Traffic signal design

CE5601 Traffic Analysis

 Overview
• For conflict resolution
– Time sharing principle
• Advantages
– Orderly movement of traffic
– Increases the capacity
– Simple geometric design
• Disadvantages
– Large stopped delay
– Complex signal design

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 Need for Traffic Signals

• Increase throughput
• Reduce delay
• Improve safety
• Provide progression through network
• Help low volume roads

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 Types of Signals

• Pretimed
• Semi-actuated
• Fully Actuated
• Adaptive

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 Adaptive
• Adaptive Traffic Control Systems (ATCS) use advanced
technology like sensors and algorithms for data analysis
to optimize traffic flow by adjusting signals in real-time.
These are meant to be able to respond to the constant
changes in traffic conditions to keep traffic moving
quickly and efficiently. These work by collecting data
from detectors like loops embedded into the pavement,
cameras, radar, and connected vehicles, putting this
data through their algorithms, and then adjusting traffic
signals in real-time while also using the data to predict
future traffic patterns.

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 Definitions and notations
• Cycle
– A signal cycle is one complete rotation
through all of the indications provided
• Cycle length C
– Cycle length is the time in seconds that it
takes a signal to complete one full cycle of
indications
– time interval between start of a green till next
green for any approach

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 Definitions and notations
• Interval
– indicates change from one stage to another
• Change interval / Yellow / Amber
– interval between the green and red
• All-Red
– after each yellow
– all signals show red
– used for clearing off the vehicles

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 Definitions and notations
• Green interval Gi
– Duration the green light of a traffic signal is
turned on

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

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 Definitions and notations
• Phase
– Green interval + change interval + clearance
interval
– During green interval non-conflicting
movements are cleared
• Lost time
– Time during which intersection is not
effectively utilized for any movement
– E.g. reaction time of the first driver in the
queue

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 Signal Design Stages
• Phase Design
• Interval Design
• Cycle Length Determination
• Green Splitting
• Pedestrian Requirements
• Performance Evaluation

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 Phase Design
• Objective

– Separate the conflicting movements into

various phases
– Complete separation implies large number of
phases
– So design phases with minimum conflicts or
with less severe conflicts

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 Phase Design
• Major conflicts

– Through –Through
• E.g 1-3

– Through – Right
• E.g 3-5

– Right – Right
• E.g 8-5

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 Phase Design
• Two phase signals

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 Phase Design
• Four phase signal: Option I

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 Phase Design
• Four phase signal: Option II

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 Phase Design
• Four phase signal: Option III

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 Phase Design
• Four phase signal: All Options

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 Signal Design Stages
• Phase Design
• Interval Design
• Cycle Length Determination
• Green Splitting
• Pedestrian Requirements
• Performance Evaluation

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 Interval Design
• Change Interval
– Yellow time / Amber time
– To warn a driver of the end of a green time
– Given after green time (3- 6 Sec)
• Clearance Interval (All-Red)
– to clear off vehicles already in the intersection
– Given after Yellow time (2-4 Sec)

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 Interval Design: Amber
• Design Consideration
– 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
– Simple formulae
• y=SSD/v
• y is the length of yellow interval in seconds
• SSD is the stopping sight distance
• v is the speed of the vehicle

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 Interval Design: Amber
• Design Consideration
– ITE’s recommendation

– y length of yellow interval in seconds

– t reaction time of the driver
– v85 85th percentile speed (m/sec)
– a deceleration rate of vehicles in m/sec 2
– g grade of approach expressed as a decimal

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 Signal Design Stages
• Phase Design
• Interval Design
• Cycle Length Determination
• Green Splitting
• Pedestrian Requirements
• Performance Evaluation

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 Cycle Time
• Definition
– Time taken by a signal to complete one full
cycle of iterations C
– Understanding of
• Saturation Flow s and Lost Time tL
• a group of N vehicles waiting for green

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 Cycle Time
• Saturation flow

Saturation Headway

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 Cycle Time
• Saturation Flow

– Saturation flow rate

– s is the saturation flow rate in vehicles per

hour of green time per lane

– h is the saturation headway in seconds

.

