Traffic volume analysis: A case study at

Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection, Jalan

Permatang Pauh
Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 2020, 020021 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5062647
Published Online: 05 October 2018

M. A. Tukiar, N. I. Zainuddin, and M. E. H. Rasid

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AIP Conference Proceedings 2020, 020021 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5062647 2020, 020021

© 2018 Author(s).
 Traffic Volume Analysis: A Case Study at Politeknik
Seberang Perai Intersection, Jalan Permatang Pauh

M. A. Tukiar1, a), N. I. Zainuddin1 and M. E. H. Rasid1

1
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Mara Cawangan Pulau Pinang,
13500 Permatang Pauh, Pulau Pinang.
a)
Corresponding author: azuan.tukiar@ppinang.uitm.edu.my

Abstract. Traffic congestion refer to a situation on the road where there are many vehicles queue bumper to bumper on the
highway due to the higher demand than the capacity that a road can accommodate. Traffic congestion usually occur at am
peak and pm peak where such congestion was due to the road user going to and coming home from work, school, institution
or any other places. From the overview at the case study area, traffic congestion is a major problem in Jalan Permatang
Pauh. The condition becomes worst at both peak hour where increasing number of vehicle contribute to the traffic
congestion in that area. One of the main intersection in Jalan Permatang Pauh is in front of Politeknik Seberang Perai.
Severe traffic congestion frequently occurred at this intersection. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to propose
a new traffic signal timing phase for the Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection based on current traffic condition data. The
new proposed timing phase and analysis of LOS based on the current traffic data will be presented in this paper.

INTRODUCTION

Traffic congestion refer to a situation on the road where there are many vehicles on the highway due to the higher
demand than the capacity at the same time and place. Traffic congestion usually occur at am peak and pm peak where
such congestion was due to the road user going to and coming home from work, school, institution or any other places.
At this point, everyone flocked to get to their destinations and causing road congestion. Among the cities in Malaysia
faced with traffic congestion are Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, and Pulau Pinang. Traffic congestion does not only affect
the situation on the roads but also affects the emotions of road users while in traffic jam. A research by Frost and
Sullivan of 1,227 respondents in Kuala Lumpur revealed 41 percent of respondents consider the frustration of traffic
congestion as the number one higher than the 35 percent rate for the Asia-Pacific region and 29 percent globally. This
report shows that the traffic congestion adversely affects the parties involved in emotional distress. The occurrence of
stress to them from too long in a state of being cooped up in a vehicle without being able to do other activities.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Traffic congestion is a major problem in Jalan Permatang Pauh. The condition become worst during peak hour
where increasing number of vehicle contributed to the traffic congestion in that area. Jalan Permatang Pauh is 3111
Federal Road and industrial federal road in Pulau Pinang. Besides that, Jalan Permatang Pauh is a main road to North
– South Expressway (PLUS) connected by Permatang Pauh Interchange and it is also main road to Butterworth –
Kulim Expressway (BKE). Jalan Permatang Pauh was constructed by using JKR standard R5 that give the road user
maximum speed up to 90 km/h, with 3-meter minimum lane width [1]. Furthermore, there are many junctions at Jalan
Permatang Pauh that connect to the main region such as Kulim, Seberang Jaya and Bukit Mertajam. One of the main
intersection in Jalan Permatang Pauh is located at Politeknik Seberang Perai. The intersection serves for four main
road as shown in Figure 1. Severe traffic congestion frequently occurred at this intersection. Therefore, the main
objective of this paper is to propose a new timing phase for the Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection based on current
traffic condition data.

Advances in Civil Engineering and Science Technology

AIP Conf. Proc. 2020, 020021-1–020021-6; https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5062647
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1738-0/$30.00

020021-1
 North
Major road: Jalan Permatang Pauh

East West
Jalan Pauh Jaya Jalan Politeknik Seberang Perai

South
Major road: Jalan Permatang Pauh

FIGURE 1. Four-leg Signalized Intersection near Politeknik Seberang Perai, Penang

METHODOLOGY

In this study, the data were collected at Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection. Traffic data was collected from
Tuesday until Thursday at 7 a.m to 9 a.m and 5 p.m to 7 p.m respectively [2,3]. Traffic data is recorded using manual
vehicle count using multi gang tally counter. Traffic data was taken for the four intersections and recorded on every
15 minutes. The results of the traffic data collected were then analysed by using SIDRA Intersection 6 software to
obtain Level of Service (LOS) at the intersection near Politeknik Seberang Perai. SIDRA Intersection 6 software also
used to propose new traffic signal timing phase to improve the Level of Service for Politeknik Seberang Perai
intersection.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Traffic Volume and Flow Pattern Analysis

