, free from factors likely to result in non-representative
characteristics. The period of the survey is usually 10 to 12 hours, so as to cover the arrival and departure of
commuters and shoppers.
Equipment and form of recording
Each observer will be equipped with a watch, a pencil, a supply of forms, a map of the street and a board. A
specimen form is shown in fig.
Pa trol
On s treet
Street
Ki ng Street
Secti on
AB
Si de
Ri ght
Da te
Fri da y, 02/02/2011
AM
PM
8:00
9:00
9:30
10:00
10:30
11:00
11:30
12:00
12:30
1:00
1:30
421
421
336
814
836
129
129
129
129
451
451
545
356
353
402
336
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
817
27
350
421
402
921
921
921
921
921
921
921
98
114
333
921
421
56
56
56
56
56
56
113
27
350
421
455
455
455
455
455
455
455
545
714
114
333
333
312
312
312
312
312
312
120
98
27
356
356
356
356
356
356
444
444
817
113
97
114
114
99
99
99
99
99
99
656
714
27
97
97
97
97
97
97
221
545
98
97
221
221
221
221
221
221
76
212
113
221
65
76
76
76
76
76
714
149
450
714
714
714
714
714
714
714
98
120
656
98
95
98
98
98
98
98
113
88
545
113
113
113
113
113
113
113
77
817
212
450
450
450
450
450
79
77
426
44
149
428
426
426
426
426
426
426
21
150
656
656
345
345
345
21
21
118
120
118
118
118
118
118
118
118
244
817
212
212
212
212
212
212
244
150
44
149
150
150
150
150
150
150
817
929
150
149
136
136
136
817
817
817
817
817
817
817
929
929
929
929
929
929
929
444
444
444
444
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421
8:30
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Pa rki ng Survey
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The questionnaire type parking usage survey involves interviews with the drivers who use the parking
facilities.
The survey can either be made by making enquiries among the car owners living in the vicinity of the survey
area, or by making enquiries among the drivers of cars seen to park in the area at the time of survey.
In this interview of actual parkers, the information collected should include:
Address of origin of the trip
Trip purpose
Type of vehicle
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Normally one interviewer is required to cover about fifteen spaces. All the parkers in 8 or 10 hours period are
interviewed. The duration of the survey may be a single day or may be spread over a number of days.
Cordon count
In this method, the area to be surveyed is demarcated by a cordon line which is crossed by the roads
emanating from the area. Counting stations are established at these crossing points and a count is made of all
the vehicles entering and leaving the area. The difference between the top traffic gives the number of vehicles
parked or in motion in the area.
Examples:
Example 7.1: From an in-out survey conducted for a parking area consisting of 40 bays, the initial count was
found to be 25. Table gives the result of the survey. The number of vehicles coming in and out of the parking
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lot for a time interval of 5 minutes is as shown in the table 1. Find the accumulation, total parking load,
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Time
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
In-out survey
In
Out
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reducing accidents.
Traffic safety is most important issue in the present context of motorization. More than 1.3 million people are
killed in the world only by the road accidents each year and 50 million people injured and disabled as the
result. This is number one cause of death for young people worldwide. In Nepal there were 1734 deaths due to
road accident 2009/2010 and 4230 were seriously injured.
Definitions:
Road accident: An accident (collision, overturning or slipping) which occurred or originated on a road open
to public traffic resulting in either injury or loss of life, or damage to property, in which at least one moving
vehicle was involved.
Person killed: (given in the Convention of Road Traffic (Vienna, 1968) Any person who was killed outright
or who died within 30 days as a result of the accident.
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due to economic conditions, education and literacy, climate, types of vehicles, traffic conditions, population
and vehicle density, and others. Most countries maintain records and statistics about road safety and accidents.
