Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University

Third Year Civil department

Mooring & evening study

Chapter Thirteen
Design of Traffic
Signals
13-1 Interrupted Flow
Interrupted flow is more complex than uninterrupted flow because of the
time dimension involved in allocating space to conflicting traffic streams.
On an interrupted flow facility, flow usually is dominated by points of fixed
operation, such as traffic signals and stop signs. These controls have
different impacts on overall flow.

The operational state of traffic at an interrupted traffic-flow facility is

defined by the following measures:

Volume and flow rate,

Saturation flow and departure headways,
Control variables (stop or signal control),
Gaps available in the conflicting traffic streams, and
Delay.
The discussion of volume and flow rate in the first part of this chapter
also is applicable to interrupted-flow facilities. An important additional point
is the screenline at which the traffic volume or flow rate is surveyed.
Traditional intersection traffic counts yield only the number of vehicles that
have departed the intersection. The maximum flow is therefore limited to the
capacity of the facility. When demand exceeds capacity and a queue is
growing, it is advisable to survey traffic upstream, before the congestion.

1
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
13-2 Signal Control
The most significant source of fixed interruptions on an interrupted-flow
facility is the traffic signal. Traffic signals periodically halt flow in each
movement or set of movements. Movement on a given set of lanes is
possible only for a portion of the total time, because the signal prohibits
movement during some periods. Only the time during which the signal is
effectively green is available for movement. For example, if one set of lanes
at a signalized intersection receives a 30-s effective green time out of a 90-s
total cycle, only 30/90 or 1/3 of total time is available for movement on the
subject lanes.

Thus, only 20 minutes of each hour are available for flow on the lanes. If
the lanes can accommodate a maximum flow rate of 1,500 veh/h with the
signal green for a full hour, they could accommodate a total rate of flow of
only 500 veh/h, since only one-third of each hour is available as green.

The first headway will be comparatively long, as a result. The second

vehicle in the queue follows a similar process, except that the reaction and
acceleration period can occur while the first vehicle is beginning to move.
The second vehicle will be moving faster than the first as it crosses the stop
line, because it has length in which to accelerate.

Its headway will generally be less than that of the first vehicle. The third
and fourth vehicles follow a similar procedure, each achieving a slightly
lower headway than the preceding vehicle. After four vehicles, the effect of
the start-up reaction and acceleration has dissipated. Successive vehicles
then move past the stop line at a steady speed until the last vehicle in the
original queue has passed. The headway for these vehicles will be relatively
constant .this constant average headway, denoted as h, is achieved after four
vehicles. The headways for the first four vehicles are, on the average, greater
than h and are expressed as h + ti, where ti is the incremental headway for
the ith vehicle due to the start-up reaction and acceleration. As i increases
from 1 to 4, ti decreases. Figure (13.1) shows a conceptual plot of headways.

2
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

Figure (13.1) Concept of saturation flow rate and lost time

The value h represents the saturation headway, estimated as the constant

average headway between vehicles after the fourth vehicle in the queue and
continuing until the last vehicle that was in the queue at the beginning of the
green has cleared the intersection. The saturation headway is the amount of
time that a vehicle in the stopped queue takes to pass through a signalized
intersection on the green signal, assuming that there is a continuous queue of
vehicles moving through the intersection.

13-3 Saturation Flow Rate and Lost Time

Saturation flow rate is defined as the flow rate per lane at which vehicles
can pass through a signalized intersection. By definition, it is computed by
Equation (13.1):
s = 3600 /h (13.1)
Where
s = saturation flow rate (veh/h), and
h = saturation headway (s).

The saturation flow rate represents the number of vehicles per hour per
lane that can pass through a signalized intersection if the green signal was

3
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
available for the full hour, the flow of vehicles was never halted, and there
were no large headways.

The first four vehicles in the queue encounter headways longer than the
saturation headway, h. The increments, ti, are called start-up lost times. The
total startup lost time for the vehicles is the sum of the increments, computed
using Equation (13.2).
l1 = (13.2)

Where
l1 = total start-up lost time (s),
ti = lost time for ith vehicle in queue (s), and
N = last vehicle in queue.
Each stop of a stream of vehicles is another source of lost time. When
one stream of vehicles stops, safety requires some clearance time before a
conflicting stream of traffic is allowed to enter the intersection. This interval
when no vehicles use the intersection is called clearance lost time, l2.

