UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING

FCE545 TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING IIIA

Course Notes for Students

Compiled by
George P.K. MATHERI

October 2012

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 FCE545 TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING IIIA

CONTENTS

Chapter Description Page

1 COURSE OUTLINE 1

1.1 The Syllabus 1

1.2 Recommended References 1

2 THEORY OF TRAFFIC FLOW 2

2.1 Scope, Definitions and Basic Diagram of Traffic Flow 2

2.1.1 Scope 2
2.1.2 Some Definitions 2
2.1.3 Relationships between the Variables 2
2.1.4 Fundamental Diagram of Traffic Flow 2
2.1.5 Linear Relationship between Speed and Concentration 4

2.2 Lighthill and Whitham's Theory 6

3 INTRODUCTION TO TRANSPORT PLANNING 17

3.1 The Transport Planning Process 17

3.1.1 Scope of the Subject 17
3.1.2 Interdependence of the Land Use and Traffic 17
3.1.3 Systems Approach to Transport Planning 17
3.1.4 Stages in Transport Planning 18
3.1.5 Difficulties in the Transport Planning Process 21

3.2 Introducing Comprehensive Transport Planning 22

3.2.1 Redefining the Objective 22
3.2.2 The 'Carrot' and the 'Stick' 22
3.2.3 Comprehensive Planning 23
3.2.4 The Transportation Study 23
3.2.5 The Planning Process under Comprehensive Transport Planning 23
3.2.6 SUMMARY 23

4 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT 25

4.1 Introduction 25

4.2 Travel Demand Management 25

4.3 Traffic Management 25

4.3.1 Scope of Traffic Management Measures 25
4.3.2 Restrictions of turning movements 26
4.3.3 One-way Streets 27
4.3.4 Tidal flow operation 28
4.3.5 Closing Side-streets 29
4.3.6 Exclusive Bus Lanes 30

5 TRANSPORTATION STUDY AND DEMAND FORECASTING 31

5.1 Definition of the Study Area 31

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 5.2 Dividing the Study Area into Zones 32

5.3 Defining the Networks 33

5.4 Data Requirements 34

5.5 Surveys 35
5.5.1 Household Interview Survey (HI Survey) 35
5.5.2 Roadside Interview Survey (RI Survey) 36
5.5.3 Employment Survey 36
5.5.4 Commercial Vehicle Survey (CV Survey) 37
5.5.5 Public Transport Surveys (PT Surveys) 37
5.5.6 Inventory Surveys 37
5.5.7 Parking Surveys 37
5.5.8 Census Data 38
5.5.9 Summary 38

5.6 Trip Generation 38

5.6.1 Definitions 38
5.6.2 Trip Purpose 39
5.6.3 Factors Governing Trip Generation and Attraction Rates 39
5.6.4 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis 40
5.6.5 Category Analysis 41

5.7 Trip Distribution 42

5.7.1 What is Trip Distribution 42
5.7.2 Method of Trips Distribution 43
5.7.3 Uniform (Constant) Factor Method 43
5.7.4 Average Factor Method 44
5.7.5 Fratar Method 44
5.7.6 Furness Method 45
5.7.7 Criticism of Growth Factor Methods 45
5.7.8 Gravity Model 45
5.7.9 Tanner's Model 52
5.7.10 Opportunity Model 52

5.8 Traffic Assignment 52

5.8.1 Purpose of Traffic Assignment 52
5.8.2 General Principles 53
5.8.3 Assignment Techniques 53
5.8.4 All-or-nothing Assignment 54
5.8.5 Multiple Route Assignment 55
5.8.6 Capacity Restraint Assignment 55
5.8.7 Diversion Curves 55

5.9 Modal Split 56

5.9.1 General Considerations 56
5.9.2 Factors Affecting Modal Split 56
5.9.3 Modal Split in the Transport Planning Process 57

5.10 Evaluation 57
5.10.1 Need for Evaluation 57
5.10.2 Several Plans to be Formulated 57
5.10.3 Testing 57
5.10.4 35-4. Considerations in Evaluation 58
5.10.5 35-5. Economic Evaluation 58

6 ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF TRANSPORTATION PLANS 59

6.1 Need for Economic Evaluation 59

6.2 Costs and Benefits of Transport Project 59

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 6.2.1 Cost. 59
6.2.2 Benefits 60
6.2.3 Taxes 62

6.3 Time Horizon in Economic Assessment 62

6.4 Basic Principles of Economic Evaluation 62

6.5 38-5. Interest Rate 63

6.6 38*6. Methods of Economic Evaluation 63

6.6.1 38-7. Benefit-Cost Ratio Method 64
6.6.2 First Year Rate of Return 65
6.6.3 Net Present Value Method (NPV) 66
6.6.4 Internal Rate of Return Method 67
6.6.5 Comparison of the Various Methods of Economic Evaluation 68

7 INTERSECTION DESIGN 69

7.1 General 69

7.2 Basic Forms of Intersections and Definition of Terms 69

7.2.1 T intersection 69
7.2.2 Staggered Intersection 69
7.2.3 Rotary Intersection (Roundabout) 69
7.2.4 At-Grade Junctions 69
7.2.5 At-grade intersections 70
7.2.6 Grade Separated Junctions 70

7.3 Alignment and Vertical Profile 71

7.4 The Design Vehicle 72

7.4.1 Definition 72
7.4.2 Types of design vehicles 72
7.4.3 Summary of Standards for Dimensions of Vehicles 72
7.4.4 Axle loads and weights of vehicles 73
7.4.5 Selection of the design vehicle 73
7.4.6 Design speed 73

7.5 Visibility at Intersections 74

7.5.1 Rural road intersections 74
7.5.2 Urban road intersections 76

7.6 Radii of Curves 76

7.6.1 Sharpest turn curves for minimum speed 76
7.6.2 Minimum design for turning roadways 78
7.6.3 Curves designed for different speeds 78
7.6.4 Speed change lanes 79
7.6.5 Right-turn (Storage) lanes 79
7.6.6 Widths of carriageways in junctions 80

7.7 Channelization 80
7.7.1 Features of Channelising islands 81
7.7.2 Median openings 82

7.8 Roundabouts (Rotary Intersections) 83

7.8.1 Definition of terms 83
7.8.2 Advantages of rotary intersections 84
7.8.3 Disadvantages of rotary intersections 84
7.8.4 Guidelines for selecting a rotary type of intersection 85
7.8.5 Shape of Rotary Island 85
7.8.6 Mini roundabouts 86
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 7.9 Grade Separated Intersections 88
7.9.1 Criteria for provision 88
7.9.2 Types of grade-separated intersections 88
7.9.3 Design considerations 93

8 PARKING 95

8.1 Traffic and Parking Problems 95

8.2 Ill-effects of Parking 95

8.3 Zoning and Parking Space Requirement Standards 95

8.4 Design Standards for On-street Parking Facilities 97

8.4.1 Common methods of on-street parking 97

8.5 Traffic Regulatory Measures for On-street Parking 98

8.5.1 Prohibited parking 99
8.5.2 Free parking for limited period 99
8.5.3 Parking meters 99

8.6 Off-street Parking Facilities 99

8.6.1 Surface car parks 100
8.6.2 Multi-storey car parks 101
8.6.3 Roof parks 101
8.6.4 Mechanical car parks 101
8.6.5 Underground car parks 101
8.6.6 Peripheral Parking Schemes 101
8.6.7 Loading and Unloading Facilities 102

9 TRAFFIC SIGNALS 104

9.1 Introduction 104

9.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Traffic Signals 104

9.3 Signal Indications 104

9.3.1 Types of signals 104
9.3.2 Pedestrian signals indications 105
9.3.3 Flashing amber. 105

9.4 Signal Face 105

9.5 Illumination of the Signals 107

9.6 Number and Location of Signal Faces 107

9.7 Amber Period. Red/Amber Period and Intergreen Period 107

9.8 Fixed-Time Signals and Vehicle-Actuated Signals 108

9.9 Determination of Optimum Cycle Length and Signal Settings for an Intersection
with Time Signals 109

9.10 Warrants for Signals 121

9.11 Co-ordinated Control of Signals 122

9.11.1 Need for co-ordinated control 122
9.11.2 Off-set 122
9.11.3 Time-and distance diagram 122
9.11.4 Types of co-ordinated signal system 124

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 9.12 Signal Approach Dimensions 125

9.13 Area Traffic Control 127

9.13.1 Introduction 127
9.13.2 Traffic control methods 127
9.13.3 Combination method 127
9.13.4 TRANSYT method (Traffic Analysis Study Tool) 128
9.13.5 FLEXIPROG (Flexible progressive) 128
9.13.6 EQUISAT (Equally Saturated) 128
9.13.7 PLIDENT (Platoon Identification) 128
9.13.8 SPG (Signal Plan Generation) 128
9.13.9 SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Options Technique) 128

9.14 Delay at Signalised Intersections 129

10 ELEMENTS OF HIGHWAY TRAFFIC ANALYSIS 130

10.1 Introduction 130

10.2 Introduction Traffic Analysis 130

10.2.1 Nomenclature 131

10.3 Traffic Flow, Speed, and Density 132

10.4 Basic Traffic Stream Models 133

10.4.1 Speed-Density Model 133
10.4.2 Flow-Density Model 133
10.4.3 Speed-Flow Model 134

10.5 Models of Traffic Flow 136

10.5.1 Poisson Models 136
10.5.2 Limitations of Poisson Models 139

10.6 Queuing Theory and Traffic Flow Analysis 139

10.6.1 Dimensions of Queuing Models 139
10.6.2 D/ D/ 1 Queuing 140
10.6.3 M / D/ 1 Queuing 142
10.6.4 M/M/1 Queuing 144
10.6.5 M/M/N Queuing 145

10.7 Traffic Analysis at Highway Bottlenecks 147

11 LEVEL OF SERVICE ANALYSIS 150

11.1 Introduction 150

11.2 Defining Level of Service (LoS) 151

11.3 Basic Elements of LoS Analysis 153

11.4 Basic Freeway Segments 154

11.4.1 Service Flow Rates and Level of Service 157
11.4.2 Lane Width and/or Lateral Clearance Adjustment 158
11.4.3 Heavy Vehicle Adjustment 159
11.4.4 Driver Population Adjustment 162
11.4.5 Freeway Traffic Analysis 162

11.5 Multilane Rural And Suburban Highways 164

11.5.1 Free-Flow Speed Determination 165
11.5.2 Service Flow Rate Determination 170

11.6 Rural Two-Lane Highways 172

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11.7 Design Traffic Volumes 176

11.8 Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities 180

11.8.1 Background 180
11.8.2 Pedestrian-Flow Models 180

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1 COURSE OUTLINE

1.1 The Syllabus

The course syllabus is outlined below:

FCE 545 - Transportation Engineering IIIA (45 hrs)

Traffic data analysis. Traffic growth and forecasting. Traffic distribution and assignment.
Traffic stream characteristics. Traffic flow modelling.
Principles of regional and urban transportation planning.
Elements of manoeuvre areas. Intersection design.
Urban traffic management and parking Studies.
Traffic signals.
Highway plan appraisal.
Introduction to elements of transportation technology.

1.2 Recommended References

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2 THEORY OF TRAFFIC FLOW

2.1 Scope, Definitions and Basic Diagram of Traffic Flow

2.1.1 Scope

The theory of traffic flow can be defined as a mathematical study of the movement of vehicles
over road net-work. The subject is a mathematical approach to define, characterise and describe
different aspects of vehicular traffic.

The development of the subject has taken inspiration from various branches of knowledge.
Statistics, applied mathematics, psychology and Operations Research are some of those. The
subject is greatly being researched upon and newer and newer theories are emerging.

2.1.2 Some Definitions

Traffic flow theory is mainly concerned with three measurable characteristics of road traffic, viz.,
speed, flow and concentration.

The definitions of various terms associated with speed are:

• Speed (v) is the rate of movement of traffic or of specified components of traffic and is
expressed in metric units in kilometres per hour (K.P.H.).
• Time mean speed (vt) is the average of the speed measurements at one point in space
over a period of time.
• Space-mean speed (vs) is the average of the speed measurements at an instant of time
over a space.
• Flow or volume (Q) is the number of vehicles passing a specified point during a stated
period of time – expressed in veh/hour.
• Concentration or density (K) is the number of vehicles present in a stated length of road
at an instant - expressed in veh/km/lane.
• Space Headway, (s), is the distance between the fronts of successive vehicles. It is
measured in metres.
• Time Headway, or headway (h) is the time interval between the passage of the fronts of
successive vehicles at a specified point, in seconds.

2.1.3 Relationships between the Variables

Space mean speed, flow and density are related by the following equation:

_
Q
vs =
K
Since concentration (K) is the reciprocal of the space headway (s/1000 when expressed in
kilometres)

_ Q*s
vs =
1000
s, the space headway, is related to h, the time headway as follows:

_
h
s= * v s *1000
3600

2.1.4 Fundamental Diagram of Traffic Flow

In the equation above concentration (K) has a theoretical maximum value when vehicles are
packed from end-to-end, called the jamming concentration, Kj, which is the reciprocal of the

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length of a car. E.g. If the average length of cars in a stream is 5 m, the jamming concentration,
Kj=1000/5 = 200

When the vehicles are packed from end

end-to-end, the flow Q = 0. Also,
lso, when the K=0, there are no
cars, hence Q=0. As the concentration slowly increases from zero, the flow also increases and a
point is reached when the flow is maximum. The maximum flow that is capable of being
accommodated in a road is the capacity of the road. The general form of the Flow-Concentration
Flow
curve, usually known as the Fundamental Diagram of Traffic Flow, is indicated in Fig. 22
22-1.

1. Fundamental diagram of road traffic.

Fig. 22-1.

The exact shape of the flow

flow-concentration
concentration curve will depend upon a number of factors. It is in fact
a characteristic of a particular road section at a particular time with a particular population of
drivers. Hence a large number of curves are possible.

_ QA
Since v s =
KA

The slope of the line joining the origin O to a point A on the curve gives the space mean speed
associated with a concentration KA and a volume QA.

The slope of the line, OB tangential to the curve at the origin represents the mean free speed ṽsf,
which is the speed the drivers would adopt if there were no interfer
interference
ence from other vehicles.

For simplicity, it is often assumed that the shape of the curve is a parabola – which is is true for a
straight line relationship between speed and concentration.

Fig. 22-2. Speed-Flow

Flow Curve.

The general shape is the basis of describing the levels of service when dealing with the capacity
of a road and has been utilised in Fig. 211. The curve should obviously start at the origin zero,
since the speed is zero when the flow is zero. The curve should also pass through ṽsf when again
 the flow is zero and speed is the maximum corresponding to free flow conditions. For
intermediate values of speed, the volume varies and has a maximum value, Qmax corresponding
to the capacity of the road.

The relationship between speed and concentrat

concentration
ion can similarly be deduced. When the speed is
zero, the concentration is maximum,
maximum corresponding to Kj, the jamming concentration. Also, when
the concentration is zero, speed is the free speed, ṽsf. The exact shape of the curve joining these
two points, depends
epends on a number of factors. A straight-line
straight line relationship yields the parabolic
shape of the curve relating flow and concentration. Typical speed
speed-concentration
concentration curves are given
in Fig. 22-3.

Fig. 22-3. Speed-concentration

concentration relationship.

2.1.5 Linear Relationship

ship between Speed and Concentration

A linear relationship between speed and concentration was derived as follows:

Differentiating Equation 22
22-5
5 with respect to concentration the concentration when flow is a
maximum is obtained. Thus
Fig. 22-4. Speed-flow-concentration
concentration curves when the speed
speed-concentration
concentration relationship in linear.
2.2 Lighthill and Whitham's Theory

One of the attempts to understand traffic flow has been to draw an analogy between the flow of
fluids and the flow of traffic. Lighthill and Whitham contributed to this topic by their theory which is
based on kinematic waves. The limitation of the theory which is based on the 'continuous flow'
approach in fluid dynamics and it thus thus represents the limiting behaviour of a stochastic process
for a large 'population', which in this case is the total number of vehicles. Therefore, it is
applicable to large-scale
scale problems only, and principally to the distribution of traffic on long,
crowded roads.

The assumptions in the derivation of the equations of the theory are:

(i) The equation of continuity, i.e., law of the conservation of vehicles, holds good. Thus: Inflow =
outflow ± storage
(ii) At any point on the road, the flow Q is a function of the concentration K.

Consider a length of road A

AB with a stationary observer O at the mid-point, as in figure below.

Fig.

There are n vehicles in the length OB when the observer starts counting the number passing him.
The count stops at the expiry of time t when all the n vehicles have passed the observer.

At the same instant when the stationary observer starts counting, a moving observer starts at O
and travels with the stream at speed U, which is less than vs, the space-mean
space mean speed of tthe
stream, and counts the vehicles passing him. The count stops at the expiry of time t when all the
n vehicles have passed O.. The moving observer has travelled a distance OC in time t given by
OC = U* t.. His count will be less than the count of the stationary
stationary observer by the number of
vehicles in the length OC.

Suppose two moving observers are travelling at speed U at time t apart.

Suppose the flow and concentration change with time, the changes being relatively small ; but
the observers have been told to adjust their speeds U so that the vehicles which pass them
minus the vehicles which they pass is, on the average, the same for eac
each.
But the number of vehicles between the observers must remain the same. And the number of
vehicles passing any point between the times at which the observers pass it is Qt. As t is fixed, it
follows that the flows remain unchanged along the path of the observers travelling with speed U.
In other words, when changes in flow are occurring, the waves which carry such changes
through the stream of vehicles travel at a velocity given by the equation

∆Q
U=
∆K

This velocity, relative to the road, may be positive or negative, but it never exceeds ṽs ,the space-
mean speed.