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country
Road
death,
per
100,000 population
Total population,
Total
number
million
Italy
9.7
57.9
5 625
Japan
6.7
127.7
8 492
Korea
13.6
48.1
6 563
Luxembourg
11.1
0.5
50
Netherlands
4.9
16.3
804
New Zealand
10.7
4.1
436
Norway
5.7
4.6
259
Poland
15.0
38.2
5 712
Portugal
12.3
10.5
1 294
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a) The
deaths
UK
5.6
59.8
3 368
number of road
U SA
14.5
293.7
42 636
for
every
100,000
population is a
measure
of
the
public
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health risk associated with road trauma. (Data for 2004 source: Australian transport safety Bureau)
b) The number of deaths for every 10,000 registered vehicles is a means of comparing road death levels
among nations by taking into account their different levels of motorization.
country
Total registered
Registered vehicle
vehicles, million
in road death
1.8
26.4
4741
5.1
480
1.0
5.0
510
1.0
33.0
3368
Spain
0.9
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Sweden
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Switzerland
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United Kingdom
c) The number of road deaths for every 100 million vehicle kilometers traveled is a direct measure of
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Finland
0.7
509
375
France
1.0
5600
5530
Germany
0.8
6971
5842
To study the causes of accidents and to suggest corrective treatment at potential locations.
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8.2Causes of accidents - The Road, The vehicle, the road user and the Environment
Smeed and Jeffcoate have presented a relationship between the number of motor vehicles (N) per population
(P) and the number of deaths (D) per vehicle population (N).
2 / 3
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D
N
0.0003
N
P
A research on accident has established the major causes and their contribution to the traffic accident as in the
table below:
Percentage of accidents
65
Human + Road
25
Human + Vehicle
1
100
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Total
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a) Collection of accident data: Accident data are collected in a standard form. Details to be collected are:
i. General: Date, time, persons involved in the accident, classification of accident (fatal, serious,
minor etc.)
iii. Details of vehicles involved: Registration number, description of vehicle, loading details, vehicles
details, vehicular defects etc.
iv. Nature of accident: Condition of vehicles, details of collisions, pedestrians or objects involved
damages etc.
v. Road and traffic conditions: Details of road geometry, surface characteristics, traffic condition
(density etc.)
vi. Primary causes of accident: Various possible cause and primary causes.
b) Accident statistics
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Accident statistics generally address and describe one of three principal informational elements:
Accident occurrence: Accident occurrence relates to the numbers and types of accidents that
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occur, which are often described in terms of rates based on population or vehicle-miles
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traveled.
Accident involvements: Accident involvement concerns the numbers and types of vehicles
and drivers involved in accidents with population-based rates a very popular method of
expression.
Accident severity: Accident severity is generally dealt with by proxy; the number of fatalities
and fatality rates are often used as a measure of the seriousness of accidents.
Accident Rates
Simple statistics citing total numbers of accidents, involvements, injuries, and/or deaths can be quite
misleading, as they ignore the base from which they arise. An increase in the number of highway fatalities in a
specific jurisdiction from one year to next must be matched against population and vehicle-usage patterns to
make any sense. For this reason, many accident statistics are presented in the form of rates.
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Accident rates generally fall into one of two broad categories: population-based rates, and exposure-based
rates.
Population-based accident rates
Some common bases for population-based rates include:
Area population
Highway mileage
These values are relatively static (they do not change radically over short periods of time) and do not depend
upon vehicle usage or the total amount of travel. They are useful in quantifying overall risk to individuals on a
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comparative basis. Number of registered vehicles and licensed drivers may also partially reflect usage.
Population-based rates are stated according to;
Exposure based accident rates attempt to measure the amount of travel as a substitute for the individuals
exposure to potential accident situations. The two most common bases for exposure-based rates are:
Fatalities, accidents or involvements per 1,000,000 entering vehicles (for intersections only)
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Severity Index:
A widely used statistic for the description of relative accident severity is the severity index (SI), defined as the
number of fatalities per accident .For the data of the previous example, there were 75 fatalities in a total of
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When an accident problem has been identified, and an improvement implemented, the engineer must
evaluate whether or not the remediation has been effective in reducing the number of accidents
and/or fatalities.
A before and after analysis must be conducted. The length of time considered before and after the
improvement must be long enough to observe changes in accident occurrence. For most locations,
periods ranging from three months to one year are used. The length of the before period and the
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The normal approximation test is often used to make this determination. The statistics Z is computed as:
)
)
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Test statistic representing the reduction in accident on the standard normal distribution
The normal distribution table is entered with this value to find the probability of Z being equal to or less than
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One of the most important tasks in traffic safety is the study and analysis of site-specific accident information
to identify contributing causes and develop site remediation measures that will lead to improved safety.