Figure 2 shows the data recorded for Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection from 7.00 a.m to 9.00 a.m. From
Figure 2, it shows that Car has the highest frequency of vehicle recorded at Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection.
2,782 numbers of Car followed by 640 numbers of Motorcycle and 36 numbers of lorry. All type of vehicle shows
highest numbers recorded from 7.30 a.m to 7.45 a.m. 428 numbers of Car, 89 numbers of Motorcycle and 6 numbers
of Lorry was recorded. From the data, it also shows that frequency of vehicle was reduce towards 9.00 a.m. This is
because most of the business started at 8.30 a.m to 9.00 a.m.
Figure 3 shows data recorded for Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection from 5.00 p.m to 7.00 p.m. From Figure
3, it shows that Car has the highest frequency recorded at Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection. It has 3,062 numbers
of Car followed by 692 numbers of Motorcycle and 42 numbers of lorry. From the data, it also shows that the frequency
of all types of vehicle were reduce as towards 7.00 p.m and the highest frequency of vehicle was record at 5 p.m
because most of the business finished at 5.00 p.m to 5.30 p.m. From Figure 2 and Figure 3, it can be concluded that
car has the highest numbers recorded at Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection for both morning and evening peak.
With the highest numbers record for car, it explained why traffic congestion occurred at Politeknik Seberang Perai
intersection. It was because highest numbers of car are a factor in contributing to traffic congestion [4-6].

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 PCU/hr vs Time
428 411
450 382
400 320 335 334
350 302
300 270
250
200
150 71 85 89 87 80 81 76 71
100
50 3 5 6 4 4 4 4 6
0
7.00 - 7.15 7.15 - 7.30 7.30 - 7.45 7.45 - 8.00 8.00 - 8.15 8.15 - 8.30 8.30 - 8.45 8.45 - 9.00

Car Motorcycle Lorry

FIGURE 2. Traffic Volume at Politeknik Seberang Perai Intersection (7.00 am-9.00 am)

PCU/hr vs Time
500 445 431 420 400 394
400 353
315 304
300
200
96 101 87 90 87 84 77 70
100 7 7 8 10 5 2 2 1
0
5.00 - 5.15 5.15 - 5.30 5.30 - 5.45 5.45 - 6.00 6.00 - 6.15 6.15 - 6.30 6.30 - 6.45 6.45 - 7.00

Car Motorcycle Lorry

FIGURE 3. Traffic Volume at Politeknik Seberang Perai Intersection (5.00 pm-7.00 pm)

Intersection Level of Service (LOS) Analysis

To determine Level of Service (LOS), the traffic data and signal timing from Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection
has been used as input into the SIDRA software. Table 1 shows that the existing timing phase data and proposed new
timing phase at the intersection of Politeknik Seberang Perai. Existing timing phase for traffic signal on 7a.m to 9a.m
for phase A and C was 160 seconds, while the existing timing phase in phase B and D is 60 seconds. Existing timing
phase for traffic signal on 5p.m to 7p.m is 180 seconds for phase A and C while the existing timing phase for phase B
and D is 60 seconds. Table 2 shows Level of Services (LOS) for Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection based on the
current situation. In all direction, Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection has classify as LOS F at 7 a.m - 9 a.m.
Similarly, at 5p.m - 7p.m also classify as LOS F. It shows that there are severe traffic jams occurred at Politeknik
Seberang Perai intersection during peak hour. From the data in Table 2, it shows that there are severe traffic jams
occurred at intersection near Politeknik Seberang Perai. One of the factor observed, the traffic signal at the Politeknik
Seberang Perai intersection has longer time for traffic delay, therefore, the vehicle from other direction has longer
waiting time and it will cause severe traffic congestion. Thus, it is suggested that longer signal timing is unsuitable
for rapid development population area and new signal timing should be propose for the intersection. Figure 4 shows
the phase at Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection.