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 Cycle Time
• Lost Time

Lost time

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 Cycle Time
• Lost Time

.
• Green time require to clear N vehicles

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 Conflicts at an Intersection

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 Conflicts at an Intersection

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AREA OF CONFLICTS AT AN INTERSECTION
AREA OF CONFLICTS WITH TREATMENT
TURNING MOVEMENTS WITH TREATMENT
 Crossing Conflicts ……….0
Merging Conflicts ……… 4
Diverging Conflicts……. 4

MOVEMENTS AT ROTARY INTERSECTION

 Crossing Conflicts …….…4
Merging Conflicts ……… 8
Diverging Conflicts……. 8

CONFLICT POINTS AT A SMALL

CENTRAL ISLAND
 Conflict point diagram for two closely
spaced t-intersections

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 Cycle Time
• Effective green time

– Actual time available for the vehicles to cross

the intersection

– Actual green time Gi + yellow Yi - lost times tL

.

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 Cycle Time
• Lane capacity
– green ratio : ratio of effective green time to the
cycle length gi/C

– ci = capacity of lane in veh/hr

– si =the saturation
.
flow rate in veh/hr/lane
– C = cycle time in seconds
• Critical Lane and critical lane volume

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 Terms relating to signal timing
Cycle length
Controller Phase
Interval
Change interval
All-red interval
(clearance
interval)
Phase
B
 Terms relating to signal timing (cont)

Offset

Split phase
All signal analyses are based on through
passenger cars. This way the analyses became
portable to any sites. Then you need conversion
Phase 1A of other-than-passenger cars and other-than-
through vehicles. Hence we need:
Phase 1B
Passenger car equivalent (PCE)

Turning movement factors

Terms relating to signal timing (cont)
Peak-hour factor (PHF): A measure of the variability of demand during
the peak hour. The smallest time period used for traffic analyses is 15
min.

If PHF is known, Design hourly volume

(DHV) is computed by
412
390

DHV = (peak-hour volume)/PHF

380
375

Volume during peak hour

PHF =
4 x Vol. During peak 15 min within peak hour

375 + 380 + 412 + 390

= = 0.945
4 x 412
 Terms relating to signal timing (cont)
Lane Group: consisting of one
or more lanes on an intersection
approach and having the same
green phase
Critical Lane Group: the lane
group that requires the longest
green time in a phase. The
critical lane group determines the
green time that is allocated to
that phase.
Saturation flow rate: the flow
rate in veh/hr that the lane group
can carry if it has the green
indication continuously (see eq.
8.3 for the formula used by the
Highway Capacity Manual 2000.)
 Terms relating to signal timing (cont)
Once you have adjusted for truck and turn movement factors, you are ready
to design phasing. One hint: if the adjusted left turn passenger car equivalent
volumes is greater than 120 vph, we usually need a left-turn phase, which
means that we need a left-turn bay. Up to that value, the yellow interval can
provide enough time for LTs. There are a few methods to deal with left-turns.
In this class you need to know only the methods shown below (i.e. protected
left-turn phases) and in Example 8-5. All others will be discussed in CE562.
It is a complex issue.
130 600/2=30
0

140 576/2=288
A B C D

Critical movement: The maximum volume (vph) in a phase.

 Objectives of signal timing

• Reduce the average delay of all vehicles

• Reduce the probability of accidents
Minimize the possible conflict points by
assigning the right of way to different traffic
movements

Two conflicting objectives: So, if at all possible, use:

 More phases, less conflict  2 phases
 More phases, more lost time  Short cycle length
 Yellow interval & Dilemma zone
u02
X 0  u0 
2a
X0: the min. distance from the
intersection for which a
vehicle traveling at the speed
limit u0 during the yellow
interval cannot go through the
intersection without
accelerating

Distance traveled during yellow

interval
X c  u0  min   W  L  Where τmin: yellow interval

Xc: the distance within which a vehicle traveling at the speed limit (u 0)
during the yellow interval cannot stop before encroaching on the
 Yellow interval & Dilemma zone (cont)
For the dilemma zones to be eliminated, X0 = Xc:

u02
u0 min  W  L   u0 
2a
Comfortable deceleration
Solve for the yellow interval: rate:
a = 0.27g
u0 W  L 
 min   
2a u0
If the effect of grade is added: G = grade in
decimals

 min  
u0

W  L
2a  Gg  u0
 Cycle lengths of pretimed signals by the
Webster Method
Optimal cycle length C0 by the Webster method:

1. 5 L  5 L = Total lost time per cycle (sec), usually you

C0  
lose 3 seconds per distinct phases.
1   Yi Yi = Max value of the ratios of approach flows
i 1 (called “critical movement”) to saturation flows
for all lane groups using phase i, qij/Sj
 = Number of phases
Vij = Flow on lane groups having the right of way
during phase i
Sj = Saturation flow on lane group j; for a
through lane, about 1900 pcphgpl
Cycle lengths of pretimed signals by the
Webster Method (cont)
Lost time for phase i:

li  Gai   i  Gei
Total lost time:


L   li  R
i 1

R = Total all-red during the cycle

 Green time allocation
Available total effective green time, Gte = C - L

Distribute effective green to each phase i by:

Yi
Gei  Gte
Y1  Y2  ...  Y

And the actual green time for each phase i is:

Gai  Gei  li   i Usually li is about 3

seconds.
 Minimum green time
At an intersection where a significant number of pedestrians cross, it is necessary
to provide a minimum green time that will allow the pedestrians to safely cross the
intersection. After allocating green time, you must check with the minimum green
time for each phase.

L  N ped 
G p  3.2   2.7 
For WE > 10 ft
Sp  WE 

 0.27 N ped 
L
G p  3 .2  For WE ≤ 10 ft
Sp
At an intersection where only a few pedestrians cross, this will be the length
of green time for pedestrian actuated green.
 Cycle Time Highway capacity manual
(HCM)
• Determination of cycle length
– time taken for complete indication of signals

– Start up lost time

– or
.

– No of cycles per hour 3600/C

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 Cycle Time
• Determination of cycle length

– total lost time per hour =

– total effective green time per hour Tg

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 Cycle Time
• Determination of cycle length

– maximum volumes per hour

Vc

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 Cycle Time
• Determination of cycle length

– To account for hourly variation of traffic

• PHF (peak Hour Factor)
• Ratio of hourly volume to the maximum flow rate

– Introducing quality of service

• The Volume to Capacity Ration v/c

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 Cycle Time
• Determination of cycle length

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 Cycle Time
• Determination of cycle length

– Highway capacity manual (HCM)

– Xc Degree of saturation

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 Signal Design Stages
• Phase Design
• Interval Design
• Cycle Length Determination
• Green Splitting
• Pedestrian Requirements
• Performance Evaluation

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 Green Splitting
• Definition
– Green splitting or apportioning of green time
– Splitting or proportioning of effective green
time into each of the signal phase
– Green time is proportional to the critical
volume for each phase

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 Green Splitting
• Total effective green time Tg

OR

• Actual green time

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 Signal Design Stages
• Phase Design
• Interval Design
• Cycle Length Determination
• Green Splitting
• Pedestrian Requirements
• Performance Evaluation

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 Pedestrian
• Crossing requirements
– By Phase Design

– Or by Exclusive Pedestrian Phase

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 Pedestrian
• Green time for Exclusive Ped. Phase

– Gp Ped. green time in seconds

– ts strat-up lost time (4-7 seconds)
– dx crossing disctance
– up walking speed (1.2 m/sec)

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 Signal Design Stages
• Phase Design
• Interval Design
• Cycle Length Determination
• Green Splitting
• Pedestrian Requirements
• Performance Evaluation

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 Performance Evaluation
• Parameters
– Average delay per vehicles
– Queue length in no. of vehicles
– Average No. of Stops

• Delay
– Most perceived impact by the driver
– Direct correlation to fuel consumption and
emission

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 Performance Evaluation
• Types of Delay

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 Performance Evaluation
• Webster’s Stopped Delay Model
– Vehicle arrival uniform and not random

– Vi arrival rate
– S discharge rate
or saturation flow
– gi eff. Green time
– Ri effective red time
– C cycle length

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 Performance Evaluation
• Webster’s Stopped Delay Model

– Average delay per

vehicle per cycle

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 Performance Evaluation
• Cycle time verses Stopped Delay

C
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 Signal Design Stages
• Phase Design
• Interval Design
• Cycle Length Determination
• Green Splitting
• Pedestrian Requirements
• Performance Evaluation
• Problems
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 Thank You

ravikvr@nitw.ac.in