The relationship between saturation flow rate and lost times is a critical
one. For any given lane or movement, vehicles use the intersection at the
saturation flow rate for a period equal to the available green time plus the
change interval minus the start-up and clearance lost times. Because lost
time is experienced with each start and stop of a movement, the total amount
of time lost over an hour is related to the signal timing. For instance, if a
signal has a 60-s cycle length, it will start and stop each movement 60 times
per hour, and the total lost time per movement will be 60(l1 + l2).

13-4 Traffic Signal Control Strategies

The methods to control the traffic signals can be divided in two
categories:

1. Isolated traffic signal control, in which the signal timing decisions are
based solely on the traffic demand in the approaches to that
intersection.
2. Coordinated traffic signal control, in which the signal timing decisions
are based with consideration also to other adjacent traffic signals to

4
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
which the intersection controller is connected in order to facilitate
passage of the signalized system.

13-5 Isolated Traffic Signal Control

1. Fixed time (Pretimed) signal control: Predetermined, fixed signal

timing (called time plan) calculated to minimize overall intersection
delay for the traffic demand during the studied period. Separate time
plans can be developed for different periods during the day, e.g.
morning peak, mid-day, afternoon peak and night.

2. Vehicle actuated control: Variable green time allocations and cycle

time based on detection of the traffic demand in the signalized
approaches or groups of lanes.

1.5 Definitions Relating to Highway Traffic Signals

1. Approach: All lanes of traffic moving towards an intersection or a
mid block location from one direction , including any adjacent
parking lane(s).
2. Cycle length: The time required for one complete sequence of
signal indications.
3. Interval: The part of a signal cycle during which signal indications
do not change.
4. Signal phase: The right-of-way, yellow change, and red clearance
intervals in a cycle that are assigned to an independent traffic
movement or combination of movements. Figure (13.2) below
show an example of traffic signal phase.

5
Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

Phase A

Phase B

Phase C

Figure (13.2): Traffic movements in a three phase system

5. All-red interval: is the display time of a red indication for all

approaches. It is usually used to allow the pedestrian and vehicles
to clear large intersections.

6
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
6. Yellow or amber interval: The first interval following the green
interval during which the yellow or amber signal indication is
displayed.
7. Controller: A device in a traffic signal installation that changes
the colors indicated by the signal lamps according to a fixed or
variable plan.
8. Intergreen interval: Is the total length in seconds of the yellow
and all-red signal indications . This time is provided for vehicles to
clear the intersection after the green interval.

Phase 1 Green Amber Red

1 seconds
Phase 2 Red All red Green

Intergreen (4 sec)

Figure (13.4) shows a graph of rate of discharge of vehicles at various

times during a green phase of a signal cycle at an intersection. Initially, some
time is lost before the vehicles start moving , and then the rate of discharge
increases to a maximum. This maximum rate of discharge is the saturation
flow. The rate of discharge will then fall to zero when the yellow signal
changes to red.

Figure (13.4 ) : The relationship between the rate of discharge of

vehicles and the green time phase of the signal cycle

7
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
13-6 Cycle Lengths of Fixed (Pretimed) Signals
Webster method has shown that for a wide range of practical conditions,
minimum intersection delay is obtained when the cycle length is obtained by
the equation :

(13.1)
Where:
Co=Optimum cycle length (sec.)
L= Total lost time per cycle (sec.)
Yi=Maximum value of the ratios of approach flows to saturation flows
for all traffic streams using phase i (qa/s)
n= Number of phases
qa=Flow on approach (actual flow rate) having the right of way during
phase i
s=Saturation flow on approach.
Dividing the number of vehicles that go through the intersection by the
saturation flow will give the effective green time , which is less than the sum
of the green and yellow times. This difference is considered lost time, since
it is not used by any other phase for the discharge of vehicles, it can be
expressed as:
li=Gi+ Ai gei (13.2)

Where:
li=Starting delay lost time for phase i
Gi= Actual green time for phase i (not including yellow time)
Ai= Yellow time for phase i (Amber)
gei = Effective green time for phase i

Total lost time (L) is given as:

L= +R

(13.3)
Where:
R= total all red time during the cycle.

8
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
Allocating of green times : In general , the total effective green time
available per cycle is given by:
Ge= C-L = C-( + All-R)

(13.4)
Where
C= Actual cycle length used (usually obtained by rounding off C o to
the nearest 5 sec),
Ge= Total effective green time per cycle.