Once location has been statistically identified as high-accident location, detailed information is required in
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Collision diagram
Condition diagram
Collision diagram:
A collision diagram is a schematic representation of all accidents occurring at a given location over a specified
period. Depending upon the accident frequency, the specific period usually ranges from one to three years.
Each collision is represented by a set of arrows, one for each vehicle involved, which schematically represents
the type of accident and directions of all vehicles. Arrows are generally labeled with codes indicating vehicle
types, date and time of accident, and weather conditions.
Condition diagram
A condition diagram describes all physical and
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@
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Engineering
Enforcement
Education
3-Es
Engineering measures
Road design: The geometric design features of the road such as sight distances, width of pavement, horizontal
and vertical alignment and intersection design elements are checked and corrected if necessary. The pavement
standards.
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surface characteristics are checked and suitable maintenance steps taken to bring them upto the design
Preventive maintenance of vehicle: The braking system, steering and lighting arrangements on vehicle may be
checked.
Before and after studies: After making the necessary improvement in design and enforcing regulation, it is
again collect and maintain the record of accidents before and after the introduction of preventive measures
to study their efficiency.
Road lighting: Lighting is particularly desirable at intersections, bridge sites and at places where there are
restrictions to traffic movements.
Enforcement measures
Speed control: Checks on spot speed of all fast moving vehicles should be done at selected locations and
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timings and legal actions on those who violate the speed limits should be taken
Traffic control devices: Signals may be re-designed or signal system be introduce if necessary. Proper traffic
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control device like signs, markings or channelizing island may be installed if necessary.
Training and supervision: the transport authorities should be strict in testing and issuing license to driver.
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Medical check: The drivers should be tested for vision and reaction time at prescribed intervals.
Special precautions for commercial vehicles: having attendant to help and give proper direction to drivers of
heavy vehicles.
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Observance of law and regulations: Traffic authorities should send study groups of trained personal, to
different locations to check whether the traffic regulations are being followed by the road users and also to
enforce the essential regulations.
Educational measures
Education of road users: The passengers and pedestrians should be taught the rules of the road, correct manner
of crossing etc.
Safety drive: Imposing traffic safety week when the road users are properly directed by the help of traffic
police and transport staff is a common means of training the public these days.
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Figure 44 Traffic Police Accident report
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Figure 45Traffic Police Accident report
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Example 8.1: The following are sample gross accident for a relatively small urban jurisdiction in the year
2003: Compute accident and fatality rates
Fatalities:
75
Fatal accidents:
60
Injury accidents:
300
PDO:
2000
Total involvements:
4100
Vehicle-miles travelled:
1,500,000,000
Registered vehicles:
100,000
Licensed drivers:
150,000
Area population:
300,000
Example 8.2
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A signal is installed at a high-accident location to reduce the number of right-angle accidents that are
occurring. In the 6 months period prior to installing the signal, 10 such accidents occurred. In the 6 months
period following the installation of the signal, 6 such accidents occurred. Was this reduction statically
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significant?
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IRC recommended:
Warranty I: Minimum vehicular volume
Min.
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Min
But when 85 th percentile speed = 60kmph or when it is within built up areas, only 70% of the above warranty
is needed.
Interruption of continuous traffic on Major Street with 1000-1200veh/hr and there is delay or hazard
to traffic on minor street with a traffic of 100-150 veh/hr.
Warranty III: Minimum pedestrian volume
If on the major street, 600 veh/hr or more enter the intersection (both approaches) OR where there is a
raised median island 1.2m or more in width, 1000veh/hr or more (both direction) enter the
intersection;
In the above intersection if 150 or more pedestrians cross the major street & If 85 th percentile speed exceeds
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If the 5 or more reported accidents involving personal injury or property damage (IRs. 2000 or more);
Adequate trial of less restrictive remedies with satisfactory observance and enforcement have failed to
reduce the accident rate;
The signal installation will not seriously disrupt traffic flow.