If Q and K are functionally related, then small chan

changes in flow are propagate
gated at the speed:
dQ dQ
Φ= . On the fundamental diagr
diagram of traffic flow, this implies that is the slope of the
dK dK
tangent to the curve. See Fig. below

Fig. Flow-concentration
concentration curve.

It may be noted that the speed of the wave at the crest is zero.

Consider a stretch of road where the traffic is dense in front (A) and less dense behind (B),
whose fundamental diagram of traffic flow is given below.
The slope of the curve is steeper at B than at A.. The speed of wave propagation of Qb at B is
greater
ter than the speed of propagation of Qa at A. A shock wave will now be generated if the flow
changes discontinuously from A to B. The speed of the wave:

∆Q
=
∆K
Q − QB
= A
K A − KB
= slope of the chord AB

Note that in the experiment of two observers mentioned earlier, the speed of the shock wave will
be U,, the speed at which the two observers travelled.

An example of the shock wave can be the approach to a signalised intersection, where the
vehicles are brought successively to a halt, from a flow QA at a concentration KA.
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3 INTRODUCTION TO TRANSPORT PLANNING

3.1 The Transport Planning Process

3.1.1 Scope of the Subject

Transport planning is a science that seeks to study the problems that arise in providing
transportation facilities in an urban, regional or national setting and to prepare a systematic basis
for planning such facilities. The principles of urban transport planning can be applied to regional
or national transport planning as well with due changes wherever called for.

Town and country planning is a science that deals with the study of the urban or country
"system" covering the interacting activities using adapted spaces linked by communications
through channels. Transport planning is an important part of overall town and country planning,
since it deals with the transport network which is an important channel of a communications.

Motor vehicles have revolutionized life and brought comfort, pleasure and convenience, they
have created problems of congestion, lack of safety and degeneration of the environment. To
understand the nature of these problems and formulate proposals for the safe and efficient
movement of goods and people from one place to another is the subject of transport planning.

3.1.2 Interdependence of the Land Use and Traffic

In 1954, Mitchell and Rapkin (Ref. ) made a statement that urban traffic was a function of land
use. They observed that various kinds of activities based on the land-called land use "generated"
different amounts and kinds of traffic. They concluded that though measures such as (i)
regulation and control of traffic and (ii) provision and improvement of physical channels of
movement, were effective in dealing with urban traffic, the most basic level of action for a long-
run solution of the traffic problems is the planning, guidance and control in the pattern of land
use.

More recently, Buchanan (Ref ) has also emphasised the inter-relationship between traffic and
buildings in a town. He states that in towns, traffic takes place because of buildings, and all
movements in a town have an origin and destination in a building. The pattern traced by traffic
therefore related to the manner in which buildings are arranged. Commuter flows are closely
dependent upon the location and size of the work-places and of the home areas, just as school
traffic is governed by the location of the schools and the home areas.

Just as transport is a function of land-use, the reciprocal statement that land-use is a function of
transport is also true. As new systems of transport are built, the land-use pattern that follows has
a close relation to the accessibility that has been made possible.

3.1.3 Systems Approach to Transport Planning

In the recent past, a new activity known as Operations Research has taken shape and is finding
interesting applications in Transport Planning. Operations Research is mainly concerned with
optimising the performance of a "system". A "system" is defined as a complex whole, an
organized whole, consisting of set of connected things or parts, whose components and
interconnections are vital to the operation of the system.

The processes involved in the systems approach in transport planning can be represented by
Fig.

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 Figure Systems Approach to Transport Planning

The transport planning process starts with the decision to adopt planning as a tool for achieving
certain desired goals and objectives. After the goals and objectives are defined, solutions are
generated, taking due cognizance of problems, constraints, potentials and forecasting. These
solutions are evaluated after thorough analysis. The best amongst them is chosen for
implementation. After implementation, the system is studied in operation and its performance
assessed. Based on this assessment it may be necessary to go back to certain stages of
planning and repeat the sequence-

3.1.4 Stages in Transport Planning

It will be seen that the transport planning process can be broken down to five important stages:

1. Survey and analysis of existing conditions

2. Forecast, analysis of future conditions and plan synthesis
3. Evaluation
4. Programme adoption and implementation
5. Continuing study.

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 Fig Stages in the Transport Planning Process

These stages are discussed in detail below.

(a) Survey and Analysis of Existing Conditions

The survey area is defined and divided into smaller units, called zones, to study the pattern of
movement. At this stage, the goals that provide direction to the planning effort are set. The goals
are so formulated that all the relevant social, legal, aesthetic political, economic and technical
considerations are comprehensively weighed, evaluated and reconciled. Some of the goals that
are commonly sought include:

i. Minimum disruption of the general environment;

ii. Minimum demolition of housing;
iii. Re-vitalisation of public transport;
iv. The removal of through traffic from urban centres and residential areas;
v. A high benefit/cost ratio;
vi. Operational feasibility;
vii. A qualitative compatibility with general urban structure.

The survey encompasses the following:

(a) The inventory of existing travel pattern includes data on the following:

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 • Origins and destinations of Journey by home-interview, road side interview, registration
number plate survey, pre-paid post card survey, screen line and cordon surveys.
• Movement of goods vehicles
• Movement of public transport buses and coaches.
• Movement by rail transit.

b) The inventory of existing transport facilities consists of :

• Inventory of streets forming the transport network, including dimensions, type and
condition of surface, capacity, control devices, volume of traffic etc.
• Studies on travel time by different modes.
• Inventory of public transport buses, their operating speeds, headways, schedules,
capacity terminals, passengers carried etc.
• Inventory of rail transit facilities.
• Parking inventory (on-street off-street), loading and unloading facilities for trucks.
• Accident data.

c) The inventory of land-use and economic activities consists of:

• Information on land-use type (residential, industrial, commercial, recreational etc.) and

intensity for the various zones.
• Zoning laws in operation
• Population statistics, usually from census operations
• Household structure, including family income, car-ownership, family size and sex etc.
• Employment pattern
• School attendance.

The above data which describe the socio-economic characteristics, the travel pattern, the
existing land-use pattern and the transportation system are analysed to determine any
quantifiable relationship between the measurements. As already pointed out earlier, the sub-
division of the study area into zones facilitates the spatial analysis. Mathematical models are
then built to relate the present travel pattern to land-use and other socio-economic
characteristics of the household.

Trip generation, trip distribution, trip assignment on the existing network and modal split are
considered at this stage. Trip generation models determine the mathematical relationship
between the number of trips produced in a 7-onr and the land-use and socio-economic
characteristics. The trip distribution models connect the trip-ends predicted by the trip generation
models between any set of two zones. Trip assignment is the procedure by which the route
chosen by a trip-maker is determined. The modal split model determines the mode of travel
chosen by the traveller, and can be considered at any stage between generation and
assignment. The models so formulated are calibrated and checked for their accuracy before they
are further used for determining the future travel pattern.

(b) Forecast, Analysis of Future Conditions and Plan Synthesis

Transport plans are long-range in scope and involve planning for 20 to 25 years ahead. Travel
pattern and need s for the future year, future economic activity for the study as well as future
land-use pattern also need to be predicted- Future transportation demand is tied up with future
economic activity and future land-use.

Economic activity can be predicted in a number of ways., including:

• Extending the past trends in the various parameters representing economic activity,
• More sophisticated methods such as the input-output model analysis

Population forecast can be done by studies of the past trend. Estimate of future employment
pattern follow from predictions of economic activity. Future level of car ownerships is an

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 important parameter that influences future travel and mode choice. The predicted growth in land-
use is determined by formulating suitable land-use allocation models.

The future land-use activity arrangement and information concerning future income levels, family
size', car ownership rates, employment, population and other economic activity factors are then
fed as inputs to the previously formulated trip generation model. The output will be the future trip
generation rates. The other stages such as trip distribution, assignment and modal; split are
synthesized using the future predicted parameters governing travel pattern and the respective
models formulated for the base year.

The output from the above stages yields the flow on each link of the network, and speed and
level of service afforded by the planned facility.

(c) Evaluation

In an urban system, a number of alternative transport plans are feasible for a given set of goals
and policies. In order to select the best from these, it is necessary to evaluate each of the
alternatives as to how it fulfils the desired objectives.

Cost/Benefit techniques are often used to evaluate the alternatives in economic terms.

Depending on the results of evaluation, it may be necessary to revise the plans or even evolve
further alternatives.

(d) Programme Adoption and Implementation

The best alternative emerging from the evaluation study is selected for adoption and
implementation. The stages in which the project is to be implemented are decided with the
consideration for the financial resources.

(e) Continuing Study

Because transport planning is a dynamic and complex process, there cannot be a final plan. The
final plan adopted undergoes continuous review and updating in a process of constant iteration
and feedback.

Periodic surveys are carried out to determine the trends in travel patterns, journey times and
other relevant factors. The plan may be readjusted, if need be.

(f) Citizen Participation

Since the transport plans are essentially intended to serve the community and fulfil their
aspirations, it is necessary to consult the affected people in the community and give them a
voice in the formulation of decisions. The policies and goals may need to be redefined as a
result of such consultations. It is desirable that a rapport with the community is established right
from the start to minimize controversies and public criticism.

3.1.5 Difficulties in the Transport Planning Process

The transport planning process is complex, involving the interplay of numerous socio-economic
factors. This in turn makes the process involved with complex computational procedures. Even
with considerable advances in model building technology to accurately synthesise the travel
demand, the probabilistic nature of peoples' behaviour can disrupt plans. The dynamic behaviour
of the urban system makes the whole process iterative with a continuous need for review and
feedback.

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3.2 Introducing Comprehensive Transport Planning

3.2.1 Redefining the Objective

The real objective of transport planning is the MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE AND GOODS - not
necessarily the movement of vehicles.

People can be moved by car or by public transport — they could even walk, but this is
increasingly unlikely for other than short distances! For some movements the car is ideal, for
others the bus or other mass transit mode is preferable. Comprehensive transport planning is
about the optimization of the balance between the uses of these modes. For inter-urban travel
the flexibility of the car is a major advantage. For leisure trips in urban areas too, this flexibility is
important — and the destinations of leisure, and other non-work, trips are often widely spread in
both space and time, reducing their impact on congested streets. It is for the journey to work that
public transport is most appropriate.

The journey from home to work occurs in a short peak period each morning and is, of course,
largely repeated in reverse each evening. Many trips terminate in relatively few locations — the
town centre, the industrial area, etc. As car occupancies average around 1% persons, and buses
can carry at least ten times more people per length of road - lane, a partial remedy is clear.
Some trips from home to work must be attracted, or diverted, to public transport,

3.2.2 The 'Carrot' and the 'Stick'

Bus travel, however, is not popular with commuters, because services are too often unreliable,
slow, and uncomfortable and crowded, whereas a car is at least thought to be convenient and
reliable. The change of mode must therefore be induced. This requires the use of both 'the
carrot' and 'the stick'.

First, 'the carrot' — bus services must be improved, in reliability, in frequency and in
convenience (and perhaps, although this is of less importance than is sometimes thought — in
cost). Bus priority measures of one form or another can usually do a lot to meet these
requirements. But the carrot alone is not enough, the car will still be preferred, so 'the stick' —
restraint measures — must be applied. This means making the use of the car less attractive, by
providing fewer parking spaces at higher cost, by closing streets to cars, or just by allowing
congestion to take effect. Perhaps even, at some later date, differential road-use pricing or
supplementary licensing could be applied, although there are operational problems in both
cases.

No matter what is done to induce people to change their travel mode, or goods vehicles to
change their routes, there will eventually Still be congestion on many roads. Before new roads
are built, it is plain that the existing road system should be used as fully as possible. And this
means, among other things, using roads for movement instead of for parking. Other typical
traffic-management measures to improve on the use of existing roads, to move people rather
than vehicles, might include some or all of the following:

• Pedestrianization of central shopping-area roads

• Bus priority measures — bus-only lanes etc.
• One-way systems
• Linked traffic signals
• Right-turn bans
• Peak-hour urban clearways.

After consideration of all of these however, and the application of appropriate measures there
will still be a need for some new roads. And these have to be planned.

22
3.2.3 Comprehensive Planning

Transport planning for a county, covering town and rural areas together, must be
comprehensive, and based on financial realism (there is NEVER enough money). The roles of
public transport, private car restraint, traffic management measures, and new road construction
need to be fully integrated — both with each other and between urban and rural areas — to
derive the best use of the inevitably limited resources. A transport plan is developed as a
complete package of projects and policies, conceived as a unified whole. It should be
implemented comprehensively in across-the-board stages in accordance with a carefully
conceived, financially realistic, annual programme, derived in turn from a longer programme.

3.2.4 The Transportation Study

In larger urban areas, the medium-term planning of future transport systems is usually based on
a transportation study. A transportation study is basically a computer-dependent mathematical
process, founded on present-day observation, whereby future travel patterns can be predicted.
In essence, the transportation study process consists of:

a) surveying the present-day travel habits of people living and/or working in the specified
area,
b) Developing mathematical formulae which, given details of household structure, income,
car ownership, etc. in the study area, can reproduce present-day travel patterns as
surveyed. The formulae (or 'models') in their simplest form are basically:

i. trip-end prediction — determining how many trips leave a zone e.g. a group of
households,
ii. ii) trip distribution — determining the destination of these trips,
iii. iii) modal split — determining the mode of travel — car or bus,
iv. iv) assignment — determining the actual roads used,

c) using these formulae, together with predicted values for future population, incomes, etc.
to predict future travel patterns,
d) Comparing the merits of alternative transport systems to accommodate the predicted
movements. (The comparison is on economic, operational and environmental grounds,
but the final decision is inevitably a subjective one, a political decision, taking account of
public opinion etc. and the relative importance of the evaluated criteria)

3.2.5 The Planning Process under Comprehensive Transport Planning

The techniques of comprehensive transport planning aside, the process, is similar in both urban
and rural contexts.

1. Asses the present transportation situation, together with financial and existing policy
constraints on possible future action.
2. Identify future problems. (There is always a possibility that the best thing to do is nothing)
3. Consider the time-scale for problem solution
4. Develop alternative possible solutions
5. Finally, transport planning is not a finite exercise. Planning decisions for the next few years
may be irreversible but those for the medium-term may provide scope for reconsideration.
Transport planning is a continuous process — it needs continuous attention.

3.2.6 SUMMARY

a) The objective of comprehensive transport planning is the optimum movement of

people and goods.
b) Particularly for the journey to work, public transport could be more efficient than the
private car — but is less attractive
c) To induce greater use of public transport the system needs to be improved and
restraint applied to the use of the private car

23
d) County transport planning should be done on a comprehensive basis, developing
integrated packages of public transport, private car restraint, and the optimum use of
both existing and new roads
e) In larger urban areas, transport planning is usually based on a transportation study
— a means of predicting future travel movements
f) The preferred strategy, which is not just a collection of unrelated schemes, is best
developed by optimization from a range of integrated possible packages

24
4 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT

4.1 Introduction

Congestion of traffic in cities is a serious problem. Medium and long term solutions like
widening roads, providing elevated flyovers and constructing bypasses and urban
expressways are costly. Simple and inexpensive solutions can mitigate the crisis for
some time. Transportation System Management (TSM) is a package of short term
measures to, make the most productive and cost-effective use of existing transportation
facilities, services and modes (Ref.10). TSM also embraces Travel Demand
Management (TDM).

4.2 Travel Demand Management

TDM techniques are aimed at reducing the traffic flows, especially during the peak hour.
Some of the techniques commonly adopted are:

1. Car pooling and other ride-sharing programs

2. Peripheral parking schemes
3. Chartered buses (Institutional buses) to serve areas of trip origins to common work
place
4. Staggering of office hours and flexible time of work.
5. Internal shuttle service in the CBD
6. Parking restraint
7. Road pricing
8. Entry fee
9. Priority for buses in traffic.

4.3 Traffic Management

4.3.1 Scope of Traffic Management Measures

Many of the urban streets carry traffic volumes for which they were not simply designed.
The inevitable result is delay, congestion and accidents. The resultant ills can be got
over to some extent by controlling the traffic, imposing regulatory measures and
enforcing management techniques, so as to make the most economic use of the streets.
Traffic control measures include traffic signals and these have been already considered.
Regulatory measures include restrictions on speed, parking, and size of vehicles and so
on, and these also have been discussed separately. The third of the set of measures
available to the traffic engineer are collectively known as traffic management measures.
These measures also form part of TSM.

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:

25
 (i) Restrictions on turning movements
(ii) One-way streets
(iii) Tidal-flow operations
(iv) Exclusive Bus-lanes
(v) Closing side-streets.

4.3.2 Restrictions of turning movements

(a) The problem posed by turning traffic

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 scheme, or to introduce an early
cut-off or late start arrangement. These schemes have their limitations and result in a
long signal cycle. Another solution is to ban the turning movement altogether.

(b) Prohibited right-turning movement

Prohibition of right-turning movement can be established only if the existing street

system is capable of accommodating an alternative routing. Three methods are
available

i. Diversion of the right-turning traffic to an alternative intersection further along the road
where there is more capacity for dealing with a right-turn. The right turn gets shifted to a
minor-minor junction. It is often useful for dealing with a difficult right turn from a minor
road into a major road.

Fig. 1. Prohibited right turning schemes.

ii. Diversion of the right-turning traffic to the left before the junction, the G-turn. A right-turn
from a major road is converted to a left turn from the major road and a straight-over
movement at the original junction.

iii. Diversion of the right-turning traffic beyond the junction, the Q-turn. It involves three left
turns, with the driver travelling twice through the original junction. It increases the total
volume of traffic handled by the junction, but is considered the least obstructive since
only left turns are involved.