To obtain minimum overall delay, the total effective green time should be
distributed among the different phases in proportion to their Y values to
obtain the effective green time for each phase.
gi= Ge

(13.5)
And the actual green time for each phase is obtained as:
Gi=gi + li A
(13.6)
G1=g1+l1-A
G2=g2+l2-A
No. of vehicle in queue = qa(Co-ge) (13.7)

Example (13.1): Figure below shows peak-hour volumes for a major intersection
on an freeway. Determine a suitable signal timing for the intersection
using the four-phase system shown below. Use a yellow interval of 3 sec.
and a saturation flow given. Use PHF=0.95 and li=3.5 sec.

9
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
Phase Lane group No. of Lane group Saturation yi y critical
lanes volume , q flow

A Exclusive Left turn 1 234 1615 0.145 0.264

Through and right turn 3 976 3700 0.264

B Exclusive Left turn 1 676 1615 0.183 0.183

Through and right turn 2 135 3700 0.084

C Exclusive Left turn 1 26 1615 0.016 0.052

Through and right turn 2 194 3700 0.052

D Exclusive Left turn 1 371 1615 0.230 0.230

Through and right turn 2 322 3700 0.087

Y Summation 0.729

L= + All-R = 4*3.5+0= 14 sec

= (1.5*14+5)/(1-0.729) = 95.9 sec100

sec
Ge= C-L = 100-14 = 86 sec
gi= Ge

Gi=gi + li A
GA=(0.264/0.729)*86+3.5-3=32 sec
GB=(0.183/0.729)*86+3.5-3= 22 sec
GC=(0.052/0.729)*86+3.5-3=7 sec
GD= (0.23/0.729)*86+3.5-3=27 sec

13-7 Level of Service

The average control delay per vehicle is estimated for each lane group
and aggregated for each approach and for the intersection as a whole. LOS is

10
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
directly related to the control delay value. The criteria are listed in Table
(13-1).

Table (13-1) Los criteria for signalized intersection (HCM2000)

13-8 Lane Group

The methodology for signalized intersections is disaggregate; that is, it is
designed to consider individual intersection approaches and individual lane
groups within approaches. The following guidelines may be applied.

An exclusive left-turn lane or lanes should normally be designated as a

separate lane group unless there is also a shared left-through lane present,
in which case the proper lane grouping will depend on the distribution of
traffic volume between the movements. The same is true of an exclusive
right-turn lane.
On approaches with exclusive left-turn or right-turn lanes, or both, all
other lanes on the approach would generally be included in a single lane
group.
When an approach with more than one lane includes a lane that may be
used by both left-turning vehicles and through vehicles, it is necessary to
determine whether equilibrium conditions exist or whether there are so
many left turns that the lane essentially acts as an exclusive left-turn lane,
which is referred to as a de facto left-turn lane.
Table (13-2) shows some common lane groups used for analysis.
Table (13-2) : Typical lane groups for analysis

11
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

13-20 Determining Flow Rate

A peak 15-min flow rate is derived from an hourly volume by dividing
the movement volumes by an appropriate PHF, which may be defined for the
intersection as a whole, for each approach, or for each movement.

(13.8)

13-21 Determining Saturation Flow Rate

12
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
A saturation flow rate for each lane group is computed according to
Equation(14.8) .The saturation flow rate is the flow in vehicles per hour that
can be accommodated by the lane group assuming that the green phase were
displayed 100 percent of the time (i.e., g/C = 1.0).
(13.9)

13-21-1 Base Saturation Flow Rate

Computations begin with the selection of a base saturation flow rate,
usually 1,900 passenger cars per hour per lane (pc/h/ln). This value is
adjusted for a variety of conditions. The adjustment factors are given in
Table (13-3).

Table (13-3): Adjustment factors for saturation flow rate

13
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

13-22 Determining Capacity and (v/c) Ratio

Capacity at signalized intersections is based on the concept of
saturation flow and saturation flow rate. The flow ratio for a given lane
group is defined as the ratio of the actual or projected demand flow rate for
the lane group (vi) and the saturation flow rate (si). The flow ratio is given
the symbol (v/s)i for lane group i. The capacity of a given lane group may be
stated as shown in Equation (13.10).

(13.10)

14
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
The ratio of flow rate to capacity (v/c), often called the volume to
capacity ratio, is given the symbol X in intersection analysis. It is typically
referred to as degree of saturation. For a given lane group i, Xi is computed
using Equation (13.11).