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The conflicts arising from movements of traffic in different directions is solved by time sharing of the
principle. The advantages of traffic signal includes an orderly movement of traffic, an increased capacity of
the intersection and requires only simple geometric design. However the disadvantages of the signalized
intersection are it affects larger stopped delays, and the design requires complex considerations. Although the
overall delay may be lesser than a rotary for a high volume, a user is more concerned about the stopped delay.
Definitions and notations
A number of definitions and notations need to be understood in signal design. They are discussed below:
Cycle: A signal cycle is one complete rotation through all of the indications provided.
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Cycle length: Cycle length is the time in seconds that it takes a signal to complete one full cycle of
indications. It indicates the time interval between the starting of green for one approach till the next time the
green starts. It is denoted by C.
Interval: Thus it indicates the change from one stage to another. There are two types of intervals - change
interval and clearance interval. Change interval is also called the yellow time indicates the interval between
the green and red signal indications for an approach. Clearance interval is also called all red is included after
each yellow interval indicating a period during which all signal faces show red and is used for clearing off the
vehicles in the intersection.
Green interval: It is the green indication for a particular movement or set of movements and is denoted by Gi.
This is the actual duration the green light of a traffic signal is turned on.
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Red interval: It is the red indication for a particular movement or set of movements and is denoted by Ri.
This is the actual duration the red light of a traffic signal is turned on.
Phase: A phase is the green interval plus the change and clearance intervals that follow it. Thus, during green
interval, non-conflicting movements are assigned into each phase. It allows a set of movements to flow and
safely halt the flow before the phase of another set of movements start.
Lost time: It indicates the time during which the intersection is not effectively utilized for any movement. For
example, when the signal for an approach turns from red to green, the driver of the vehicle which is in the
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front of the queue, will take some time to perceive the signal (usually called as reaction time) and some time
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There is no precise methodology for the design of phases. This is often guided by the geometry of the
intersection, flow pattern especially the turning movements, the relative magnitudes of flow. Therefore, a trial
and error procedure is often adopted. However, phase design is very important because it affects the further
design steps. Further, it is easier to change the cycle time and green time when flow pattern changes, whe re as
a drastic change in the flow pattern may cause considerable confusion to the drivers. Left turns is ignored. The
first issue is to decide how many phases are required. It is possible to have two, three, four or even more
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number of phases.
Interval design
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There are two intervals, namely the change interval and clearance interval, normally provided in a traffic
signal. The change interval or yellow time is provided after green time for movement. The purpose is to warn
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a driver approaching the intersection during the end of a green time about the coming of a red signal. They
normally have a value of 3 to 6 seconds. The design consideration is that a driver approaching the intersection
with design speed should be able to stop at the stop line of the intersection before the start of red time.
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Institute of transportation engineers (ITE) has recommended a methodology for computing the appropriate
length of change interval which is as follows:
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The clearance interval is provided after yellow interval and as mentioned earlier, it is used to clear off the
vehicles in the intersection. Clearance interval is optional in a signal design. It depends on the geometry of the
intersection. If the intersection is small, then there is no need of clearance interval whereas for very large
intersections, it may be provided.
Cycle time
Cycle time is the time taken by a signal to complete one full cycle of iterations i.e. one complete rotation
through all signal indications. It is denoted by C. The
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Figure 50 illustrates a group of N vehicles at a signalized intersection, waiting for the green signal. As the
signal is initiated, the time interval between two vehicles, referred as headway, crossing the curb line is noted.