Prohibition of right-turning movement increases saturation flow and capacity of a

junction. However, prohibition of a right turn at a junction may compound problems at
other junctions.

26
(c) Prohibited left-turning movements

Left-turning movement is not obstructive to traffic and is rarely prohibited. However, it

may be needed to provide a safe crossing for pedestrians, especially when the
pedestrian traffic across the minor road is heavy.

4.3.3 One-way Streets

One-way streets are those where traffic movement is permitted in only one direction.
They provide an immediate and cheaper 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
achieves great improvement in traffic conditions of congested areas.

(a) Advantages of one-way streets

i. A reduction in the points of conflict.

ii. Increased capacity. The removal of opposing traffic and the reduction of
intersection points of conflict results in a marked increase in the capacity of a
one-way street.
iii. Increased speed. Since the opposing traffic is eliminated, drivers can operate at
higher speeds.
iv. Facilitating the operation of a progressive signal system.
v. Improvement in parking facilities
vi. Elimination of dazzle and head-on collision.
vii.

Fig. 2. Vehicular points of conflict with 2-way streets and one-way streets.

27
 Fig. 3. Conflict points between pedestrians and vehicles.

(b) Disadvantages of one-way street working

A number of disadvantages are associated with one-way street working. Some of these
are:

i. Actual distances to be covered by drivers increase.

ii. Where buses operate on the streets, the stops will have to be relocated and in
many instances the passengers will have to walk extra distances.
iii. Increased speeds in one-way operation may be a hazard
iv. If located in a residential district, it may result in loss of amenity if traffic is heavy
v. Introduction of one-way streets could adversely affect the business of the area
vi. The existing street patterns may not accommodate a one-way street system
vii. Emergency vehicles (fire services, ambulances etc.) may be blocked at
intersections

(c) Need for proper signing

When a one-way street system is introduced, 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 exist 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.

4.3.4 Tidal flow operation

Traffic flow on any street leading to the city centre is imbalanced in directional
distribution during the peak hours. For instance, the morning peak results in a heavy
flow towards the city centre, while the evening peak causes heavier flow away from the
city centre. In each case, the street space provided for the opposing traffic is excessive.
This phenomenon is commonly termed as "tidal flow". One method of dealing with this
problem is to allot more than half the lanes for one direction during the peak hours, in a
system known as "tidal flow operation", or "reverse flow operation".

(a) Methods

The principle of tidal flow operation can be translated into practice in two ways:

28
 i. The first is to apportion a greater number of lanes in a multi-lane street to the in-bound
traffic during the morning peak and similarly a great number of lanes to the out-bound
traffic during the evening peak.
ii. The second requires the existence of two separate streets parallel to each other
and close to each other, so that the wider of the two can be set apart for the
heavier traffic both during the morning peak and the evening peak. In this case,
the two streets will operate as one-way streets-

(b) Favourable conditions for operation

For undivided streets, tidal flow operation is best done with the number of traffic lanes
allocated to the two directions roughly corresponding with the directional split in traffic
flow. Generally, tidal flow operation is justified where 65 per cent or more of traffic
moves in one direction during peak periods. It is also necessary that the remaining lanes
for the lighter flow are adequate for that traffic.

1. With a three-lane street, two lanes can be reserved for heavier flow and one lane
for the smaller flow.
2. With a four-lane street, a 3-lane to 1-lane distribution may not correspond with
the directional split in traffic flow. In such cases, it may be more prudent to
allocate the entire street to one direction and designate a parallel street nearly to
be opposing traffic.
3. With a five-lane road, a 3-lane to 2-lane distribution becomes very convenient.
During off-peak hours a 5-lane facility can be worked with 2 lanes for each
direction, with no traffic allowed in the central lane.
4. On a 6-lane street, 4-lane to 2-lane distribution is convenient. A six-lane facility
can be worked with 3 lanes for each direction during off-peak period.

(c) Special measures needed

With a tidal flow operation, special signing and additional control devices are needed.
The assignment of traffic to proper lanes can be achieved by placing overhead signs.
Better results are possible with signals to regulate the flow in each lane. If these signals
are properly designed, an additional advantage can be gained by the progressive timing.

It is desirable to restrict parking on the side of the major flow during the peak periods.
Direct right-turns by traffic in the major direction should be forbidden at important
intersections.

Stanchions or traffic cones are desirable to separate the opposing traffic. 'No right turn'
and "Keep Left' signs on pedestals and stanchions are also necessary.

4.3.5 Closing Side-streets

A main street may have a number of lightly trafficked side-streets. It maybe possible to
close some of these side-streets without adversely affecting traffic, and still get the
benefits of improved traffic flow.

(a) Advantages

The following are some of the advantages of closing side-streets:

(i) Since interference from the traffic from side streets is eliminated, the speed increases
and journey time reduces.
(ii) Accidents also get reduced.
(iii) It allows the formulation of a progressive signal system of signals
(iv) The closed side-streets can be utilized for parking

29
 (v) The closed side-streets can also be pedestrianised to enhance safety, comfort and
convenience of pedestrians.

(b) Disadvantages

The disadvantages of closing the side-streets can be:

(i) Closing a number of cross-streets may increase the flow to and fro the remaining
cross-roads.
(ii) When a number of side-streets are closed, the immediate effect is an increase in the
parking of vehicles on the main street itself. Those vehicles which used to park on the
side streets are now deprived of their parking space, and may create congestion on the
main road leading to delays and lower speeds.

4.3.6 Exclusive Bus Lanes

It is a traffic management practice where a lane of the carriageway is reserved

exclusively for bus traffic. This is only possible where the carriageway width is adequate
for a lane to be easily spared for the buses. There should be at least 3 lanes in each
direction. The exclusive lane must be adjacent to the curb for convenience of alighting
and embarking passengers.

Bus priority measures are a cheap and easy way to provide some aid to bus services.
The journey time can be considerably reduced and bus journey made more attractive.
Regularity of the buses can be improved.

To be successful, the bus-lanes should be created for a good length of the road instead
of in small bits. 'Bus only' streets can also be established, prohibiting all traffic except
buses. This is usually enforced in shopping areas to facilitate pedestrians reach the
buses within short walking distances.

The width of the bus lane should be a minimum of 2-8 m and if possible 3-5 m.

30
5 TRANSPORTATION STUDY AND DEMAND FORECASTING

Transportation study consists of the development of formulae, or models, enabling future travel
demands to be forecast, and the assessment of alternative strategies for handling this demand,
see Figure.

The model development which is central to the overall process depends, like nearly everything
else in the field of transport planning, on the collection of data — by various surveys. Basically,
these surveys are directed at the collection of data relevant to the uses of the land, the
population and its trip-making characteristics and the components of the available transport
system. Alongside and integrated with these surveys are those directed at obtaining information
on present-day movements for comparing with predictions of these same movements.

5.1 Definition of the Study Area

Assuming the need for a study is confirmed, the next problem is to define the area to be studied.
Administrative boundaries of urban areas, while undoubtedly convenient, will not necessarily be
the most suitable for transportation study purposes. Ideally, the area to be studied should be
fairly tight around an urban area, yet at the same time, including anticipated future growth areas
within the boundary. Clearly the study area boundary must to some extent, be a matter of
subjective judgement.

The boundary, which will become the line of a cordon surrounding the urban transportation study
area, should:

a) Be 'sensibly' close around the urban development,

b) Include potential development areas,
c) Incorporate natural boundaries where possible and be compatible with other nearby studies,
31
 d) Avoid peninsulas and inlets,
e) Be suitably located for roadside survey stations.

The determination of the boundary of a study area should, where practicable, take account of
natural or man-made movement-limitations — such as rivers, railway lines, motorways, etc., all of
which require special facilities for crossing, and therefore form effective travel barriers. It is also
of great importance to take account of the boundaries of other studies, both past, and projected
for the near future. This is to enable future amalgamation and re-use of basic data, and, as far as
possible, to ensure compatibility between adjacent studies. Finally, within the area design
limitations already imposed, the boundary should, as far as possible, be so adjusted to cross
radial roads at locations suitable for roadside surveys.

5.2 Dividing the Study Area into Zones

The next stage in the study design is to divide up the study area into internal zones or small
packets of land. These zones are usually smallest nearest the centre, increasing in size towards
the boundary. Zoning is necessary in order to be able to handle and analyse the data which will
be collected within the study area, through some form of grouping. The area outside the study
area too should be divided up into large external zones, which should also increase in size as
they increase in distance from the study area.

Internal zones should be:

32
 a) As internally homogeneous as possible — ideally a residential zone should contain
only residential land use, but this is usually extremely difficult.
b) Small enough to enable travel patterns to be reliably synthesized (intra-zonal trips
cannot readily be modelled) yet large enough to ensure that the data collected within
them is statistically significant. Population in residential zones is commonly within the
range 1000 to 3000.
c) Made up of one or more National Population Census Enumeration Districts (EDs).
This is important because the Census data which is of use in checking surveys etc.
is available in terms of EDs.
d) amenable to the assembly of planning data — this may mean odd shapes to
accommodate, say, a whole zone with a single planning use, but will save time and
money when obtaining land use data for the study
e) Located with regard to major routes, natural, administrative, and study boundaries,
adjacent study zone patterns etc. They should also be designed, as far as possible,
to be equally appropriate to future land development, with each zone being wholly
within a single local authority area
f) Numbered in a logical sequence — logical, to enable checks to be made easily.

External zones may sometimes be sub-classified into intermediate and external zones. This
subdivision is really only an acknowledgement that external zones adjacent to the study area —
say within the surrounding sub-region or region — will need to be considerably smaller (finer
zoning) than the true external zones comprising a remote but large part of the country. Both
intermediate and true external zones should be compatible with adjacent studies' zoning, and
also with the National zoning system, i.e., basically with local authority and other administrative
boundaries.

5.3 Defining the Networks

Just as the survey area was defined and split into zones so the networks too need to be defined,
broken down and coded.

The roads of traffic significance and those likely to attain significance in the future are selected
and divided into links bounded by nodes. Nodes should be provided at all important intersections
included in the network of traffic-significant roads. They should also be provided where the
character of a length of road changes significantly — such as where a single-carriageway road
becomes dual-carriageway, or a speed limit is. Nodes throughout the road network are
numbered and the network links are identified by the nodes at each end — often referred to as
the A node and the B node.

33
 The public transport network is not the same as the road network since vehicles can move about
the coded road network subject only to available coded junctions, but pedestrians can only join,
leave or change direction in the public transport network at stopping and interchange points.
Equally, the buses themselves always remain on their predetermined routes.

In both road and public transport networks though, trips must be loaded from any one zone onto
the network. All trips generated within a zone are assumed to emanate from a zone centroid,
which is linked by a centroid connector to a node or nodes in the relevant network. The travel
characteristics of the centroid connector will represent the zonal average of trips starting and
finishing therein. Similarly, all trips attracted to a zone are assumed to terminate at the zone
centroid via the centroid connector.

5.4 Data Requirements

The objective of the surveys is to enable the building of a group of models (formulae) which will
represent present-day travel patterns within the study area and can thereafter be used to predict
future travel patterns.

It is now more usual to model travel patterns by trip purpose. Trip purposes* for which separate
models are developed include:

HBW (Home-based work trips)

a) between home and work-place — home-based work trips

OHBW (Other home-based work trips)

b) between home and shopping area
c) between home and personal business(to dentist, bank, etc,)
d) between home and educational establishment
e) between home and social and/or recreational activity

NHB (Non-home-based work trips)

f) non-home-based trips — including trips on employers 'business from work

The purposes identified above as HBW, OHB and NHB are now the minimum normally
acceptable in an urban transportation study.

Just as it is important to differentiate between private car trip purposes, it is also essential to
model public transport trips and those of commercial vehicles separately from private cars and
from each other. In connection with the modal choice of travellers it is also customary to
differentiate between car-available and non-car-available people, using the non-car-available
classification as a proxy for captive public transport users.

The use of twenty-four-hour modelling is also becoming less common, particularly in respect of
HBW trips which are largely concentrated within the morning and evening peak periods. An
acceptable compromise between the desirable advantages of complete peak and off-peak
modelling of all trip purposes and the extra cost of doubling the number of models is to model
HBW trips for the peak period and all other trips for either the whole 24-hour period or for a
typical off-peak hour only.

Finally, travel patterns are needed in respect of four basic movements:

1) Between one internal zone and another (internal-internal)

2) Between an external zone, i.e. outside study area, and an internal zone (external-internal)
3) Between two external zones, i.e. through the study area (external-external)
4) Within an individual internal zone (intra-zonal)

34
 The different methods of handling these different categories of movement will be dealt with in the
chapter on the modelling process — at this stage it is sufficient to appreciate that separate
models will need to be built for inter-zonal trips and for external trips.

There is therefore a need to collect information to enable models of varying complexity to be built
in respect of:

• purposes - HBW, OHB and NHB

• 2 modes — private car and public transport
• 2 time periods — peak and off-peak or 24-hour
• 2 movements — inter-zonal trips and external trips
• commercial vehicles

This list is an indication of the complexity of the urban transportation study process. Clearly
though, the whole process comprises the permutations and combinations of the list.

5.5 Surveys

The basic surveys, which are common to most urban transportation studies, and from which
travel and other characteristics are derived, are:

HI Household interview (home interview) survey (a), (b)

RI Roadside interview survey (and associated counts) (a)
Employment survey (b)
CV Commercial vehicle survey (a)
PT Public transport surveys (a)
Road and public transport inventory surveys (a)
Parking surveys (b)

Note: (a) Surveys collecting data relating chiefly to movement characteristics

(b) surveys collecting data relating chiefly to zonal use characteristics

Besides the actual fieldwork of data collection as summarized above, there is also considerable
desk-work to be undertaken to ascertain the zonal population and land-use statistics for the
whole study area at base year, including the classification of all employment operations within the
study area in terms of the Standard Industrial Classifications and, with the aid of the Registrar-
General's (National) Census of Population data, the derivation of zonal average income levels
etc.

5.5.1 Household Interview Survey (HI Survey)

The HI survey is designed to collect statistical data on travel habits and also on household
structures and characteristics. It is perhaps the most important of all the surveys.
35
 It is usual for the HI sample to be selected by taking every nth household from the electoral
register or the local authority rating lists for the study

The HI itself is intended to ascertain the details of the household structure (number, age, and sex
of occupants), occupation and employment status of household occupants, car availability, gross
household income (by groups) and all journeys, irrespective of mode, made on a specified day by
all members (over 5 years of age) of that household. For each individual journey the following
details would perhaps be recorded:

• person making journey

• origin of journey (address and land use or activity, for coding by zone) destination of
journey (as for origin) start and finish times of journey
• journey purpose (MBW etc. plus a dummy for change travel mode) mode of travel
• persons in car (if car trip)
• bus route
• bus trip characteristics (ticket type, ticket cost for journey)
• And possibly, details of car park usage.

The actual interview can be conducted either by prior delivery of an explanatory letter and survey
form with later collection and on-the-spot checking, or by prior delivery of explanatory letter only
and personal interview of the household immediately after the survey day, the interviewer
completing the form. The latter method is definitely preferable, and perhaps essential with the
current smaller household sample sizes, but requires something like one hour per household
interview time - largely after working hours. The first method, just checking household completion
of the form can be undertaken at about two to three per hour throughout much of the day.

5.5.2 Roadside Interview Survey (RI Survey)

All movements across the cordon line are inevitably external trips of one form or another
(external-external or external-internal trips). These movements are not modelled in the same way
as internal-internal trips, but their volume needs to be known to enable future such movements to
be predicted. Also important is a screen line or lines across the study area, at which cross-study-
area, internal-internal trips can be observed. This screen line, which should be located along
zone boundaries, avoiding inlets and peninsulas and suitably sited for roadside surveys, should
wherever possible follow a natural study-arch dividing line with as few crossing points as
possible. Ideally, a screen line should be unavoidably crossed by as many movements as
possible, in as few locations as possible.

The purpose of the screen-line survey is to obtain origin and destination information on internal
movements across the study area, which is in turn used as a check on the trips determined by
the household interview survey. Because it is not possible to intercept and interview every
traveller across a cordon or internal screen line, a count is also made of all vehicles and public
transport passengers crossing the lines. From this count, the numbers of interviewed travellers
and their inter-zonal movements can be factored-up to equate to the whole cross-line movement.

The roadside interview itself consists partly of observation by the interviewer and partly of
questioning the driver of the vehicle. The purpose of the survey is briefly explained to the driver
and he is asked to state his;

• Origin address.
• Destination address
• Trip purpose

In some locations, most commonly at central-area screen-line stations or narrow-bridge sites on

town approaches, it may not be practicable to delay traffic for an actual interview. In these
circumstances, a reply-paid postcard can be handed to the driver for completion at his leisure
and return to the study team.

5.5.3 Employment Survey

The objectives of the employment survey arc two-fold:

36
 • as a check on local-authority records of employment opportunities, to which trips are
attracted, in the area, by zone,
• to establish the population from which the sample is taken for the commercial-vehicle
survey

The basic questionnaire used for the employment survey would ask all centres of employment to
give details of:

a) Type of activity undertaken

b) Floor area — usually covered floor space but occasionally total site area,
c) Number of employees — differentiating between male and female workers.
d) Number of light and heavy commercial vehicles operating from address.