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 TABLE 1. Existing Phase Time at Politeknik Seberang Prai intersection
7.00 a.m - 9.00 a.m 5.00 p.m - 7.00 p.m
Phase
A B C D A B C D
Green Time (sec) 154 54 154 54 174 54 174 54
Yellow Time (sec) 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
All-Red Time (sec) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Phase Time (sec) 160 60 160 60 180 60 180 60

TABLE 2. Existing Level of Service (LOS) at Politeknik Seberang Prai Intersection

Lane Level of Service (LOS)
Politeknik Seberang Prai Intersection width (7am- (8am- (5pm- (6pm-
(m) 8am) 9am) 6pm) 7pm)
South: Jalan Permatang Pauh (Major Road)
Lane 1 3.3 LOS A LOS A LOS A LOS A
Lane 2 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
Lane 3 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
Lane 4 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
Average LOS F LOS E LOS F LOS F
East: Politeknik Seberang Prai
Lane 1 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
Average LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
North: Jalan Permatang Pauh (Major Road)
Lane 1 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
Lane 2 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
Lane 3 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
Average LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
West: Jalan Pauh Jaya (Minor Road)
Lane 1 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
Lane 2 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
Average LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F
Average Intersection LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F

FIGURE 4: Phase on Politeknik Seberang Prai intersection

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 Proposed New Timing Phase
Table 3 shows a proposed timing phase at Politeknik Seberang Perai intersection. Existing timing phase for traffic
signal on 7a.m to 9a.m for phase A and C was 160 seconds, while the existing timing phase in phase B and D is 60
seconds. The new timing phase for 7a.m until 9a.m at the intersection is proposed to 40 seconds for phase A and phase
C and for phase B and phase D proposed to 15 seconds. Existing timing phase for traffic signal on 5p.m to 7p.m is
180 seconds for phase A and C while the existing timing phase for phase B and D is 60 seconds. The new timing phase
for 5p.m until 7p.m at the intersection is proposed to 40 seconds for phase A and phase C and for phase B and phase
D proposed to 20 seconds. Table 4 shows Level of Service (LOS) before and after proposed new timing phase at
Politeknik Seberang Prai Intersection. From Table 4, it shows that all the proposed timing phase has enhance the LOS
at the Politeknik Seberang Prai intersection. The proposed timing phase have shorter phase time to avoid from traffic
congestion.

TABLE 3. Proposed New Phase Time at Politeknik Seberang Prai intersection

7.00 a.m - 9.00 a.m 5.00 p.m - 7.00 p.m
Phase
A B C D A B C D
Green Time (sec) 34 9 34 9 34 14 34 14
Yellow Time (sec) 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
All-Red Time (sec) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Phase Time (sec) 40 15 40 15 40 20 40 20

TABLE 4. Level of Service (LOS) before and after proposed new phase timing at Politeknik Seberang Prai Intersection.
Before After
Politeknik
Lane Level of Service (LOS) Level of Service (LOS)
Seberang
Width Monday Friday Monday Friday
Prai
(m) (7am- (8am- (5pm- (6pm- (7am- (8am- (5pm- (6pm-
Intersection
8am) 9am) 6pm) 7pm) 8am) 9am) 6pm) 7pm)
South: Jalan Permatang Pauh (Major Road)
Lane 1 3.3 LOS A LOS A LOS A LOS A LOS A LOS A LOS A LOS A
Lane 2 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS C LOS C LOS C LOS C
Lane 3 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS C LOS C LOS C LOS C
Lane 4 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS D LOS D LOS D LOS D
Average LOS F LOS E LOS F LOS F LOS C LOS C LOS C LOS C
East: Politeknik Seberang Prai
Lane 1 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS D LOS D LOS D LOS D
Average LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS D LOS D LOS D LOS D
North: Jalan Permatang Pauh (Major Road)
Lane 1 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS C LOS D LOS C LOS C
Lane 2 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS C LOS C LOS C LOS C
Lane 3 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS D LOS D LOS D LOS D
Average LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS C LOS C LOS D LOS D
West: Jalan Pauh Jaya (Minor Road)
Lane 1 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS C LOS C LOS C LOS C
Lane 2 3.3 LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS C LOS C LOS C LOS C
Average LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS C LOS C LOS C LOS C
Average
LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS F LOS C LOS C LOS C LOS C
Intersection

020021-5
 CONCLUSION

From the study, it can be concluded that timing phase has significant contribution in reducing traffic congestion.
As shown in the study, the shorter the period phase, it will enhance LOS of the intersection. Thus, it is recommended
to local authority, to reassess the timing phase for the intersection. By changing the timing phase of intersection, it is
not only able to enhance the LOS of intersection but also for the benefits of road users with no impact on the overall
cost.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors would like to acknowledge Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) for financial support in this research
work.

REFERENCES

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3. H. D. Robertson and J. E. Hummer, Volume Studies. Manual of Transportation Engineering Studies, 43–75
(2010).
4. A. J. Aderamo, Traffic Congestion at Road Intersections in Ilorin, Nigeria, Mediterranean Journal of Social
Sciences 3(9), 201–213 (2012).
5. N. Hoque, S. Halder, R. Alam and M. Hassan, Traffic Volume Study, 1–59 (2013).
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(2015).

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