The first headway is the time interval between the initiation of the green signal and the instant vehicle
crossing the curb line. The second headway is the time interval between the first and the second vehicle
crossing the curb line. Successive headways are then plotted as in figure 5134:7. The first headway will be
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relatively longer since it includes the reaction time of the driver and the time necessary to accelerate. The
second headway will be comparatively lower because the second driver can overlap his/her reaction time with
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that of the first drivers. After few vehicles, the headway will become constant. This constant headway which
characterizes all headways beginning with the fourth or fifth vehicle, is defined as the saturation headway, and
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is denoted as h. This is the headway that can be achieved by a stable moving platoon of vehicles passing
through a green indication. If every vehicles require h seconds of green time, and if the signal were always
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Where
As noted earlier, the headway will be more than h particularly for the first few vehicles. The difference
between the actual headway and h for the ith
vehicle
for the first few vehicles can be added to get start up lost time, l1 which is given by,
The green time required to clear N vehicles can be found out as,
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Where
T = time required to clear N vehicles through signal
= start-up lost time
h = saturation headway in seconds
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Lane capacity
The ratio of effective green time to the cycle length ( ) is defined as green ratio. We know that saturation
flow rate is the number of vehicles that can be moved in one lane in one hour assuming the signal to be green
always. Then the capacity of a lane can be computed as,
Where
Critical lane
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During any green signal phase, several lanes on one or more approaches are permitted to move. One of these
will have the most intense traffic. Thus it requires more time than any other lane moving at the same time. If
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sufficient time is allocated for this lane, then all other lanes will also be well accommodated. There will be
one and only one critical lane in each signal phase. The volume of this critical lane is called critical lane
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volume.
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Highway capacity manual (HCM) has given an equation for determining the cycle length C is given by,
( )
Where
N is the number of phases,
L is the lost time per phase,
V is the volume
C is the capacity.
( ) = ratio of volume to saturation flow for phase i,
= quality factor called critical V/C ratio
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Green splitting
Green splitting or apportioning of green time is the proportioning of effective green time in each of the signal
phase. The green splitting is given by,
[
Where
This will be cycle time minus the total lost time for all the phases. Therefore,
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is different for different phases, then cycle time can be computed as follows.
Where
is the lost time for phase i, n is the number of phases and C is the lost time in seconds. Actual green
Where
is the
Pedestrian crossing requirements can be taken care by two ways; by suitable phase design or by providing an
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exclusive pedestrian phase. It is possible in some cases to allocate time for the pedestrians without providing
an exclusive phase for them. For example, consider an intersection in which the traffic moves from north to
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south and also from east to west. If we are providing a phase which allows the traffic to flow only in northsouth direction, then the pedestrians can cross in east-west direction and vice-versa. However in some cases, it
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may be necessary to provide an exclusive pedestrian phase. In such cases, the procedure involves computation
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of time duration of allocation of pedestrian phase. Green time for pedestrian crossing Gp can be found out by,
Where,
is the minimum safe time required for the pedestrians to cross, often referred to as the ``pedestrian
green time",
pedestrians which is about 15th percentile speed. The start-up lost time can be assumed as 4.7 seconds and the
walking speed can be assumed to be 1.2 m/s
Performance measures
Performance measures are parameters used to evaluate the effectiveness of the design. There are many
parameters involved to evaluate the effectiveness of the design and most common of these include delay,
queuing, and stops. Delay is a measure that most directly relates the drivers experience. It describes the
amount of time that is consumed while traversing the intersection. The figure 52 shows a plot of distance
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versus time for the progress of one vehicle. The desired path of the vehicle as well as the actual progress of
the vehicle is shown. There are three types of delay as shown in the figure. They are stoppe d delay, approach
delay and control delay.
Stopped time delay includes only the time at which the vehicle is actually stopped waiting at the red signal. It
starts when the vehicle reaches a full stop, and ends when the vehicle begins to accelerate.
Approach delay includes the stopped time as well as the time
lost due to acceleration and deceleration. It is measured as the
time differential between the actual path of the vehicle, and
path had there been green signal. Control delay is measured
as the difference between the time taken for crossing the
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a uniform rate. Plotting a graph with time along the x-axis and
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which is as follows.
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Where
C= cycle length,
= critical flow for that phase,
S = saturation flow.
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*
(
[(
) ( )+
Where,
d = control delay, s/veh
= uniform delay component, s/veh
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k = incremental delay factor for actuated controller settings; 0.50 for all pre-timed controllers
I = upstream filtering/metering adjustment factor; 1.0 for all individual intersection analyses
c = capacity, veh/h
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Level of service (LOS) for signalized intersections is defined in terms of control delay. The average control
delay is estimated for each lane group and aggregated for each approach and for the intersection as a whole.
