Advanced Traffic Engineering, CVEN 660

Topic 4
Fundamentals of Actuated and Adaptive Signal
Control & Signal Coordination for Arterials

QATAR UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Dr. Wael ALHAJYASEEN
Qatar Transportation & Traffic Safety Center

ADVANCED TRAFFIC ENGINEERING, CVEN 660 FALL. 2019

4.1 Actuated and Adaptive Signal Control

4.2 Signal Coordination for Arterials

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4.1 Actuated and Adaptive
Signal Control
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• Types of signal control
– Fixed or pre-timed
– Actuated (Semi or Fully)
– Adaptive
• Fully actuated signal
– Based on vehicle detection
– Varied green and cycle length
• Types of detectors
– Inductive loop
– Video image

ADVANCED TRAFFIC ENGINEERING, CVEN 660 4

• Types of signal control
– Fixed or pre-timed
– Actuated (Semi or Fully)
– Adaptive
• Fully actuated signal
– Based on vehicle detection
– Varied green and cycle length
• Types of detectors
– Inductive loop
– Video image

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• Types of detection
– Passage or point detection
– Presence or area detection Passage detection

Presence detection at stop line

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• Controller terms
– Minimum green (5~10 sec)
– Minimum initial (min. initial + Unit Extension = Min Green)
– Unit or vehicle extension or passage gap (0.0~4.0 sec)
– Maximum green

• Vehicle Extension/Passage Gap, the phase

terminates (gaps out) Total Green

Minimum Green Extension Period

ADVANCED TRAFFIC ENGINEERING, CVEN 660 7

• Maximum allowable headway is the headway
above which the signal phase will gap out

Lv Ld

Ld  L v P
Maximum allowable h
headway 1.47V(mile/hr) Passage
Gap value

ADVANCED TRAFFIC ENGINEERING, CVEN 660 8

• Vehicles traveling on a signalized approach at the
speed of 50 mph. Assume the detector length on
the approach is 6 feet, and the vehicle length is
15 ft. If the signal operation is designed to gap out
the phase when a vehicle headway is greater than
4.0 sec. What passage gap value (unit extension)
should be set in the signal controller?

ADVANCED TRAFFIC ENGINEERING, CVEN 660 9

• When the phase gaps out and yellow starts, the
car has already passed the intersection. The green
time after the last vehicle is wasted.

t1 – time the last vehicle left the detector

t2 – phase gaps out, yellow starts
During (t2 – t1), the phase is green, but not used
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• When the phase gaps out and yellow starts, the
car is at the intersection. The green time is used to
serve the last vehicle.

t1 – time the last vehicle left the detecto

t2 – phase gaps out, yellow starts

During (t2 – t1), the phase is green

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• The best location for advance detector is when
the phase gaps out and yellow starts, the last
vehicle can either stop or pass through the
intersection.

t1 – time the last

vehicle, left the detector
t2 – phase gaps out, yellow starts
t3 – yellow ends
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• Min Recall – place a call to the phase
automatically, even without vehicles on the
detector. The phase will run the minimum and
then extend based on activations.
• Max Recall – place a call to the phase
automatically, even without vehicles on the
detector. The phase will always run to the
maximum.
• For fully-actuated operation, a phase will
terminate only if it either gaps out or max out,
and there is a call on the conflicting phase(s).
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• The Adaptive Traffic Control Systems (ATCSs) are
the third generation of urban signal control
systems after pre-timed and traditionally
coordinated signal systems.
• It use real-time traffic data to optimize signal
timing parameters such as cycle length, splits, and
offsets, so as to minimize traffic delays and stops.
• It can proactively respond to real-time traffic flow
changes, thus are expected to be more efficient
for signal system operations.

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4.2 Signal Coordination
for Arterials
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• Traditional Systems
– Closed-Loop (Field Master)
– Centralized Computer Control
• Adaptive

• Signal Timing Process

Data Signal Timing Field

Collection Development Implementation

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• Cycle Length
– All signals must have a common cycle length to achieve coordination
• Split = Green + Yellow + All-red

Intersection #1 Intersection #2

East Bound

• Offset is the time difference between two reference points

• Offset must be specified by Phase and Begin/end phase
• Offset = 0 ~ cycle length
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 G=25 Y=5 R=30
#1
2 8 4 2 8 4
6 6

EB Band

#2 G=35 Y=5 R=20

2 8 4 2
8 4 6 6

Time

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#1
G=25 Y=5 R=30

2 8 4 2 8 4
6 6

EB Band WB Band

G=35 Y=5 R=20

2 8 4 2
#2 8 4 6 6

Time

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• Synch point/clock: the time all offsets are
referenced to. It is also called Master Clock Zero.
12:00 a.m.
(Master Zero) Master Zero Master Zero Master Zero

Local Zero Local Zero Local Zero

Offset

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 1 2 1 2
#1
5 6 8 4 5 6

WB:
EB: 8 sec
20 sec

#2
2 8 4
8 4 6

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 1 2 1 2
#1
5 6 8 4 5 6

WB:
12 sec
EB:
20 sec

#2
2 8 4
8 4 6

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 2 1 2 1

#1
5 6 8 4 5 6

EB:
20 sec

#2
2 8 4
8 4 6

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 2 1 2 1

#1
5 6 8 4 5 6

EB: WB:
20 sec 20 sec

#2
2 8 4
8 4 6

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• Offset can be determined with and without queueing
vehicles
Base offset value Consideration of
downstream queue

𝑳
Offset = − (𝑸𝒉 + 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆)
𝑺

- Q: number of vehicles queued per lane (veh/lane)

- H: discharge headway of queued vehicle (sec/veh)
- Loss:loss time associated with vehicles starting from rest at the
first downstream signal (sec)

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 Topic 4
Fundamentals of Actuated and Adaptive Signal
Control & Signal Coordination for Arterials

Dr. Eng. Wael K. M. ALHAJYASEEN