5.5.4 Commercial Vehicle Survey (CV Survey)

Having surveyed and/or otherwise obtained details of all employment locations within the study
area and the commercial vehicles operating there, it is possible to select a sample of commercial
vehicles for detailed study. The selected sample drivers, with the agreement of the fleet
operators, would be asked to log each trip they made on a specified day, recording:

a) Vehicle type — plus identification details, firm's name and address, vehicle registration, etc.,
b) Journey number—defining a Journey as from essential stop to essential stop,
c) Origin address — home garage for trip 1, first essential Stop for trip 2,
d) Destination address — essential stop,
e) Start and finish time of trip,
f) Trip purpose — firm's business or to and from home.

It is customary for an interviewer to call at the vehicle depot the day after the survey to assist the
driver in completing the survey questionnaire form.

5.5.5 Public Transport Surveys (PT Surveys)

Information on public transport passengers is also required. The prime public transport survey
objective, as in other surveys, is to obtain information on the origins and destinations of travellers
and on the volumes of passenger traffic.

At both cordon and screen-line roadside stations a manual volumetric count is made of all
passengers crossing the lines. The origin and destination information is less readily obtained.
It is customary to distribute reply-paid post-card questionnaires. The information required is:

• address of journey origin — not the bus stop

• address of journey destination — not the bus stop
• purpose of journey

Together with;

• Mode of travel prior to boarding bus (walk/other bus/train/etc.)

• Mode of travel after alighting from bus.

5.5.6 Inventory Surveys

This involves the collection of data relating to the facilities available for that travel. Inventories
must be taken of the roads and of the bus services — link by link. Information is needed on link
lengths and effective widths, link capacities and associated link speeds, link accident rates and
the general character of the surrounding urban fabric.

5.5.7 Parking Surveys

The last of the surveys common to nearly all urban transportation studies are those of parking
facilities and use. These (linked) surveys are important to the study process because of the

37
 influence that parking-space availability can have on actual travel demand. Basically the surveys
comprise:

a) Parking space inventory — including all public- or privately-owned publicly available and
private parking spaces, both on- and off-street, and the charges levied for those spaces.
b) A parking duration survey — recording all legally and illegally parked cars and the duration of
their parking, by '/2-hourly beat patrols noting registration numbers and matching up later.
c) A parking purpose survey — recording origin addresses, destination addresses after parking,
parking purpose (work, shopping etc.), and vehicle type. The survey is undertaken by direct
personal interview linked to the duration-survey %-hour cycle.

5.5.8 Census Data

As well as the detailed local information collected in the course of the surveys just described,
there is another valuable source of data available to the transportation planner in the Registrar-
General's National Census of Population (undertaken at ten-year intervals).Data is collected in
respect of household make-up by sex, marital Status and age groups, and of occupation and
work-place.

5.5.9 Summary

a) The limits of an urban study area should be so defined to form an external cordon. Future
development areas should be included in the study area which should otherwise be kept
reasonably small around the urban development.

b) The study area is divided into internal zones, small enough to provide adequate travel data.
Beyond the study area the whole country is divided into external zones, increasing in size with
remoteness.

c) All traffic-significant roads within the study area are divided into links, bounded by nodes at
important junctions. The public transport network is defined in a similar manner. Trips from each
zone are linked to the network by centroid connectors.

d) Data is collected in respect of land use and travel characteristics sufficient for modelling for
several purposes, for peak and off-peak periods, for movements within the study area and
movements starting or finishing outside, and for movements by both private and public transport.

e) Basic surveys include:

• Household interview — of a small sample, sometimes even as low as 1000 houses.

• Roadside interview and counts — at cordons and screen lines.
• Commercial vehicle survey — of a sample selected from a population determined by an
employment survey plus other sources.
• Public transport surveys — comparable to the car-driver's roadside interview,
• Inventory surveys — to collect data on the characteristics of each link in both road and
public transport networks.
• Parking surveys — of spaces available, the use made of them, and the purpose.

f) The National Census of Population provides useful information, additional to the basic surveys,
which can be used directly in the category analysis process to derive generated trips from trip
rates which have been calibrated by the household interview.

5.6 Trip Generation

5.6.1 Definitions

Trip generation is a general term used in the Transportation Planning Process to cover the field
of calculating the number of trip ends in a given area. The objective of the trip generation stage is
to understand the reasons behind the trip making behaviour and to produce mathematical
38
 relationships to synthesise the trip making pattern on the basis of observed trips, land
trip-making land-use data
and household characteristics.

way person movement by a mechanised mode of transport, having two trip ends,
A trip is a one-way
an origin (the start of the trip) and a destination (the end of the trip).

Trips are usually divided into home-based and non-home-based. Home-based based trips or those
having one end of the trip (either origin or destination) at the home of the persons making th
the trip,
home based trips are those having neither end at the home of the person making the
while non-home
trip.

The trip ends are classified into generations and attractions. A generation is the home end of any
trip that has one end at the home (i.e. of a hom based trip), and is the origin of a trip with neither
home-based
end home based (i.e. of a non home end of a home-
non-home-based trip). An attraction is the non-home home
based tirip, and is the destination of a trip with neither end home based (i.e. of a non-home-
home-based non
based trip).

Fig. 31-1. Home-based

based trips.

In Fig. 31-1,
1, both trips are home based, because one end of the trips is the home. Both are
home-based,
generated at the home zone and attracted to the work zone. We have two work
work-purpose trip end
generations in the home zone and two w purpose attractions in the work zone.
work-purpose

Fig. 31-2. Non-home-based

based trips.

In Fig. 31-2,
2, both trips are non based, because neither end of the trip is the home of the
non-home-based,
person making the trip. Both these

By the above definitions, the total number of trip generations in any area should be equal to the
total number of attractions.

5.6.2 Trip Purpose

Trips are made for different purposes and a classification of trips by purpose is necessary. The
following are some
me of the important classes of trip purpose :
• Work
• School
• Business
• Social or recreational, sports Others

The break-up
up of trips by purpose is normally done for the home based trips which represent
home-based
nearly 80-90%
90% of the total trips.

5.6.3 Factors Governing Trip Generation

eneration and Attraction Rates

A number of factors govern the trip generation rates. These are discussed below :
• Income..
• Car ownership.
39
 • Family size and composition..
• Land use characteristics.
• Distance of the zone from the town centre.
• Accessibility to public transport system and its efficiency
• Employment opportunities, floor space in the industrial and shopping units and offices,
sales figures in shops etc.
.
5.6.4 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis

Multiple linear regression analysis is a well-known

well statistical technique for fitting mathematical
relationships between dependent and independent variables. In the case of trip generation
equations, the dependent variable is the number of trips and the independent variables are the
various measurable factorsrs that influence trip generation. These independent variables are the
economic characteristics discussed earlier. The general form of the equation
land-use and socio-economic
obtained is :

The equation of the above form is developed from the present day data per taining to independent
pertaining
variables and the dependent variable, using the statistical technique of "least squares" fitting. The
equation thus developed is used for determining the future values of trips, knowing the estimated
future values of the independent variables.

As an example of the multiple linear regression analysis equation, the following equation
developed from a study of Toronto is given :

(a) Assumptions

The statistical theory of regression analysis is based on the following important assumptions:
assumption
(i) All the variables are independent of each other;
(ii) All the variables
iables are normally distributed
distributed;
(iii) Allll the variables are continuous
continuous;
(iv) A linear relationship exists between the dependent variable and the independent
variable;
(v) Influence of independent variable iis s additive, that is the inclusion of each variable in the
equation contributes a distinct portion of the trip numbers.

40
(b) Aggregated and disaggregated analysis

Multiple linear regression analysis is of two types:

(i) Aggregated, or Zonal least-square regression, where each traffic zone is treated as one
observation.
(ii) Disaggregated, or Household least-square regression, where each household is treated as an
observation.

Aggregated analysis is most widely used.

(c) Criteria for evaluation of regression equations

The following criteria should be applied in evaluating and selecting a regression eqation:

(i) The multiple correlation coefficient should have a value at least 0.75 or even higher.
(ii) The standard error of the estimate of the dependent variable should be sufficiently small.
(iii) The F-test should be carried out to examine evidence of the degree of certainty that a
meaningful relationship exists between the dependent and independent variables.
(iv) The equation should have accuracy, validity, simplicity, sharpness and constancy

(d) Disadvantages of the Multiple-Linear Regression Analysis Technique

The following points deserve mention :

(i) The equation derived is purely empirical in nature and fails to establish a meaningful
relationship between the dependent and independent variables.
(ii) The technique is based on the premise that the regression coefficients initially established will
still remain unchanged in the future and can be used in the regression equation for predicting
future travel. How far the prediction is valid in future is a moot question.
(iii) Difficulties arise in evaluating the effect of statistical problems relating to non-linearity of the
response surface and high correlations amongst the explanatory variables.

5.6.5 Category Analysis

Category Analysis or cross-classification technique is a method developed by Wotton and Pick

and has been used in some transportation studies in U.K. It is based on determining the average
response or average value of the dependent variable for certain defined categories of the
independent variables.

A multi-dimensional matrix defines the categories, each dimension in the matrix representing one
independent variable. The independent variables themselves are classified into a definite number
of discrete class intervals.

(a) Assumptions

The technique is based on the following assumptions :

i. The household is the fundamental unit in the trip generation process, and most journeys
begin or end in response to the requirements of the family.
ii. The trips generated by the household depend upon the characteristics of that household
and its location relative to its required facilities such as shops, school and work place.
iii. Households with one set of characteristics generate different rates of trips from
households with other set of characteristics.
iv. Only three factors are of prime importance in affecting the amount of travel a household
produces i car-ownership, income and household structure.
v. Within each of the above three factors, a limited number of ranges can be established so
as to describe the trip-generating capacity of a household by a limited number of
categories.
vi. Trip generation rates are stable over a time so long as factors external to the household
are the same as when the trips were first measured.

(b) Categorisation of Households

41
 As stated above, households are classified on the basis of three factors, viz., car ownerships,
income and household structure. These are then classified into different ranges.

(c) Critical appraisal of the category analysis technique

Advantages:
(i) The whole concept of household trip-making is simplified in this technique
(ii) Unlike regression analysis technique, no mathematical relationship is derived between trip-
making and household characteristics. This takes away many of the statistical drawbacks of the
regression analysis
(iii) Since data from the census can be used directly, it saves considerable effort, time and money
spent on home-interview survey.
(iv) The computations are relatively simpler.
(v) Since disaggregate data are used, the technique simulates human behaviour more
realistically than the zonal aggregation process normally employed in regression analysis.

Disadvantages:
(i) It is difficult to test the statistical significance of the various explanatory variables.
(ii) The technique uses past studies made elsewhere, with broad corrections.
(iii) In the analysis it is assumed that income and car ownership increase in future. The
categories of higher incomes and higher car ownership are, however, the ones which are the
least represented in the base year. Moreover, they are the ones most likely to be used for future
estimates of trip generations.
(iv) New variables cannot be introduced at a future date.
(v) Large samples are needed to assign trip rates to any one category.

5.7 Trip Distribution

5.7.1 What is Trip Distribution

After having obtained an estimate of the trips generated from and attracted to the various zones,
it is necessary to determine the direction of travel. The number of trips generated in every zone
of the area under study has to be apportioned to the various zones to which these trips are
attracted. Thus,- if gt is the number of trips ends generated in zone i and a, is the number of trip
ends attracted to zone j, trip distribution stage determines the number of trips tt_j which would
originate from zone i and terminate in zone j.

The distribution of trips between zones can best be understood by a matrix, given in Fig. 32-1.

Fig. 32-1. O-D Matrix.

The horizontal axis of the matrix represents the zones of attractions (destinations, D), 1, 2, 3,
...j...n and the vertical axis represents the zones of generations (origin, O), 1, 2, 3,...i...n. The
42
 number of trips indicated at the intersection of any zone of origin and attraction e.g. tH represents
the number of trips originating in zone i and terminating in zone j. The total of any individual row,
i, represents the total number of trips generated in zone, i.e. gr Similarly the total of any individual
column, j, represents the number of trips terminating in zone j, i.e., dj.

5.7.2 Method of Trips Distribution

There are two types of trip distribution methods, viz.,

(i) Growth factor methods.
(ii) Synthetic methods.

Growth factor methods have been used in earlier studies but have yielded place now to the more
rational synthetic models. A description of the growth factor methods is, however, given here
because they are still used in small studies and they serve to provide the historical background
before the more recent methods are discussed.

The following are the important growth factor methods:

(i) Uniform factor method.
(ii) Average factor method.
(iii) Fratar method.
(iv) Furness method.

The synthetic methods that will be discussed here will be the following:
(i) Gravity Model.
(ii) Tanner Model.
(iii) Intervening opportunities model.
(iv) Competing opportunities model.

The growth factor methods are based on the assumption that the present travel patterns can be
projected to the design year in the future by using certain expansion factors. This can be
represented by the general formula:

Ti-j =ti-j x.E ...(321)

where
Ti-j = design year (future) number of trips from zone i to zone j.
ti-j = observed based year number of trips from zone i to zone j.
E = growth factor.

Synthetic models utilise the existing data to discern a relationship between trip making, the
resistance to travel between the zones and the relative attractiveness of the zones for travel.
Once a model is established on the basis of the present day data, the model can be used to
predict the future pattern-of travel between zones.

5.7.3 Uniform (Constant) Factor Method

This is the oldest of the growth factor methods and assumes that the growth rate for the whole
area is valid for predicting future inter-zonal trips. A single growth factor, E, for the entire area
under study is calculated by dividing the future number of trip ends expected in the survey area
for the design year by the trip ends in the base year. The future trips between zones i and j, 7Vj,
are then claculated by applying the uniform factor E to the base year trips between zones i and j.
Thus :

Ti-j = ti-j x E

The method, therefore, suffers from certain disadvantages, which are enumerated below:

(i) The assumption of a uniform growth rate for the entire study is not correct, because each
zone will have its own growth rate and the rate of growth of traffic movement between
any two zones will be different.
(ii) The method under-estimates movements where present-day development is limited and
over-estimates movements where present-day development is intensive.

43
 (iii) If the present trip movement between any two zones is zero, the future trip movement
also becomes zero as per this method. This may rarely be the case in reality.

5.7.4 Average Factor Method

In this method, a growth factor for each zone is calculated based on the average of the growth
factors calculated for both ends of the trip. The factor thus represents the average growth
associated both with the origin and the destination zones. The following mathematical
relationship represents the principle employed :

After the distribution has been completed on the above basis, it will be found that the sums of the
trips from zone i will probably not agree with the projected trip ends in zone i and the sums of
trips to zone j will not agree with the projected trip ends in zone j. This difficulty is overcome by
an iterative process using new values for Et and Ej calculated from :

where p’i and a’j are the total generations and attractions of zones i and j respectively obtained
from the first stage of distribution.

The iteration is carried out till the growth factor approaches unity and the values balance within,
say, plus or minus 1%.

The average factor method has the same disadvantages of the uniform factor method. The
multiplying factor has no real significance and is only a convenient tool to balance the
movements. There is no explanation of the movement between zones and the factors causing
the movement. It has the additional disadvantage that a large number of iterations are required.

5.7.5 Fratar Method

This method was introduced by T.J. Fratar and is based on predicting future interzonal
movements by successive approximations. According to this method, the total trips for each zone
are distributed to the interzonal movements, as a first approximation, according to the relative
attractiveness of each movement. Thus, the future trips estimated for any zone would be
distributed to the movements involving that zone in proportion to the existing trips between it and
each other zone and in proportion to the expected growth of each other zone. This may be
expressed mathematically as follows:

44
 When the future traffic into and out of all zones is similarly distributed, each interzonal trip has
been assigned two tentative values-one the result of the distribution for one of the zones
involved.

The procedure is laborious except for simple problems, but can be conveniently tackled by a
computer. It has the same drawbacks as other growth factor models and is unable to forecast
trips for those areas which were predominantly under-developed during the base year. It does
not take into account the effects of changes in accessibility for various portions of the study area.

5.7.6 Furness Method

The method devised by K.P. Furness is also iterative in nature. For this the estimates of future
traffic originating and terminating at each zone are required, thus yielding origin growth factors
and destination growth factors for each zone. The traffic movements are made to agree
alternately with the future traffic originating in each zone and the estimated future terminating in
each zone, until both these conditions are roughly satisfied.

The Furness method gives results similar to Fratar, but requires less computations.

5.7.7 Criticism of Growth Factor Methods

The following are some of the disadvantages of the growth factor methods:
i. Present trip distribution matrix has to be obtained first, for which large scale O-D studies
with high sampling sizes are needed so as to estimate the smaller zone-to-zone
movements accurately.
ii. The error in original data collected on specific zone-to-zone movements gets magnified.
iii. None of the methods provide a measure of the resistance to travel and all imply that
resistance to travel will remain constant. They neglect the effect of changes in travel
pattern by the construction of new facilities and new network.

Despite the above shortcomings, the growth factor methods are relatively simpler to use and
understand. They can be used for studies of small areas and for updating stable and unifrom
data.

5.7.8 Gravity Model

In synthetic models of trip distribution, an attempt is made to discern the underlying causes of
movement between places, and relationships are established between trips and measures of
attraction, generation and travel resistance. Synthetic models have an important advantage that
they can be used not only to predict future trip distributions but also to synthesise the base-year
flows. The necessity of having to survey every individual cell in the trip matrix is thus obviated
and the cost of data collection in reduced.

One of the well-known synthetic models is the Gravity Model. Based on Newton's concept of
gravity, the model as proposed by Voorhees (Ref. 4) assumes that the interchange of trips
between zones in an area is dependent upon the relative attraction between the zones and the
spatial separation between them as measured by an appropriate function of distance. This
function of spatial separation adjusts the relative attraction of each zone for the ability, desire or
necessity of the trip maker to overcome the spatial separation. Whereas the trip interchange is
directly proportional to the relative attraction between the zones, it is inversely proportional to the
45
measure of spatial separation. A simple equation representing the above relationship is of the
following form:

The following formulation was also used in earlier studies dispersing with the proportionality
constant:

where Ti-j, Pi, Aj, di-j and n have the same meaning as given earlier. In order to simplify the
computation requirements of the model, the following formulation has been frequently used:

The above relationship can be used for determining the trip interchange for each trip purpose and
each mode of travel.A few simple problems will now be solved to illustrate the above concepts.