(13.11)

13-23 Critical Lane Group

Another concept used for analyzing signalized intersections is the critical
v/c ratio, Xc. This is the v/c ratio for the intersection as a whole, considering
only the lane groups that have the highest flow ratio (v/s) for a given signal
phase. For example, with a two-phase signal, opposing lane groups move
during the same green time. Generally, one of these two lane groups will
require more green time than the other (i.e., it will have a higher flow ratio).
This would be the critical lane group for that signal phase. Each signal phase
will have a critical lane group that determines the green-time requirements
for the phase. When signal phases overlap, the identification of these critical
lane groups becomes somewhat complex. The critical v/c ratio for the
intersection is determined by using Equation (13.11).

(13.12)

15
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

13-24 Determining Delay

The values derived from the delay calculations represent the average
control delay experienced by all vehicles that arrive in the analysis period,
including delays incurred beyond the analysis period when the lane group is
oversaturated. Control delay includes movements at slower speeds and stops
on intersection approaches as vehicles move up in queue position or slow
down upstream of an intersection.
The average control delay per vehicle for a given lane group is given by
Equation (13.12).

(13.13)

13-24-1 Progression Adjustment Factor

Good signal progression will result in a high proportion of vehicles
arriving on the green. Poor signal progression will result in a low proportion
of vehicles arriving on the green. The progression adjustment factor, PF,
applies to all coordinated lane groups, including both pretimed control and

16
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
nonactuated lane groups in semiactuated control systems. The value of PF
may be determined using Equation(13.14).

(13.14)

The value of P may be measured in the field or estimated from the arrival
type. If
field measurements are carried out, P should be determined as the
proportion of vehicles in the cycle that arrive at the stop line or join the
queue (stationary or moving) while the green phase is displayed. The
approximate ranges of Rp are related to arrival type as shown in Table (13-
4), and default values are suggested for use in subsequent computations in
Table (13-5).

Table (13-4): Relationship between arrival type and platoon ratio (Rp)

Table (13-5):Progression adjustment factor for uniform delay

calculation

17
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

13-24-2 Uniform Delay

Equation (13.15) gives an estimate of delay assuming uniform arrivals,
stable flow, and no initial queue.

(13.15)

13-24-3 Incremental Delay

Incremental delay reflects nonuniform arrivals and some queue
carryover between cycles within the analysis period Equation (13.16) is
used to estimate the incremental delay due to nonuniform arrivals and
temporary cycle failures (random delay) as well as delay caused by sustained
periods of oversaturation (oversaturation delay). It is sensitive to the degree

18
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
of saturation of the lane group (X), the duration of the analysis period (T),
the capacity of the lane group (c), and the type of signal control, as reflected
by the control parameter (k). The equation assumes that there is no unmet
demand that causes initial queues at the start of the analysis period (T).
Finally, the incremental delay term is valid for all values of X, including
highly oversaturated lane groups.

(13.16)

The calibration term (k) is included in Equation (14.15) to incorporate the

effect of controller type on delay. For pretimed signals, a value of k = 0.50 is
used.
13-24-4 Initial Queue Delay
Procedure is described in Appendix F When a residual queue from a
previous time period causes an initial queue to occur at the start of the
analysis period (T), additional delay is experienced by vehicles arriving in
the period since the initial queue must first clear the intersection. A
procedure for determining this initial queue delay is described in detail in
Appendix F. This procedure is also extended to analyze delay over multiple
time periods, each having a duration T, in which an unmet demand may be
carried from one time period to the next. If this is not the case, a value of
zero is used for d3.

13-24-5 Aggregated Delay Estimates

The procedure for delay estimation yields the control delay per vehicle
for each lane group. It is often desirable to aggregate these values to provide
delay for an intersection approach and for the intersection as a whole. This

19
 Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study
aggregation is done by computing weighted averages, where the lane group
delays are weighted by the adjusted flows in the lane groups.
Thus, the delay for an approach is computed using Equation (13.17).

(13.17)

Control delays on the approaches can be further aggregated using

Equation (13.18) to provide the average control delay for the intersection:

(13.18)

13-25 Computational Steps

Table (13-7) gives the five types of analysis. Although the methodology
is capable of computations for all five, the specific procedures and
worksheets are designed for the first of these (i.e., a solution for LOS). In the
development of alternative signal and geometric designs, it is often
necessary to consider changes simultaneously in both.
Rarely can signalization be considered in isolation from geometric design
and vice versa. Thus, the most frequent type of analysis would consider such
alternatives on a trial-and error basis and would not attempt to hold one
constant and solve for the other.

Table (13-7): Types of analysis commonly performed

20
Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

21
Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

22
Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

23
Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

24
Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

25
Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

26
Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

27
Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

28
Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

29
Traffic Engineering College of Engineering Kufa University
Third Year Civil department
Mooring & evening study

30