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Where
= Capacity of lane group I (vph)
= saturation flow rate for lane group i (vphg)
= green ratio for lane group i
C = cycle length (s)
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( )
( )
Where;
= v/c ratio for lane group i (vph)
= saturation flow rate for lane group i (vphg)
= actual flow rate for lane group i (vph)
= effective green time for lane group i (s)
C = cycle length (s)
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A critical v/c ratio less than 1 indicates that all movements in the intersection can be accommodated within the
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Example 9.1
as 0.9.
Figure 55Traffic flow at four legged
intersection
Example 9.2
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An intersection approach at an isolated pre-timed signal with a cycle length of 80 s has a saturation flow rate
of 3,000 veh/h. The length of the green is 24 s. The v/c ratio is 0.90. What is the level of service, if control
delay is measured over a 15 min interval?
9.3 Signal Co-ordination methods, Simultaneous, Alternate, Simple progressi on and Flexible
progression Systems.
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For signals that are closely spaced, it is necessary to coordinate the green time so that vehicles may move
efficiently through the set of signals. In some cases, two signals are so closely spaced that they should be
considered to be one signal. In other cases, the signals are so far apart that they may be considered
independently.
Minimise stops
Minimise delay
Maximise capacity
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The signals less than 800m apart are coordinated as common practise. All but most complex coordination
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Offset: the difference between the green initiation times at two adjacent intersections. Usually expressed as a
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positive number between zero and the cycle length. Sometimes convenient to think of it as a negative number,
usually no more than one half a cycle length.
Ideal offsets: The ideal offset is a value such that the first vehicle of a platoon just arrives at the downstream
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Bandwidth: The amount of green time used by a continuously moving platoon of vehicles through a group of
intersections (time difference between the first and the last vehicle moving through the system without
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stopping)
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Traffic signal progression is the concept of linking traffic signals together along a street so that "platoons" of
vehicles can pass through signalized intersections without getting stopped at a red light. Some factors that
affect traffic signal progression include signal spacing, speed of traffic, cycle length traffic signals run along
the corridor, and roadway congestion.
Forward and reverse progressions
Simple progression is the name given to the progression in which all the signals are set so that a vehicle
released from the first intersection will arrive at the downstream intersections just as the signals at those
intersections initiate green. As the simple progression results in a green wave that advances with the vehicles,
it is often called a forward progression (Figure 56). It may happen that the simple progression is revised two
or more times in a day, so as to conform to the direction of the major flow, or to the flow level. In this case,
the scheme may be referred to as a flexible progression. Under certain circumstances, the internal queues are
Traffic Engineering and Management /snlkhyaju@gmail.com
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sufficiently large that the ideal offset is negative. The downstream signal must turn green before the upstream
signal, to allow sufficient time for the queue to start moving before the arrival of the platoon. The visual
image of such a pattern is of the green marching upstream, toward the drivers in the platoon. This is referred
to as reverse progression.
Simultaneous progressions
All signals show the same indication at the same time.
Increases speeds
Reduces capacity
Best suited to very short (300-500 ft.) or equally spaced very long blocks, and locations where Major Street
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Alternate System
Double Alternate. Every other pair of signals shows the same indication.
Best suited for downtown areas with square blocks and low speeds.
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Progressive Systems
A signal system in which the vehicles receive a green indication as they arrive at the intersection.
Signal progression on one-way streets
Determining ideal offsets
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Assuming no vehicles are queued at the signals, the ideal offsets can be determined if the
platoon speed is known. For the purpose of illustration, a platoon speed of 60 km/h is
assumed. The offsets are determined according to
(
The vertical should be scaled so as to accommodate the dimensions of the arterial, and the
horizontal so as to accommodate at least three to four cycle lengths.
The beginning intersection should be scaled first, usually with main street green initiation at
t=0, followed by periods of green and red.
The main street green of the next downstream signal should be located next, relative to t=0
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and at the proper distance from the first intersection. With this point located, the periods of
green, yellow and red for this signal are filled in.
This procedure is repeated for all other intersections working one at a time.