Problem. A self-contained town consists of four residential areas A, B,C, D and two industrial
estates X and Y. Generation equations show that, for the design year in question, the trips from
home to work generated by each residential area per 24 hour day are as follows :

A 1000
B 2250
C 1750
D 3200

46
There are 3,700 jobs in industrial estate X and 4,500 in industrial estate Y. It is known that the
attraction between zones is inversely proportional to the square of the journey times between
zones. The journey times in minutes from home to work are :

Zones X Y
A 15 20
B 15 10
C 10 10
D 15 20

Calculate and tabulate the inter-zonal trips for journeys from home to work.

Solution.

47
The results are tabulated in the matrix below:

It will be seen that as a result of the distribution, the total attractions do not tally with the predicted
attractions. An iterative procedure is necessary to balance out both the predicted attractions and
the productions. For this purpose, the total attractions are first adjusted as follows:

48
49
The results are tabulated in the matrix below:

It will be seen that the results are now closer to the total predicted attractions. If more accuracy is
needed, further iterations can be done.

Problem 32-3. The total trips produced in and attracted to the three zones A, B and C of a survey
area in the design year are tabulated as:
50
 Zone Trips Trips
produced attracted
A 2000 3000
B 3000 4000
C 4000 2000

It is known that the trips between two zones are inversely proportional to the second power of the
travel time between zones, which is uniformly 20 minutes. If the trip interchange between zones
B and C is known to be 600, calculate the trip interchange between zones A and B, A and C, B
and A, C and B.

Solution.

Using the formula :

(a) Calibration of the Gravity Model

Calibration is the process of determining the travel time factor Fi-j which expresses the area-wide
effect of spatial separation on trip interchange between zones and the factor which is the specific
zone-to-zone adjustment factor to account for the social and economic factors influencing the
travel pattern. The following are the phases involved in the calibration process:

Phase 1. In this phase, the basic data on the area's travel patterns and transportation facilities
are processed to provide the three basic inputs to the gravity model formula, i.e. zonal trip
productions and attractions and the spatial separation between the zones as measured by travel
times. The network is studied and driving time and terminal times are determined. The inter-zonal
and intrazonal travel times are derived.

Phase 2. The basic survey trip data are analysed and a table of zone-to-zone movement for each
trip purpose is built. The effect of trip length on trip making is studied by obtaining the trip length
frequency distribution by one minute travel time increments, for each trip purpose being
analysed.

Phase 3. This phase relates to the development of travel time factors. Initially, set of travel time
factors are assumed, and this is facilitated by a pervious study of a city of comparable size. This
trip interchanges are then calculated by using the gravity model formula on the basis of the data
on zonal trip productions and attractions, minimum path travel times and assumed travel time

51
 factors. The initial estimate of the trip interchanges is then combined with the minimum time
paths to obtain an estimated trip length frequency distribution for each trip purpose category. A
comparison of the actual and estimated trip length frequency distributions is then made, and
successive iterations are done to get close agreement between the two.

Phase 4. In this phase, zone-to-zone adjustment factors (Kt-ji are developed to account for social
or economic linkages. Topographical barriers such as rivers etc. are now eliminated by
adjustments to the minimum path travel times.

Phase 5. The calibrated gravity model is tested to make sure that it simulates accurately existing
travel patterns.

Computer programmes are available to facilitate the above process, which is otherwise very
complex.

5.7.9 Tanner's Model

n
Tanner has suggested that the inverse of nth power, 1/(di-j) in the gravity model formula cannot
give valid estimates at both very small and very large distances. In this place he proposes the
function ew'ldn, where X and n are constants. The new formula suggested by him is of the form:

where the summation is over all places

5.7.10 Opportunity Model

Opportunity models are based on the statistical theory of probability as the theoretical foundation.
The concept has been pioneered by Schneider and developed by subsequent studies. The two
well-known models are:
(i) the intervening opportunities models ;
(ii) the competing opportunities model.

5.8 Traffic Assignment

5.8.1 Purpose of Traffic Assignment

Traffic assignment is the stage in the transport planning process wherein the trip interchanges
are allocated to different parts of the network forming the transportation system. In this stage (i)
the route to be travelled is determined and (ii) the inter-zonal flows are assigned to the selected
routes. The applications of traffic assignment are:

i. To determine the deficiencies in the existing transportation system by assigning the

future trips to the existing system.
ii. To evaluate the effects of limited improvements and additions to the existing
transportation system by assigning estimated future trips to the improved network.

52
 iii. To develop construction priorities by assigning estimated future trips for intermediate
years to the transportation system proposed for those years.
iv. To test alternative transportation system proposals by systematic and readily repeatable
procedures.
v. To provide design hour traffic volumes on highway and turning movements at junctions.

Thus the assignment process is useful both to the transport planner and the highway designer; to
the former, because of the need to evaluate how the proposed transport system will work, and to
the latter, for geometric design of individual links and intersections.

The advent of the modern digital computers has facilitated the growth of assignment techniques,
which involve computations too laborious for manual handling.

5.8.2 General Principles

All assignment techniques are based on route selection. The choice of the route is made on the
basis of a number of criteria such as journey time, length, cost comfort, convenience and safety
Journey time is often considered as the sole criterion since length and cost can be considered as
functions of time in most cases. The route selection is made manually for small jobs but large
jobs make use of an electronic computer for this purpose.

As a first step, the highway network is described by a system of links and nodes. A link is a
section of a highway network between two intersections. A node is either the centroid of a zone
or the intersection of two or more links. For computer analysis, the network description is coded,
key punched and stored in the memory of the computer. The computer is then made to select the
minimum path between the zones and assign predicted trips to these paths. Traffic volumes are
thus accumulated for each section of the network. As stated earlier, the minimum path may be
that route of travel which has least accumulation of time, distance or other parameters. The
sequence of nodes which defines the links comprising the minimum path between any two zone
centroids is called the 'tree'. The tree is determined by the computer starting from the zone
centroid and progressively selecting the shortest path to the terminal zone centroid. When traffic
is accumulated for each link it may so happen that certain individual links get overloaded. In that
event, certain adjustments will have to be made in accordance with travel-time flow relationships
fed to the computer.

A procedure commonly employed in assignment studies is what is known as 'Moore's Algorithm'.

Moore developed a method for dealing with telephone calls on the basis of shortest path, and this
method has been exploited in many computer programmes designed to assign the traffic in a
street network. A simple example below illustrates the method of building the minimum-path tree.

Fig. 33-1. Minimum path 'tree'.

5.8.3 Assignment Techniques

Though the broad principles of assignment have been discussed above, in practice different
techniques of assignment are available. Some of these are:

53
 i. All-or-nothing assignment (Free assignment or Desire assignment)
ii. Multiple route assignment
iii. Capacity restraint assignment
iv. Diversion curves.

5.8.4 All-or-nothing Assignment

This is the simplest technique and is based on the premise that the route followed by traffic is
one having the least travel resistance. The resistance itself can be measured in terms of travel
time, distance, cost or a suitable combination of these parameters. The procedure of network
description and tree-building has been described earlier. The next stage is to assign the traffic
flows to the minimum path tree. The following simple example is intended to illustrate the
procedure.

Fig. 33-2 shows the minimum path tree connecting zone centroid 1 with zone centroid 2, 3 and 4.
The traffic volume from zone centroid 1 to zone centriods 2, 3 and 4 are given here:

Fig. 33-2

As seen from the above figure- the traffic volumes assigned to the various links are volumes

Once the traffic volumes are assigned to the various links, a check is made to see that no link is
loaded beyond its capacity. If overloading is found to exist, the journey times on this overloaded
links are altered and the assignment is repeated.

Though simple, all-or-nothing assignment suffers from certain disadvantages. It is found to be the
least desirable technique when compared with more accurate techniques.

i. If time alone is used as the governing factor for the choice of the minimum path, other
equally important factors such as cost, reliability, convenience and safety will be
neglected. But a driver may attach more value to these neglected factors, thus causing
errors in the assigned flow. If cost is used as the sole governing factor, difficulties can
arise because different persons value cost differently. It is also difficult to quantify all the
costs involved in a journey, and some studies have restricted themselves only to
quantifiable journey cost (Ref. 2).

54
 ii. Because of the very principle on which the technique is based, too many vehicles tend to
be assigned to more attractive routes. This may cause increasing congestion on these
routes and the technique takes no account of this factor. For the same reasons, all
facilities in the network are not effectively utilised under this procedure.
iii. If a superior facility is available, say, for example a motorway, people tend to prefer to
use this facility for longer journeys. If the travel time or cost is the sole factor, the all-or-
nothing assignment might not reflect this tendency.
iv. Small differences in journey times by different routes between the same origin and
destination can result in unrealistic journey paths.

5.8.5 Multiple Route Assignment

All road users may not be able to judge the minimum path for themselves. It may also happen
that all road users may not have the same criteria for judging the shortest route. These limitations
of the all-or-nothing approach are recognised in the multiple route assignment technique. The
method consists of assigning the inter zonal flow to a series of routes, the proportion of the total
flow assigned to each being a function of the length of that route in relation to the shortest route.

In an interesting approach suggested by Burrell (Ref. 3) it is assumed that a driver does not know
the actual travel times, but that he associates with each link a supposed time. This supposed
time is drawn at random from a distribution of times, having as its mean the actual link time. The
driver is then assumed to select the route which minimises the sum of his supposed link times.
Multiple route models have been found to yield more accurate assignment than all-or-nothing
assignments.

5.8.6 Capacity Restraint Assignment

Capacity restraint assignment is a process in which the travel resistance of a link is increased
according to a relation between the practical capacity of the link and the volumes assigned to the
link. This technique has been developed to overcome the inherent weakness of all-or-nothing
assignment technique which takes no account of the capacity of the system between a pair of
zones. The capacity restraint system, on the other hand, clearly restrains the number of vehicles
that can use any particular corridor and, in fact, the whole system, if the assigned volumes are
beyond the capacity of the network, and redistributes the traffic to realistic alternative paths.

33-6-2. Because of the iterative nature of the calculations involved, the capacity restraint
technique is carried out entirely by an electronic computer. The procedure is similar to the all-or-
nothing assignment as far as the initial data input are concerned. The additional data that is fed is
the capacity of each link. The best paths are determined in the same way as in all-or-nothing
technique by building the minimum path trees. Traffic is then assigned to the minimum paths,
either fully or in stages, and as the assigned volume on each link approaches the capacity of the
link, the new set of travel time on the link is calculated. This results in a new network with a
different minimum path tree, differing significantly from the earlier minimum path tree. As a
consequence, assigning the inter-zontal volumes to the new tree produces a new volume on
each link. This iterative process is repeated until a satisfactory balance between volume and
speed is achieved.

Some of the methods of capacity restraint are given below:

(1) Smock Method.
(2) The Bureau of Public Roads (B.P.R.) Method.

5.8.7 Diversion Curves

One of the frequently used assignment techniques is the diversion curves. These curves
represent empirically derived relationships showing the proportion of traffic that is likely to be
diverted on a new facility (bypass, new expressway, new arterial street etc.) once such a facility
is constructed. The data collected from the pattern of road usage in the past serve to build up
such curves.

Diversion curves can be constructed using a variety of variables such as :

(i) Travel time saved.
(ii) Distance saved.
(iii) Travel time ratio.
55
 (iv) Distance ratio.
(v) Travel time and distance
(vi) Distance and speed ratio, saved.
(vii) Travel cost ratio.

5.9 Modal Split

5.9.1 General Considerations

Modal split is the process of separating person-trips by the mode of travel. It is usally expressed
as a fraction, ratio or percentage of the total number of trips. In general, modal split refers to the
trips made by private car as opposed to public transport (road or rail).

An understanding of modal split is very important in transportation studies. Future transportation

pattern can only be accurately forecast if the motivations that guide the traveller in his choice of
the transportation modes can be analysed. Though the factors that govern the individual's choice
of mode are complex, a study of the same is of great utility. Considerable attention is being given
recent years to this aspect of transport planning.

5.9.2 Factors Affecting Modal Split

The factors that affect choice among alternative modes are heterogenous and numerous and it is
convenient to discuss the factors under some broad categories as below :
1. Characteristics of the trip ;
2. Household characteristics;
3. Zonal characteristics;
4. Network characteristics.

These will now be examined in detail.

Characteristics the trip

(i) Trip purpose. The choice of mode is guided to a certain extent by the trip purpose, e.g. home
based school trips have a high rate of usage of public transport while home-based shopping
journeys can have a higher rate of private car usage
(ii) Trip length. The length can govern an individual's choice of a particular mode.

Household characteristics
(i) Income. The income of a person is a direct determinant of the expenses he is prepared to
incur on a journey
(ii) Car ownership. Car ownership is determined by the income and hence both inter-related in
their effect on model choice.
(iii) Family size and composition. The number of persons in the family, the number of school-
going children, the number of wage earners, the number of unemployed, the age-sex structure of
the family, and some other factors connected with the socio-economic status of the family
profoundly influence the modal choice.

Zonal characteristics
(i) Residential density. The use of public transport increases with residential density increases.
(ii) Concentration of workers.
(iii) Distance from CBD.

Network characteristics
(i) Accessibility ratio. Accessibility ratio is a measure of the relative accessibility of that zone to all
other zones by means of mass transit network and highway network.
(ii) Travel time ratio. The ratio of the travel time by public transport compared to private car gives
a measure of the attractiveness of public transport system. The travel time by public transport
system is itself composed of: (a) time spent walking to public transport vehicle at origin, (b) time
spent for waiting for public transport vehicle, (c) time spent in public transport vehicle, (d) time
spent in transfer from one public transport vehicle to another, and (e) time spent walking from

56
 public transport vehicle at destination. Travel time by private car is composed of (a) time spent
driving the car, (b) time spent in parking at destination, and (c) time spent in walking from parked
vehicle to destination. It is generally found that as the travel time ratio increases, the usage of the
public transport system falls down.

(iii) Travel cost ratio. The ratio of cost of travel by public transport and cost of travel by car is one
of the most important factors influencing modal choice. In assessing the cost of travel by cars,
the possibility of any arrangement of pooling cars for journey to work is also a consideration. The
importance of travel cost is related to the economic status. People with high incomes are
unmindful of cost and prefer more expensive modes.

Apart from the factors mentioned above, there are some others which are difficult of being
quantified accurately including comfort, convenience and prestige associated with various forms
of travel fall under this category.
a. Comfort is one of the main considerations in modal choice.
b. Convenience which also includes seat probability in a public transport system and hand
luggage, is another factor most frequently weighed by the travellers in deciding between
private car or a public transport. The relative
c. Safety of travel is yet another factor which may be a consideration with some.
d. The opportunity to read can be a factor favouring travel by rail.
e. Waiting, transferring, overcrowding, standing and long walking are some considerations
most unfavourable to public transport usage.

5.9.3 Modal Split in the Transport Planning Process

Modal split is considered in the transport planning process at a number of stages. Basically, two
variations are possible:
(i) Pre-distribution modal split, in which the modal split is considered prior to trip distribution
stages, also known as trip end modal split procedure.
(ii) Post-distribution modal split, in which the modal split is considered after trip distribution stage,
also known as trip interchange modal split procedure.

In the pre-distribution modal split procedure, there are again two possibilities:
(i) At the trip generation stage itself;
(ii) After trip generation, but before trip distribution.

5.10 Evaluation

5.10.1 Need for Evaluation

The transportation plans, which are prepared with specific goals, require to be evaluated to asses
how far they meet the desired objectives. The plan which satisfies the requirements in the best
possible manner is ultimately selected for implementation. Evaluation is, therefore, an important
stage in the formulation of transportation plan.

5.10.2 Several Plans to be Formulated

Obviously, for achieving certain specific goals, there may be more than one solution. Some may
be costly, and some may have other disadvantages and advantages. It is only by comparing the
pros and cons of several alternatives that the best and optimum solution can be made to emerge.

One of the alternatives is the "do nothing" situation, which serves as a convenient yardstick with
which to measure up the others.

5.10.3 Testing

For comparing several alternatives, the initial step is to test the plan and assess how it would
function in practice. The transport plan itself is based on a number of models which are designed
to represent the various factors that determine the nature and amount of travel.

57
 The planner seeks answers to the following g questions: What are the actual flows in the network
and what are the effects of these flow patterns on the environment, accident situation and
comfort? What is the impact of the plan on the parking requirements? How do the intersections
behave under the expected flows? How is the land-use development going to be influenced by
the plan ? These are some of the questions that need to be answered by testing the several
alternatives and by preparing a balance-sheet of advantages and disadvantages of each plan.

5.10.4 35-4. Considerations in Evaluation

Some of the considerations in evaluating alternatives are:

i. System performance, including freedom of choice as to time and route of travel, comfort,
convenience, safety and level of service provided in terms of reliability, travel time and
delay.
ii. Effect on the community environment including impact on the compatibility with adjacent
land use, considering such factors as fumes, noise and disruption of neighbourhoods,
effects on pattern of land development and aesthetics.
iii. Economic factors, including annual capital costs, user operating costs (including
accidents) and time costs.
iv. Financial considerations as to the funds available to the community.
v. Political acceptability considering the many governmental units within the typical
metropolitan study area, many with differing and often opposing interests as to desirable
transportation facilities.