Following table show the time needed to travel the link with uniform speed of 60 kmph.
speed
Distance
(60kmph)
(m)
in m/s
2100
16.68
1300
16.68
1400
16.68
900
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Link
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Sallaghari - Thimi
Thimi - Gathaghar
Gathaghar - Kaushaltar
Kaushaltar - Jadibuti
time
(sec)
cumulative
126
78
84
54
126
204
288
342
The above table shows that the vehicles passed through green interval of Sallaghari signal at t = 0 sec will
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reach in Thimi after 126 sec that mean green interval should be in for their passing through intersection.
Similarly green signal should be on Gathaghar at t = 204 sec, on Kaushaltar at t = 288 sec and on Jadibuti at t
= 342 sec for the uniform.
One-way street progressive systems can provide a band width of 100% of green regardless of the block
spacing.
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It sometimes happens that there are vehicles stored in block waiting for a green light. These may be stragglers
from the last platoon, vehicles that turned into the block, or vehicles that came out of parking lots or spots.
The ideal offset must be adjusted to allow for these vehicles, so as to avoid unnecessary stops. The ideal offset
where, Q = number of vehicles queued per lane, veh, h= discharge headway of queued vehicle, sec/veh, and
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Loss 1 = loss time associated with vehicles starting from rest at the first downstream signal.
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Figure 63Offsets on 2 way arterials are not independent- Two cycle length
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The pollution caused due to the emissions from vehicles is generally referred to as automobile pollution. The
transportation sector is the major contributor of air pollution. Vehicular emissions are of particular concerns,
since these are ground level sources and hence have the maximum impact on the general population. The
rapid increase in urban population have resulted in unplanned urban development, increase in consumption
patterns and higher demands for transport and energy sources, which all lead to automobile pollution. The
automobile pollution will be higher in congested urban areas. The vehicle obtains its power by burning the
fuel. The automobile pollution is majorly caused due to this combustion, which form the exhaust emissions, as
well as, due to the evaporation of the fuel itself. The chemical reactions occurring during ideal combustion
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Similarly, the typical engine combustion which occurs in vehicles can be represented by the below chemical
equation.
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The fuel loss of vehicles may be due to emissions or refueling. The emissions maybe evaporative or exhaust
emissions. The fuel losses in a vehicle are shown in Fig. 64.
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Exhaust emissions: Exhaust emissions are those which are emitted through the exhaust pipe when the vehicle
is running or is started. Hence, the exhaust emissions maybe of 2 types - start up emissions and running
emissions.
Startup emissions: Emissions when the vehicle is started initially. Based on how long the
vehicle had been turned off after use, they may be cold start and hot start. Cold start refers to
when the vehicle is started suddenly after a long gap of use, whereas, hot start refers to when
the vehicle is started without the vehicle getting enough time to cool off after its previous use.
Running emissions: Emissions during normal running of the vehicle, i.e., when the vehicle is
in a hot stabilized mode.
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Evaporative emissions: These include running losses and hot soak emissions produced from fuel evaporation
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when an engine is still hot at the end of a trip, and diurnal emissions (daily temperature variations).
Exhaust Pollutants
The pollutants which are emitted from the exhaust pipe of the automobiles are known as exhaust pollutants.
They are formed as a result of combustion of the fuel in the engine. These pollutants are harmful to the
atmosphere and living things in particular. The major types of exhaust pollutants are discussed in the
following sections.
The major air pollutant is total suspended particles (TSP) and PM10, due to the following main sources (in
approximate order of importance).
For TSP: resuspension from roads, bricks kilns. Domestic fuel combustion. Diesel vehicles, gasoline vehicles.
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For PM 10 : Diesel vehicles, gasoline vehicles, resuspension, domestic fuel, brick kilns.
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Combustion of petroleum generates Sulfur Dioxide. It is a colorless, pungent and non-flammable gas. It
causes respiratory illness, but occurs only in very low concentrations in exhaust gases. Further oxidation of
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Combustion under high temperature and pressure emits Nitrogen dioxide. It is reddish brown gas. Nitrogen
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oxides contribute to the formation of ground level Ozone and acid rain.
Hydrocarbons and Volatile Organic Compounds (HC and VOC)
Hydrocarbons result from the incomplete combustion of fuels. Their subsequent reaction with the sunlight
causes smog and ground level Ozone. V OCs are a special group of Hydrocarbons. They are divided into 2
types methane and non-methane. Prolonged exposure to some of these compounds (like Benzene, Toluene and
Xylene) may also result in Leukemia.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
It is an indicator of complete combustion of the fuel. Although it does not directly affect our health, it is a
greenhouse gas which causes global warming.
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
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It is a product of the incomplete burning of fuel and is formed when Carbon is partially oxidized. CO is an
odorless, colorless gas, but is toxic in nature. It reaches the blood stream to form Carboxyhemoglobin, which
reduces the flow of Oxygen in blood.
Lead (Pb)
It is a malleable heavy metal. Lead present in the fuel helps in preventing engine knock. Lead causes harm to
the nervous and reproductive systems. It is a neurotoxin which accumulates in the soft tissues and bones.
Particulate Matter (PM)
These are tiny solid or liquid particles suspended in gas (soot or smoke). Particulate Matter in higher
concentrations may lead to heart diseases and lung cancer.
Factors Affecting Emission Rates
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The vehicular emissions are due to a variety of factors. The emissions vary according to the environment, fuel
quality, vehicle, etc. emissions are higher in congested and urban areas. Fuel adulteration and overloading also
cause higher amount of emissions. The emissions from vehicles depend on the following factors:
Travel Related Factors: The number of trips, distance travelled and driving mode are the major travel related
factors affecting emissions. As the number of trips increases, the amounts of emissions also increase.
Emissions increase with the distance travelled by the vehicle. The vehicular emissions also depend on the
driving mode. The driving modes may be idling, cruising, acceleration and deceleration. These modes
complete one driving cycle. Other factors affecting the emission rates are the speed, acceleration and engine
load of the vehicle. Low speeds, congested driving conditions, sharp acceleration, deceleration, etc. result in
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higher emissions. On the other hand, intermediate speeds and low density traffic conditions cause lower
emissions.
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Highway Network Related Factors: These include the geometric design features of the highway such as grade.
The emission rate is very high at steep gradients, as the vehicle needs to put in more effort to maintain its
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speed. The highway network facilities such as signalized intersections, freeway ramps, toll booths, weaving
sections, etc. also influence the vehicular emission rates.
Vehicle related factors include the engine sizes, horsepower and weight of the vehicle. Vehicles with large
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engine sizes emit more pollutants. Since larger sized engines are seen in vehicles with more horsepower and
more weight, these factors also contribute to the emission rates. Another important factor is the age of the
vehicle. Older vehicles have higher emission rates.
Other Factors
Type of engine: Two stroke petrol engines emit more amounts of pollutants than the four stroke diesel
engines.
Urbanization: Congestion is higher in urban areas, and hence emissions are also higher.
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Create the balanced traffic: There should be balance between vehicular traffic and non-vehicular
traffic and pedestrian and road user.
Vehicle emission test and sound level test of vehicle: The vehicle should have been emission test as
well as sound level test. Those vehicle that exceed the critical level of emission and sound should be
banded.
Vehicle registration should be scientific: Vehicle registration with in the municipal should be
scientific based on the area, number of population and road network.
Traffic awareness regarding the degradation on environment due to traffic.
Very old as well as non-conditioned vehicles should be obsoleted. High fuel efficient vehicles
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should be used.
The residue from garage such as used diesel etc should be well disposed.
Mass transit system: Sajha Yatayat vehicles replace about 4-5 micros buses and 10 tyampoo.
Sound absorber unit should be installed among the major city areas.
Development of non-pollution vehicle like trolley bus, electric bus and solar vehicles. The
then trolley bus service had been obsoleted from Nepal but one electromechanical cable car
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REFERENCES
Roess, RP., McShane, WR. and Prassas, ES. (1998), Traffic Engineering, Prentice Hall.
npTEL note on Traffic Engineering and Management, Dr. Tom V. Mathew, IIT Bombay
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