5.10.5 35-5. Economic Evaluation

The qualitative answers obtained by testing the plans need to be translated into monetary terms
so as to easily asses the pros- and cons of the plans. It is, therefore, very common to express the
evaluation in economic terms. The idea is to use money as measure of the effectiveness of the
several plans and to provide a common yardstick.

A full discussion on economic evaluation follows below.

58
6 ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF TRANSPORTATION PLANS

6.1 Need for Economic Evaluation

38*1*1. For a given set of goals and policies, it is possible to formulate a number of alternative
transport plans. The cost of these plans may vary, and so also the benefits that are likely to
accrue from them. What then is the criterion for selecting a particular plan from among the
alternatives? Are there any accepted principles and procedures for assessing the real cost to a
community of using resources to achieve a desired purpose? The answers to these questions will
be the subject of this Chapter.

38-1-2. Economic analysis has found a ready application in problems concerned with the
evaluation of transport plans. An elementary treatment of the principles of engineering economics
is, therefore, not out of place in this book. In fact, most of the countries now follow some sort of
economic project evaluation before any development plan is taken up for implementation.
International lending institutions, such as the World Bank, attach the greatest importance to
assuring themselves that a particular project for which xa loan its required is not only
economically and technically sound, but that its order of priority in relation to other possible
projects has been carefully determined in the light of the overall development of the country
concerned.

38-1-3. For any country, it is clear that the resources available are limited and are insufficient to
meet all che demands. For a developing country, the need is greatest to husband the scarce
resources and select the optimum plan from amongst those competing for the allocation of these
scarce resources.

Economic analysis is a procedure to select only those schemes that result in the greatest
benefit from the resources available.

38-1-4. The following are some of the specific objectives in

(i) Whether the plan under consideration is worth investment at all.
(ii ) To rank schemes competing for scarce resources in order of priority.
(Hi) To compare mutually exclusive schemes and select the most economic.
(iv) To assist in phasing the programme over a time period depending upon the availability of
resources.

6.2 Costs and Benefits of Transport Project

38-2-1. The basic principle behind any method of economic evaluation is to measure the costs of
the project, determine the benefits that are likely to accrue and compare the two. Though the
principle is simple, its actual application is not. The most difficult part of economic evaluation of a
transport plan is the identification and quantification of the impact of the transport plan. The two
components, the costs and benefits, are dealt with separately.

6.2.1 Cost.

The costs can be considered broadly under the following categories :

(i) Capital cost of initial construction
(ii) Costs of delays to vehicles during the period of construction
(Hi) Maintenance costs.

The capital cost of providing transport facility should be estimated accurately, and should include
land costs and ancillary costs. Cost of traffic control and lighting installations and administration
should also be included.

When a large programme of construction of a transport facility is undertaken, it is inevitable that a

good deal of disturbance is caused to the operation of vehicles. Any significant delays caused to

59
 the vehicles in this respect should be added to the capital cost. If not significant they may be
ignored (Réf. 1).

The maintenance costs are of a recurrent nature and represent the expenditure to keep the
assets in a tolerably good condition in the future years. The impact of the new scheme on the
existing transport network should be evaluated in determining the maintenance costs. For
instance, the new proposals may siphon off a good amount of traffic from the existing facility,
which then may need less expenditure on maintenance. It should also be ensured that future
maintenance costs are discounted to the year in which the calculations are being made.

6.2.2 Benefits

Benefits usually represent the difference between the cost of operating on a new transport facility
and the cost of operating on an existing facility. Thus, in order to determine the benefits, it is
necessary to determine the cost of operation.

Benefits can be grouped under the following heads :

(i) Benefits to the existing traffic by way of reduce operating costs, savings in travel time and
reduction in accidents.
(ii) Benefits to the generated traffic.
(iii) Benefits to traffic diverted from other routes.
(iv) Benefits to the traffic operating of other roads (and railways) where reduction in traffic has
been caused by the opening up of the new facility.

In addition, it is also necessary to consider the dis-benefits due to the scheme, such as
environmental effects (pollution, fumes, noise, vibration, visual intrusions, congestion, loss of
amenity, severance etc.). Other considerations are comfort and convenience and some social
benefits.

(a) Vehicle operating costs

The subject of vehicle operating costs has been studied very extensively because these costs
constitute a significant portion of the transport costs. Savings in operating costs can be brought
about if the transport plans are prepared carefully. Savings in vehicle operating costs can be
evaluated fairly accurately unlike some other kinds of benefits.

(b) Travel time savings

Improved highways bring about significant reduction in travel time, thus benefitting passengers,
vehicle crew, vehicle operators and consigners of goods.

(c) Accident costs

Bad roads cause high rate of accidents. Accidents involve costs to the economy. If accidents can
be prevented, benefits to the economy are possible.

(d) Benefits to Generated Traffic

It is proper to consider the full benefits from highway improvements when dealing with traffic
already using the highway. This follows from the reasoning that all those who travelled before the
improvements were carried out must have placed a value on the trip at least equal to the cost of
travel, and thus they benefit to the full extent when improvements are made. Generated traffic
pertains to journeys which were not worthwhile before the improvements but are worthwhile after
the improvements. Benefits to generated traffic are usually assessed at one-half the change in
user costs.

60
 Fig. 38-1.
1. Benefits to Generated Traffic.

(e) Benefits to Diverted Traffic

Transport improvements attract traffic to the improved facilities from other routes between the
same origin and destination. The benefits derived by diverted traffic is allowed for at the full
extent of the change in user costs.

(f) Benefits to Traffic

ic on other Roads

Improvements to a road ma may cause reduction in traffic on other roads (and railways), thus
resulting in lesser congestion. There may also be congestion on these roads as a result of the
new scheme. These effects should be evaluated.

(g) Environmental Effects

Traffic plans are likely to result in disbenefits caused by adverse effects on the environment. On
the other hand, certain improvement schemes might be planned with the very objective of
improving and preserving the envi ronment. In all such cases, it is necessary to evaluate in
environment.
monetary terms the impact of the scheme on the environment. The elements that need
consideration are : noise, fumes, vibration, loss of amenity, severance, visual intrusion etc. Some
of these are amenable
menable to quantification in monetary terms, while some are not.

Noise is now considered a significant factor in environmental quality. The annoyance caused by
noise is translated into noise costs by considering questions such as: "how much is an individu
individual
affected by noise prepared to pay to get relief from it" or "how much would the sufferer have to
receive monetarily to reinstate his pre noise level of satisfaction". The disbenefits can also be
pre-noise
assessed by changes in rents and property values.

search is needed before all the environmental effects can be considered in monetary
More research
terms.

(h) Comfort and Convenience

Comfort and convenience represent the quality of service offered by a transport facility and are
difficult to value. But yet they are important aspects since many road users are prepared to use a
important
longer route just to derive in comfort and relaxation. The AASTHO guidelines (Ref. 9)
recommended aribtrary values for the cost of discomfort and inconvenience.

(i) Indirect Benefit

ct benefits to highway improvements there are many indirect effects. The most
In addition to direct
important is the effect on property values. A good accessibility places a premium on properties.

61
 Nevertheless, changes in property values are not included in an economic evaluation of transport
schemes, because their inclusion results in some benefits being double counted.

There are some kinds of benefits which are passed on by the road user to the others. The
savings enjoyed by the vehicle owners may be transmitted to other sectors of the community in
various forms. Here also, the indirect benefits are excluded from the economic evaluation in
order to avoid duplicate accounting. The idea is to calculate the total benefits to the community
and not to assess how the benefits are distributed.

6.2.3 Taxes

In assessing the benefits for economic evaluation, the community as a whole is considered.
Indirect taxes, such as fuel tax, purchase tax on vehicles and licence fees are therefore,
excluded. These costs may represent a real cost to the individual road user but not the
community as a whole. They represent only a transfer within the community and the revenue
represented by these charges would have to be raised in any case. Insurance premiums are also
excluded from the economic evaluation calculations, since savings in accidents already account
for this element.

6.3 Time Horizon in Economic Assessment

An economic assessment is usually carried out for specific time horizon. For road schemes, the
evaluation period commonly selected is 20 to 30 years. Even though it may be true that a
scheme may have a life greater than this period, especially when properly maintained, it is
difficult to keep the economic forecasts within realistic limits.

For a railway line system, a higher time horizon is appropriate. A time period of 50 years was
adopted for the London Victoria line study.

At the end of the period selected for economic evaluation, the facility is likely to still remain an
asset with some residual value. It is then appropriate to take the residual value into account duly
discounting the same.

6.4 Basic Principles of Economic Evaluation

The fundamental principle on which all methods of economic evaluation are based is that money
earns income over a period of time. This leads to the necessity of devaluing the future benefits
and costs of schemes to the present time in order to determine their present worth.

The following formulae are very useful in dealing with the problems in economic evaluation:
1. The amount S to which Re. 1 will increase in n years with a compound interest rate of r

62
 Readymade tables giving the values of the above functions are available (Ref 23., 24) and are
handy to use.

6.5 38-5. Interest Rate

The rate of interest (or discount rate) is one of the most important elements in an economic
analysis. The selection or rejection of a particular project is to a great extent dependent on the
choice of an appropriate interest rate.

The choice of the interest rate is governed by a number of complex factors, and is dependent on
the future availability of finance and the various opportunities for its use. Will the current
generation prefer to consume the resources now or conserve it for future use by the current or
future generation? The answer to this question will give the "social time preference rate of
interest", which will then determine the relative value that a government assigns to present
consumption as against future consumption. Another approach is to find out the social yield that
the resources employed by a marginal publi c project would have otherwise generated. This
public
trulyy competitive economy, the two
determines the "social opportunity cost rate of interest". In a tru
rates of interest would be equal and investments and consumption would then be ideally
y, such an ideal situation is hard to find. The situation is especially so in
allocated. Unfortunately,
developing countries where capital is very scarce.

The discount rate should be never less than the rate of borrow ing or lending by the Government,
borrowing
or the market rate of interest. Since the interest rate represents opportunities forgone, the same
interest.
is sometimes called the opportunity cost of capital.

transport sector schemes in developing

A rate of 10 - 12% is often chosen when evaluating the transport
countries.

6.6 38*6. Methods of Economic Evaluation

After having determined the costs and benefits of a scheme, a method has to be evolved for
relating these two so as to arrive at an assessment of the soundness of a scheme in economic
terms. A number of methods have been developed and the lite rature on them is voluminous. The
literature
following are the important methods:

A. Rate of return methods

63
 1. Benefit cost (B/C) ratio method
2. First Year Rate of Return Method.
B. Discounting cash flow (DCF) methods
1. Net Present Value (NPV) method
2. Internal Rate of Return (IRR) method.

In the first group of methods, the benefits are expressed as the net benefits occurring in a single
reference year and the costs are expressed as a net annual cost. In the second group of
methods, the stream of costs and benefits over a period of time are compared on the basis of
discounted cash flow analysis.

6.6.1 38-7. Benefit-Cost Ratio Method

The benefit-cost ratio method is one of the widely used ones for evaluation of highway projects
and is the basis of AASTHO Road-user analysis (Ref. 9). In this method, the ratio of the net
annual benefits to the net annual costs is determined. The benefits are evaluated for a single
reference year, which for convenience can be the first year of operation after construction or the
median year of the analysis period. The costs are the equivalent annual charge representing
equal amortization and interest payment (at a specified discount rate) spread over the economic
life of the project. The benefit cost ratio for a particular project would be:

The numerator of the B/C ratio represents the benefits, which are really the reduction in user
costs. The denominator represents the difference in annual highway costs between the new
facility and the existing facility, including maintenance.

If a number of projects are being considered, the B/C ratio for each of these is determined in the
same manner, comparing the conditions for the existing road with those for the improved road. A
ratio greater than 10 indicates that the extra cost involved in the improvement is less than the
benefits that are likely to accrue and the project is economically justified. If several projects are
being considered, the ratios would enable them to be ranked in order of attractiveness, the one
having the highest B/C ratio being the most attractive. When several major alternatives are under
evaluation, a second analysis is then made, using the preferred alternative as the base to
determine whether an added increment of investment might yield a proportionately larger
increase in road user savings when compared with another alternative.

The following example illustrates the use of the benefit-cost ratio method.

Example: A single lane road 50 km long is to be widened to two lanes at a cost of Rs. 8.0 lakhs
per km, including all improvements. The cost of operation of vehicles on the single lane road is
Rs. 1-20 per vehicle km, whereas it is Re. 100 per vehicle km on the improved facility. The
average traffic may be assumed 2500 vehicles per day over a design period of 20years. The
interest rate is 10per cent per annum. The cost of maintenance is Rs. 5,000per km on the
existing road and Rs. 10,000 per km on the improved road. Is the investment in the improvement
scheme worthwhile?

64
6.6.2 First Year Rate of Return

st year rate of return is the criterion followed by the Department of Environment, U.K. (Réf.
The first
1). In this simple method, the benefits accuring in the first year of the scheme's operation alone
are compared with the capital costs of construction. The result result,, express
expressing the benefits
occurringin the first year as a percentage of the costs, in called the first year rate of return.

The first year rate of return of a possible scheme gives an indication of its priority when
compared with other schemes, and th us assists the selection of the most advantageous scheme.
thus
The priority for different schemes can also be decided on the basis of the first year rate of return.

The following example will make the principle clear.

Example:. A new bypass is to be construct ed)at a busy town. The length of the bypass will be 52
constructed)at
km, and the length of the road through the town is 54 km. The cost of the project is likely to be
Rs. 7,500,000. The speed of traffic through the town is 46-646 6 KPH. The predicted traffic after
completingg the bypass is 7,600 vehicles I day, out of which 50% will use the bypass. It is
computed that if the bypass is not constructed the speed through the town will further drop to 44
44-
1 KPH due to increased traffic, and the speed through the bypass is expected to be 77 KPH and
that through the town will be 504 KPH. The travel costs at the three speeds are as below:

Speed Travel costs per

vehicle/KM
(K.P.H.) (Rs.)
44.1 1.14.
50-4 1.02
77 0.90

It is expected that the construction of the bypass will bring down the accident rate from 1 • 75 per
million vehicle km on the existing route to 0 60 per million vehicle km on the bypass. The cost of
0-60
an accident can be taken as Rs. 15,000. The maintenance cost per km is Rs. 10,000. Calculate
the First Year Rate of Return.
turn.

65
6.6.3 Net Present Value Method (NPV)

66
 Net present value (present worth) method is based on the discounted cash flow (DCF) technique.
In this method, the stream of costs/benefits associated with the project over an extended period
of time is calculated and is discounted at a selected discount rate to give the present value.
Benefits are treated as positive and costs negative to compute the net present value is found.
Any project with a positive net present value is treated as acceptable. In comparing more than
one project, a project with the highest net present value should be accepted.
The net present value is algebraically expressed as :

Example: . A section of road is at present having poor geometries. The cost of upgrading this
road is Rs. 10000 lakhs. The road user costs with and without the improvements, the accident
costs with and without the improvements and the extra maintenance costs with the improvements
are tabulated below for a 20 year period after the execution of the improvement programme.
Assuming a discount rate of 10% per annum, is the project economically justified?

Solution. Table 38-3 gives the calculations in a convenient form.

6.6.4 Internal Rate of Return Method

The internal rate of return is the discount rate which makes the discounted future benefits equal
to the initial outlay. In other words, it is the discount rate which makes the stream of cash flows to
zero. The NPV equation can thus be modified as below, if BQ is zero :

67
 Ct = Costs which occur in the year t
i = Internal rate of return
n = Number of year for which the analysis is done.

The solution to the above equation is rather tedious and is possible only by trial and error. With a
computer programme the work is rendered very simple.

If the rate of return calculated from the above formula is greater than the rate of interest
obtainable by investing the capital in the open market, the scheme is considered acceptable.

6.6.5 Comparison of the Various Methods of Economic Evaluation

The four methods of economic evaluation described earlier have their own advantages and
disadvantages. Each one of them may be more appropriate than the other for a given sitution.

The benefit-cost cost ratio method, though widely used by highway engineers, suffers from the
following drawbacks:
(i) It requires an assumption of the rate of interest, which should be somewhat related to the
opportunity cost of capital. Unfortunately, the opportunity cost of capital is very often not known,
or can be estimated only approximately.
(ii) The significance of the B/C ratio is ambiguous,ous, and its relative value is difficult to understand
and interpret. For example, ple, if there are two proposals, one with a B/C ratio of 105 and the other
with a ratio off 110, the difference is very difficult to appreciate.
(iii) It is at times difficult to decide which items should be treated as costs and placed in the
denominator and which as negative benefits and placed in the numerator.

The net present value method a tage that a discount rate has to be
also suffers from the disadvantage
assumed initially. It is much simpler computationally when compared to the internal rate of return
method.

The internal rate of return avoids the necessity for selecting a discount rate initially. The rate
which is derived as a result of the computations can be easily compared with the market rate of
interest, with which economists and financial experts are familiar. Thus, the method is considered
to be more meaningful than the others. It s disadvantages are that the calculations are tedious
Its
and a solution can only be found by trial and error, and it may sometimes be misleading in
comparing projects having different lives and different streams of benefits.

The first year rate of return met hod is quick to use, but has obvious shortcomings. More
method
importantly, many projects may have attractive benefits initially but whose benefits taper off
abruptly thereafter, and this factor will be lost sight of in the method.

68
7 INTERSECTION DESIGN

7.1 General

An intersection is defined as the general area where two or more highways join or cross, within
which are included the roadway and roadside facilities for traffic movements in that area. An
intersection leg is that part of any one of the roadways radiating from an intersection which is
outside of the area of the intersection proper.

The efficiency of operation, safety, speed, cost of operation and capacity are directly governed by
the design. Since an intersection involves conflicts between traffic in different directions, its
scientific design can control accidents and delay and can lead to orderly movement of traffic.
Intersections are potentially dangerous locations, with over half the fatal and serious road
accidents in built-up areas occurring at junctions.

The following principles should be considered in a good design:

(i) The number of intersections should be kept a minimum.

(ii) The geometric layout should be so selected that hazardous movements by drivers
are eliminated.
(iii) The design should permit the driver to discern quickly either from the layout or from
traffic signs the path he should follow and the actions of merging and diverging.
(iv) The layout should follow the natural vehicle paths.
(v) The number of conflict points should be minimized by separating some of the many
cutting, merging or diverging movements
(vi) Vehicles that are forced to wait in order to cross traffic stream should be provided
with adequate space at the junction.

7.2 Basic Forms of Intersections and Definition of Terms

7.2.1 T intersection

Unchannelised T-junctions are used for very light traffic and for minor and local roads. Obviously
it is hazardous to use this in locations where speeds are high and turning movements are large.

7.2.2 Staggered Intersection

Many crossroads can be conveniently converted into a properly designed staggered intersection.
This will increase the safety.

7.2.3 Rotary Intersection (Roundabout)

A rotary intersection is a special form of at-grade intersection where traffic moves in one direction
round a central island. The vehicles from the converging areas are forced to move around the
central island in a clockwise direction in an orderly manner and weave out of the rotary
movement into their desired directions.

7.2.4 At-Grade Junctions

At-grade intersections are those where roadways join or cross at the same level, while grade-
separated intersections permit crossing manoeuvres at different levels. The choice between the
two depends on factors such as traffic, economy, safety, aesthetics, delay etc.

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7.2.5 At-grade intersections

The figure below shows the basic forms of at-grade intersections

7.2.6 Grade Separated Junctions

Grade-separated junctions have a higher capital cost, and are justified as follows:

(i) On high type facilities such as expressways, freeways and motorways

(ii) At-grade intersections which have reached their maximum capacity and where it is
not possible to improve the capacity further by retaining the at-grade crossing
(iii) At at-grade junctions with a history of bad accidents
(iv) Heavy volume junctions with delays economically justifying grade-separation
(v) Topographical situations where it is logical to provide a grade-separated structure
rather than an at-grade intersection, to minimise earthworks or acquisition of land

70
 Typical basic forms of grade separated intersections are shown below

7.3 Alignment and Vertical Profile

The horizontal alignment and vertical profile of the intersecting roads should permit the drivers to
discern danger and make the manoeuvres necessary for safety. The alignment should preferably
be as straight and gradients as low as practicable.

It is desirable that the intersecting roads meet at or nearly at right angles. Hence it may be
necessary to modify the alignment as shown below.

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 Fig. 7.32. Modification in alignment of intersecting roads to give a nearly right angle crossing.

7.4 The Design Vehicle

7.4.1 Definition

A Design Vehicle is a selected motor vehicle whose weight, dimensions and operating
design controls. The dimensions and operating
characteristics are used to establish highway design
characteristics of a vehicle influence the geometric design aspects such as radii, pavement width,
clearances, parking geometry, etc. The axle weight and gross vehicle weight affect the structural
avement and structures, and operating characteristics of vehicles on grades.
design of the pavement

Therefore the standardization of dimensions and weights of design vehicles is the first step in
formulating geometric design standards. In Kenya this is specified in the Road De
Design Manual
(MoRPW, 1984). AASHO standards represent American practice. In U.K., the Ministry of
Transport Regulations govern the features of the design vehicle.

7.4.2 Types of design vehicles

The AASHTO Standard (adopted in Kenya) classifies the following types of design vehicles:
types

1 Passenger Car P
2 Single Unit Truck SU
3 Single Unit Bus BUS
4 Semi-trailer
trailer combination, intermediate WB-12
5 Semi-trailer
trailer combination, large WB-15
6 Semi-trailer-full
full trailer combination WB-18

The Kenya Standard contains only commercial vehicles of the following types:

Single unit truck

Semi-trailer

Truck-trailer
trailer combination

7.4.3 Summary of Standards for Dimensions of Vehicles

Table 11-4 4 gives a summary of standards of dimensions for design vehicles for various
authorities

Table 11.4 Standards of Dimensions for Design Vehicles by Various Authorities (in metres)

Authority Maximum Maximum Maximum Overall Length

Country Width Height Passenger Single Semi- Truck Single
Car Unit Truck Trailer Trailer Unit Bus
AASHTO 2.6 4.1 5.8 9.1 15.2-16.7 19.9 18.3
U.K. 2.5 4.87 (Bus) 5.5 11.0 13.0 18.0
Indian Road 2.5 3.8 – 4.2 - 11.0 16.0 18.0 12.0
Congress (Truck)

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 The turning radii for the various AASHTO design vehicles are given in Table 11-5.

Table 11.5 Turning Radii of AASHTO Vehicles

Design Vehicle Type Passenger Single Unit Semi-trailer Semi-trailer

Car Truck (large) full-trailer
(P) (SU) (WB-15) (WB-18)
Minimum Turning Radius (m) 7.3 12.8 13.7 13.7
Minimum Turning Radius (Inside) (m) 4.2 8.5 5.8 6.8

The turning radii for some of the vehicles in common use are given in Fig. 11-2 (Ref. 4).

7.4.4 Axle loads and weights of vehicles

Examples of maximum axle loads of vehicles specified in some countries are given below.

Single Axle Tandem Axle

AASHTO 9.0 14.5
U.K. 1.00 -
IRC (1983) 10.2 18.0

The maximum weight of vehicles depends upon the number, configuration and spacing of axles.

7.4.5 Selection of the design vehicle

The selection of the design vehicle is governed by the type and volume of traffic expected to use
the highway. Design of a superior facility such as a motorway/expressway should be based on
the largest design vehicle; while the passenger car may be considered for streets and junctions
in residential areas.

Example of design specification using the Semi-Trailer Combination Large (WB-50)

7.4.6 Design speed

(a) Speed as a design factor

The level of service of a highway is largely indicated by the speed, safety and convenience
afforded by the facility for travel. Speed is important for economic operation and has a great
bearing on the safety of the highway. It plays a vital role in determining the geometrical design.
73
(b) Design speed

The speeds adopted by different drivers and by different types of vehicles are varied. Therefore
the speed value selected should accommodate nearly all demands with reasonable adequacy
while the design should not fail under the severe or extreme condition. The speed adopted
should satisfy nearly all drivers, excepting, of course, those few who drive at extremely high
speed.

Design speed is a speed determined for design and correlation of the physical features of a
highway that influence vehicle operation. It is the maximum safe speed that can be maintained
over a specified section of a highway under favourable conditions, where highway design
features govern. The design speed should be correlated with terrain highway classification.

The 95th percentile speed and 98th percentile speeds are frequently chosen as Design Speed.

(c) Suggested design speeds

The table below gives suggested Design Speeds for Rural Highways in a Commonwealth
country. For Rural Highways, the recommendations contain two types of design speeds:

Ruling design speed generally the guiding criterion for correlating design features; and
Minimum design speed adopted where site conditions or economics do not permit using the
ruling design speed.

Table 11.7 Suggested Design Speeds in India for Rural Highways (All values in K.P.H.)

Classification of Roads Plain Terrain Rolling Terrain Mountainous Steep Terrain

Terrain
Ruling Min. Ruling Min. Ruling Minimu Ruling Min.
m
1. National and State Highways 100 80 80 65 50 40 40 30
2. Major District Roads 80 65 65 50 40 30 30 20
3. Other District Roads 65 50 50 40 30 25 25 20
4. Village Roads 50 40 40 35 25 20 25 20

For motorways the values adopted in U.K. are as below

Rural motorways 120 KPH.

Urban motorways 80 KPH.

For urban streets, the U.K. design speeds as below:

Primary distributor (Urban motorway) 80 KPH

Primary distributor (All-purpose) 65 KPH
District distributor, local distributor, access road 50 KPH

Reference should be made to the Kenya Road Design Manual specifications

7.5 Visibility at Intersections

The safety of traffic can be ensured only if the visibility is full and unimpeded along both roads.
Any obstructions should be clear of the minimum visibility triangle for a height of 1.2 metres
above the roadway.

7.5.1 Rural road intersections

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For rural road intersections, where intersecting roads are almost equal in importance with no
established priority (i.e. uncontrolled intersections) visibility should be provided on the principle
that a driver approaching the intersection on either highway must be able to perceive a hazard
and halt the vehicle, if necessary, before reaching the intersection.

The stopping distance, d1 and d2, appropriate for the design speeds of v1 and v2 respectively in
the two intersecting highways have to be determined.

On priority intersections, traffic is controlled on the minor road by STOP or GWE WAY signs or
road markings. The visibility provided should allow drivers approaching from the minor road to
see the vehicles on the major road in good time and judge if adequate gaps in the main road
stream are available for merging or safe crossing. The current practice is to specify a visibility
distance (e.g. 15 metres) on the minor road.

75
 The visibility needed on the major road at priority intersections depends on the time required by
the driver on the minor road to perceive the traffic conditions on the inter-section, evaluate the
gaps in the vehicle stream, take a decision about the actual crossing and finally accelerate the
vehicle to complete the manoeuvre. A time of 8 seconds may be considered appropriate for this
purpose. Table below gives examples of the visibility distance along the major road

Table 7-35 Minimum visibility distances along major roads at priority intersections on rural roads

Design speed of major road in K.P.H Minimum visibility distance along u, major road
(metres)
100 200
80 180
65 145
50 110

7.5.2 Urban road intersections

Operating speeds are lower on urban intersections. Current U.K. practice is to limit the visibility
distance along the minor road in a priority intersection to about 4.5-9.0m. On the major road, the
visibility distance is provided as shown in Table 7.36.

Table 7.36 Visibility distance along major road on priority junction

Type of road Visibility distance (metres) along the major road

1. All purpose primary distributor 120 - 150
2. District or local distributor 90
3. Access Road 60

7.6 Radii of Curves

The design of intersection curves influences speed. Curve radii are, therefore, selected to control
speed and ensure safety of operation. Generally, design of curves falls into the following
categories:

(i) Design of curves for a minimum speed and sharpest turn

(ii) Design of curves to permit different operating speeds.

7.6.1 Sharpest turn curves for minimum speed

When it is necessary to provide for turning vehicles within minimum space, the design vehicle
selected will govern the turning radius. Compound, which are generally three-centred, are
provided.

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 Table 7.37 Minimum edge of pavement designs for turns at Intersections - AASHTO

AASHO Design Angle of Turn Radius of Simple 3-centred compound curve 3-centred compound curve asymmetric
Vehicle (degrees) curve (m) symmetric
Radii (m) Offset (m) Radii (m) Offset (m)
P 30 18 .
SU 30 - - - -
WB-40 45 - - - -
WB-50 60 - - - -
P 45 15 ^^ -
SU 23 - - - -
WB-40 36 - - - -
WB-50 52 60-30-60 0.9 - -
P 60 12 - - - -
SU 18 - - - -
WB-40 27 - - - -
WB-50 - 60-23-60 1.7 60-23-84 0.6-1.8
P 75 10.5 30-7.5-30 0.6 - -
SU 17 36-14-36 0.6 - -
WB-40 26 36-14-36 1.5 36-14-60 0.6-2.0
WB-50 - 45-15-45 1.8 46-15-70 0.6-3.0
P 90 9 30-6-30 0.75 - -
SU 15 36-12-36 0.9 - -
WB-40 - 36-12-36 1.5 36-12-60 0.6-1.8
WB-50 - 55-18-55 1.8 36-12-60 0.6-3.0
P 105 - 30-6-30 0.75
SU - 30-10.5-30 0.9
WB-40 - 30-10.5-30 2.5 30-10.5-60 0.6-2.5
WB-50 - 55-14-55 2.5 45-12-64 0.6-3.0
P 120 - 30-6-30 0-6
SU - 30-9-30 0-9
WB-40 - 36-9-36 1.8 30-9-55 0.6-2.7
WB-50 - 55-15-55 2.6 45-10.5-67 0.6-3.7
P 135 - 30-6-30 0.45
SU - 30-9-30 1.2
WB-40 - 36-9-36 2.0 30-7.5-55 0.9-4.0
WB-50 - 50-10.5-50 2.7 40-9-57 0.9-4.3
P 150 - 23-5.5-23 0.6 - -
SU - 30-9-30 1.2 - -
WB-40 - 30-9-30 1.8 27-7.5-50 0.9-3.4
WB-50 - 50-10.5-50 2.1 36-6-55 0.9-4.3
P 180 - 15-4-5-15 0.15 - -
SU - 30-9-30 0.45 - -
WB-40 - 30-6-30 2.9 26-6—45 1.8-4.0
WB-50 - 40-7.5-40 2.9 30-7.5-55 1.8-4.0

Sharpest turns are usually provided for unchannelized intersections and for curbs of urban
streets intersections. In residential streets, the minimum curb radius should be 6m, though 3 -
77
 4.5m radii are satisfactory. For junctions-used by commercial vehicles, a radius of 10.5 metres
will suffice.

7.6.2 Minimum design for turning roadways

Where the inner edges of pavement for left turns at intersections are designed to accommodate
semi-trailer combinations, or where the design permits passenger vehicles to turn at speeds
≥25Kph, the pavement area at the intersections may be too large for proper control of traffic. This
is mitigated by a corner island provided to form a separate turning roadway, i.e. a connecting
roadway for traffic turning between two intersection legs.

Fig. 7-36. Turning Roadway.

Table 7-38 Minimum design for turning roadways - AASHTO

Angle of turn (degrees) 3-centered Width of lane (m) Approx. island size
2
compound Curve (m )
Radii (m) Offset (m)
75 A 45-22.5-45 1.1 4.25 5.5
B 45-22.5-45 1.5 5.5 4.5
C 55-27.5-55 1.1 6.0 4.5
90 A 45-15-45 0.9 4.25 4.5
B 45-15-45 1.5 5.5 7.5
C 55-20-55 1.8 6.0 11.5
105 A 36-12-36 0.6 4.5 6.5
B 30-11-30 1.5 6.5 4.5
C 55-14-55 2.5 9.6 5.5
120 A 30-9-30 0.75 5.0 11.0
B 30-9-30 1.5 7.5 8.5
C 55-12-55 2.6 10.5 20.0
135 A 30-9-30 0.75 5.0 43.0
B 30-9-30 1.5 8.0 34.0
C 50-11-50 2.75 11.0 60.0
150 A 30-9-20 0.75 5.0 130.0
B 30-9-30 1.8 9.0 110.0
C 50-11-50 2.2 11.5 160.0

A Primarily passenger vehicles; permits occasional design single units trucks to turn with
restricted clearances
B Provides adequately for SU; permits occasional WB-50 to turn with slight encroachment
on adjacent traffic lanes.
C Provides fully for WB-50

7.6.3 Curves designed for different speeds

The speeds for which intersections curves should be designed depend largely upon the vehicle
speeds on the approach legs, type of intersection, and volumes of through and turning traffic.
Generally, a desirable turning speed for design is the average running speed, which may be
roughly taken as 0 7 of the design speed. Design at such speeds offers little hindrance to smooth

78
 flow of traffic and may be justified on some intersections for certain movements involving little or
no-conflict with pedestrians or other vehicular traffic.

Table 7-39 Minimum radii for intersection curves for various turning speeds - AASHTO

Design turning speed (K.P.H.) 25 30 40 50 60 65

Side friction factor, f 0.32 0.27 0.23 0.20 0.18 0.16
Assumed minimum superelevation, e 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.09
Total e+f 0.32 0.29 0.27 0.26 0.26 0.25
Calculated min R (.m), R=V2/[127(e+f)] 14 28 47 70 96 129
Suggested minimum, R (m) 15 27 45 70 95 130

7.6.4 Speed change lanes

Drivers entering into or leaving an intersection have to change their speed. In the former case,
they will reduce the speed to a safe value at which the intersection can be negotiated. In the
latter case, they will increase the speed until the desired open highway speed is reached. Such
deceleration or acceleration on the highway disrupts traffic and may cause a hazard. Speed
change lanes are normally provided on superior facilities such as expressways and other main
highways.

Speed-change lanes are either acceleration lanes or deceleration lanes, and are usually provided
with a taper. The length of a deceleration lane depends upon the manoeuvring speed and the
deceleration characteristics. The length of an acceleration lane depends upon the speed at which
the drivers merge with through traffic and the acceleration characteristics.

Table 7 41 Design lengths of deceleration and acceleration lanes (Grade: 2 per cent or
less) - AASHTO

Design speed of turning Stop 25 30 40 50 60 65 75 80

roadway curve, K.P.H. condition
Minimum curve radius (m) 15 27 45 79 95 130 170 210
-Design speed Length of Total length of deceleration lane, including taper (m)
of highway Taper (m)
(K.P.H.)
65 60 100 90 85 75 60 - - - -
80 70 130 120 115 110 100 85 - - -
100 80 150 150 145 140 130 120 100 90 -
110 90 165 165 160 150 145 140 115 100 -
Design speed Length of Total length of acceleration lane, including taper (m)
of highway Taper (m)
(K.P.H.)
65 60 - 100 75 70 - - - - -
80 70 - 210 190 180 150 120 - - -
100 80 - 340 320 300 270 210 180 120 -
110 90 - 465 450 420 400 370 300 250 175

The width of speed change lane should not be less than a normal traffic lane, i.e. 3.75 metres.

7.6.5 Right-turn (Storage) lanes

Storage lanes for right-turning traffic enable the vehicle to slow down to the necessary turning
speed without impeding the flow of through traffic and for waiting when signals are provided. The
length of such right turn lanes as per current U.K. practice is given below.

Design speed of major road (K.P.H.) 80 65 50

Length of right-turn lane, including 30m taper (m) 120 100 80

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7.6.6 Widths of carriageways in junctions

The carriageway width needs to be increased in curves. The following values of carriageway
widths are as per U.K. practice.

Table 7.40 Width of carriageways at intersections

Inner Radius Single lane width Two lane-width for one or two
(m) (m) way traffic
(m)
10.5 5.5 11.5
15 5.2 10.6
20 5.0 10.0
30 4.6 9.1
40 4.5 8.7
50 4.5 8.4
75 4.5 8.4
100 4.5 8.0
125 4.5 7.8
150 4.5 7.6
Straight 4.5 7.3

7.7 Channelization

Channelization is the direction of traffic flow at intersections to definite paths, by means of traffic
markings, islands or other means. An unchannelised intersection is simple but dangerous and
inefficient. Important junctions should therefore be channelized.

Channelization serves the following purposes

i. Separation of conflicts
ii. Control of angle of conflict
iii. Control of speed
iv. Protection of traffic for vehicles leaving or crossing the main traffic stream.
v. Protection of pedestrians
vi. Elimination of excessive intersectional areas
vii. Blockage of prohibited movements
viii. Location of traffic control devices

Fig. 7'38. Channelising island with funnel entrance and wider exit throat.
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 Fig. 7'39. Control of radius of entry and exit for control of speed.

Fig. 7-40. Channelising to protect right turning traffic.

Fig. 7'41. Unused pavement areas converted to channelising islands.

7.7.1 Features of Channelising islands

Channelising islands may be of many different shapes and sizes guided by the geometry of the
intersection. They should be sufficiently large to command attention. An area of about 5 - 7 sq.
m. should be the minimum. Elongated or divisional islands, introduced on undivided highways to
alert drivers and regulate traffic through the intersections, should be at least 1.2 m wide and 3.5
to 6 m long.

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 In rural intersections, island curbs should always be of a mountable type, except where there is a
need for a barrier, as at structures or pedestrian crossings. For urban intersections, mountable
curbs are preferable for most situations, but a barrier type may be provided, where speeds are
low and protection of pedestrians, signal and lighting standards and signs is needed. The island
is referred to as a refuge island when used for protection of pedestrians.

The edges of the island are usually offset 0.3 to 0.6 m from the edge of the carriageway to
reduce the risk of overriding the islands.

The approach noses of islands should be rounded off to a minimum radius of 0.6 - 0.9 m, and the
merging end nose should be rounded off to a radius of at least 0.3 m. The approach to the nose
should be marked for additional guidance of traffic by means of diagonal markings and chevrons.

7.7.2 Median openings

(a) Minimum design

Where nearly all the traffic travels on the divided highway and volume is below capacity, an
occasional vehicle may use the median opening either to come to the through road from the
cross-road or to go to the cross-road from the through road. A simple median opening designed
for the minimum turning path is provided. The length of the opening depends upon the width of
the median.

Table 7 43 Minimum length of median opening for SU Design vehicles - AASHTO

Median width M (.in metres) L= Minimum length of median openings (in

metres) (Bullet nose ends)
1.2 30
1.8 23
2.5 21
3.0 19
3.6 18
4.3 16
5.0 15
6.0 13
7.2 and above 12 minimum

(b) Design for U-turns

Median openings designed only to accommodate vehicles making U-turns are needed on
expressways at the following locations:

1. Near to all terminal junctions

2. At regular intervals, of say 1.5km, between junctions to facilitate maintenance operations,
policing, repair of stalled vehicles etc.
3. Beyond important intersections to enable drivers unfamiliar with the locality to correct any
mistake in manoeuvring
4. For accommodating minor turning movements.

A minimum width of 9 m is needed, but reduced to 6m for passenger vehicles only. The
accommodations for U-turns provided by minimum design are summarised below

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 Table 7 44 Median opening for U-turn design - AASHTO

Median Type of manoeuvre accommodated on 4 lane divided AASHTO design vehicle

width (m) highway provided for
18 Permits nearly all vehicles to U- turn from inner to inner lane All vehicles.
12 Permits all passenger vehicles to U-turn from inner to inner P and SU
lane; permits some trucks to turn from outer to outer lane, with
large trucks partially encroaching on shoulders.
10 Permits passenger vehicles to U-turn from inner to inner lane; P and SU
permits all trucks to U-turns with encroachment on shoulders
6 Permits passenger vehicles to U-turn from inner to outer lane; P only
U-turn impossible for large trucks without backing

(c) Gap in median at junctions

To allow large vehicles to turn right without difficulty to/from a major road, the gap in the median
should normally extend 3m beyond the continuation of both kerb lines of the minor road to the
edge of the major road and should also be determined by 12-15m radius control circles tangential
both to the centre line of the minor road (or to the sides of any refuge or Island) and the side of
the central reserve away from the minor road.

Gap in median at junction.

7.8 Roundabouts (Rotary Intersections)

7.8.1 Definition of terms

A sketch of the rotary along with some of its elements is given below

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 Fig. 7.68. Rotary Elements

The definitions of some of the common terms in rotary design; are given below:

Diverging: The dividing of a single stream of traffic into separate streams.

Merging: The converging of separate streams of traffic into a single stream.
Weaving: The combined movement of merging and diverging of traffic streams moving in
the same general direction.
Weaving Length: The length of a section of a rotary in which weaving occurs.

7.8.2 Advantages of rotary intersections

The advantages of rotary intersections are:

(i) Rotary one-way movement provides an orderly and regimented traffic flow
(ii) Normally, all traffic proceeds simultaneously and continuously at fairly uniform,
'though low, speed
(iii) Weaving movements replace the usual angular crossings typical at grade
intersections
(iv) All turns can be made with ease, although little extra travel distance is required
(v) A rotary is especially suited for intersections with five or more intersection legs,
and/or where there arc heavy right-turning movements
(vi) For moderate traffic, rotaries are self-governing and need no control by police or
traffic signals

7.8.3 Disadvantages of rotary intersections

(i) As the flow increases and reaches the capacity, the rotary may 'lock up'.
(ii) A rotary can have the same capacity as a properly designed channelized layout
(iii) A rotary requires more land and may not be feasible in built-up locations.
(iv) Topography limits use of rotaries as they require large and relatively flat land area
(v) Where pedestrian traffic is large, a rotary by itself is not sufficient to control traffic and
has to be supplemented by traffic police
(vi) Where used on high-speed roads, rotaries require extremely large size.
(vii) Where the angle of intersection between two roads is too acute, it becomes difficult to
provide adequate weaving length

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 (viii) They impede traffic flow when provided at close intervals
(ix) Traffic turning right has to travel a little extra distance
(x) A rotary requires many warning and directional signs for safety
(xi) The rotary is not readily adaptable to stage development. Attempts at stage development
generally result in some over-design when viewed from immediate traffic needs.

7.8.4 Guidelines for selecting a rotary type of intersection

Considering some of the above advantages and disadvantages, the following general guidelines
may be kept in view when selecting a rotary type of intersection:

(i) Rotaries are most appropriate where volumes entering from different intersection legs
are approximately equal.
(ii) The maximum practical capacity for high type rotaries is about 3000 veh/hr entering from
all the intersection legs
(iii) A rotary design is most appropriate when the proportion of turning traffic is very high
(iv) A rotary is a good choice when there are more than four approaches to the junction.
(v) When the approach widths are restricted and it is impossible to provide separate lanes
for through and turning traffic, a rotary may be desirable.
(vi) Rotaries are not generally warranted for intersections carrying very light traffic - the
lowest traffic volume for which a rotary design should be considered is about 500 vph
(vii) Rotaries could be a good choice for moderately busy intersections in urban and
suburban areas, in place of complicated channelised layouts or traffic signals.

7.8.5 Shape of Rotary Island

The shape and layout of the rotary island depends upon the layout of the intersecting roads and
the traffic flow pattern.

Circular Equilateral

85
 Elliptical Rectangular

Irregular

Type Remarks
1. Circular Suited where roads of equal importance carrying approximately equal
volumes intersect at nearly equal angles.
2. Squarish with rounded edges Suited for predominantly straight ahead flows.
3. Elliptical, elongated, oval or Intended to favour through traffic. They may be provided to suit the
rectangular geometry of the intersecting legs or to provide long weaving lengths.
Elongated central island will be appropriate for a scissors junction.
4. Irregular Shape is dictated by the existence of a large number of approaches.

7.8.6 Mini roundabouts

A serious drawback of the conventional roundabout is that very often the traffic locks itself. The
conventional roundabout is thus not exactly self-regulatory at all times.

A major change in the approach to roundabout design was the introduction of the “offside priority”
rule in 1966. This rule was intended to get over the drawback of locked roundabouts, but other
advantages came with it. The absence of 'weaving' under the new rule made possible a drastic
reduction in the size of the central island and an availability of greater-carriageway space within
the existing layout. The entry width could be increased, rendering a multi-vehicle flow into the
roundabout.

Experiments initiated at the TRRL demonstrated that using small diameter islands could bring in
higher capacities. This formed the basis of current U.K. practice.

86
 Typical mini-roundabout as per U.K. practice.

The basic principles of design of a mini-roundabout illustrated above are:

(i) Provision of small diameter island, about 1/3 of a hypothetical circle inscribed within the
outer carriageway boundaries, but normally not less than 8 m.
(ii) An increase in the number of lanes at the Give-Way line.
(iii) A minimum stopping distance of 25 m between the Give-Way line and the point of
conflict with a vehicle from the left. This is the dimension X in figure above
(iv) A width between traffic islands and the roundabout which is not less than the total lane
width at the entry preceding it, i.e. dimension shown as .Z
(v) An entry taper (about 1 in 6) that is about twice as sharp as the exit taper (about 1 in 12).
(vi) A deflection island (shown as B) intended to ensure that straight-through movements do
not occur.
(vii) To maintain junction capacity, a single lane approach should be tapered to give at least
three lanes at the junction and a 2-lane approach tapered to at least four lanes at the
junction. At the exits, the merge should normally be from four lanes to two lanes and two
lanes to one lane.

The capacity of a mini-roundabout is expressed with a general equation as follows:

q = K(Σw+a1/2), where

q = total entry volume in PCU/hour

Σw = sum of the basic road width used by traffic in both directions, in metres.
a = area of the junction widening, i.e., the area within the intersection outline (including
islands) which lies outside the area of the basic crossroads, in sq. m.
K = efficiency coefficient which depends upon site conditions.

Typical values are:

K values (PCU/hr)
3 way junction 80
4 way junction 70
5 way junction 65

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 The practical capacity is about 80 per cent of that given by above equation.

(a) Advantages of Mini-roundabouts

(i) Increased capacity: Wherever mini-roundabouts have replaced large diameter

roundabouts, a general increase in the capacity has been noted. As compared to
signalised junctions too, mini-roundabouts can bring about higher capacities.
(ii) Accident rates. A trend of decrease in the number of fatal and serious injury
accidents has been noticed after conversion of junction into mini-roundabouts.

(b) Limitations for use

As indicated earlier, mini-roundabouts are the result of the introduction of the "offside priority"
rule. They can be introduced only where such rules are in force and are strictly followed. Non-
observance of this rule can lead to chaos and serious accidents.

Mini-roundabouts require careful consideration on the design speed. High standard pavement
markings and road signing, and great care in provision of guide islands, alignment of the kerbs
and location of the central island are necessary for the satisfactory functioning.

Adequate visibility to the approaching drivers is of prime importance.

7.9 Grade Separated Intersections

7.9.1 Criteria for provision

The general criteria for providing grade separation across streets and highways are as follows:

Urban streets. Grade separation to be provided if the estimated traffic volumes within the next 5
years are in excess of the capacity of the intersection; when traffic projections show that volumes
within the next 20 years will exceed the capacity of an at-grade intersection, the need for a grade
separated facility should be kept in view for future construction.

Rural highway. Grade separation should be provided at intersections of divided rural highway if
the ADT (fast vehicles only) on the cross road within the next 5 years exceeds 5000. Where this
figure will be reached within the next 20 years, the need for such facilities should be kept in view.

Grade-separation is of great importance across railway lines. As a general guide Indian practice
for rural highways requires grade-separation to be provided across existing railway lines if the
product of ADT (fast vehicles only) and the number of trains per day exceeds 50,000 with the
next 5 years. For new constructions such as bypasses, grade separations should be provided
when this figure is greater than 25,000.

7.9.2 Types of grade-separated intersections

Basically two types are met with:

(i) Grade-separated intersections without interchange

(ii) Grade-separated intersections with interchange.

Interchange is a system whereby facility is provided for movement of traffic between two or more
roadways at different levels in the grade-separated junction. A structure without interchange is an
over-bridge or underpass or flyover, whereby the traffic at different levels moves separately
without a provision for an interchange between them.

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 The different forms of a grade-separated junction can be considered under the number of legs
the intersection serves. Thus the interchanges can be classified as three-leg, four-leg and multi-
leg, and these in turn can be subdivided into various types as below:

A. Three-leg interchange.
1. T interchange.
2. Y interchange.
3. A partial rotary interchange.

B. Four-leg interchange
1. Diamond interchange.
2. Half cloverleaf interchange.
3. Clover leaf interchange.
4. Rotary interchange.
5. Directional interchange.

C. Multi-leg interchange
1. Rotary interchange. These types will be discussed in detail.

(a) Three-leg interchange

If one of the intersection legs meets a highway at approximately a right angle but does not cross
it, and if the junction is provided with interchanging facility, the junction is called a T interchange.
If the intersection angle is acute or obtuse, the junction is called a Y interchange. A widely used
form of a T or Y interchange is "trumpet".

Fig. 7.79. Trumpet interchange.

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 Fig. 7-80. Y-shaped interchange

A design convertible to full clover when the junction is likely to become four-leg, is indicated
below

Fig. 7-81. Three-leg interchange that can be converted to a clover

An alternative to the arrangement is a partial bridged rotary intersection shown below

90
(b) Diamond interchange

A popular form of interchange in urban locations involving a major-minor crossing is a diamond

interchange. It can be designed for a relatively narrow right-of-way of the major road.

(c) Half Cloverleaf interchange

When a major road crosses a minor road (not more than 2 lanes) it is possible to provide a partial
cloverleaf.

(d) Cloverleaf interchange

The cloverleaf interchange is a 4-leg interchange with a single structure and is very popular. It is
used when two high volume and high-speed facilities intersect each other.

Some of its advantages are:

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 (i) Through traffic on both roads is unimpeded.
(ii) Only one structure is required
(iii) Left-turning traffic has a direct path
(iv) It is very simple to use and does not confuse the drivers.

The disadvantages of (his type of interchange are:

(i) Relatively large area is needed.
(ii) The carriageway area required is also higher than a rotary interchange
(iii) Weaving manoeuvres are involved, some of them on the roadway of the structure
and some underneath the structure
(iv) The weaving capacity is limited to about 1200 PCUs/hour, but may be increased by
providing an ancillary lane.
(v) The U-turns are long and operationally difficult.
(vi) Loop design speeds have to be low, and speeds above 50 K.P.H. are likely to
increase the cost.
(vii) Right-turning traffic has to travel extra distance.
(viii) The capacity of the loop is also restricted.

A capacity of 800 - 1200 veh per hour is almost the limit. Figure below gives the layout of
cloverleaf interchange.

(e) Rotary interchange

A rotary interchange is another form of 4-leg interchange popular in some countries, especially in
U.K. It can also be used for multi-leg interchange.

The advantages claimed for this type of interchange are:

(i) It occupies relatively less land area
(ii) The carriageway area is also less than many other types
(iii) U- turns are easy
(iv) Suitable for most sites.

The advantages are:

(i) The capacity is limited by the capacity of the roundabout itself
(ii) The straight through traffic on one road is required to weave with turning traffic from the
other road

A 2-level interchange can be improved to a 3-levels rotary interchange, where through traffic on
each road is unimpeded and the weaving takes place in the rotary only for the turning traffic. The
number of structures required is five.

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 Fig. 7'89. Three-level rotary

(f) Directional interchange

An interchange which gives direct or semi direct connections for the major right-turning
movements is called a directional interchange. These interchanges are rather complex and
involve complicated multi-level structures

7.9.3 Design considerations

(i) Radii of curves on ramps

(ii) Sight distance on ramps
(iii) Gradients on ramps. Guidelines are:
(a) Ramp gradients should desirably be limited to 6 per cent in areas subject to snow
and ice
(b) Where heavy truck tram; is likely, the upward gradient should be limited to 4 per
cent.

93
 (c) In exceptional cases, grades may be as steep as 10 per cent, on minor ramps and
low volume ramps.
(iv) Width of ramps
(v) Capacity.

94
8 PARKING

8.1 Traffic and Parking Problems

One of the problems created by road traffic is parking. Vehicles require street space to move
about and to space to park for loading and unloading of occupants. This results in demand for
parking space in the CBD and other areas where the activities are concentrated.

A systematic study of the parking characteristics, demand and regulatory measures for
controlling parking is vital to traffic engineers and town planners.

8.2 Ill-effects of Parking

1. Congestion: Loss of street space and attendant traffic congestion. Street capacity is
reduced, journey speeds drop while journey times and delay increase. Increase vehicle operating
costs result in economic loss to the community.

2 Accidents: The manoeuvres associated with parking and unparking are known to cause
road accidents.

3. Obstruction to fire-fighting operations: Parked cars obstruct the movement of fire-fighting

vehicles and greatly impede their operations, including access to hydrants and buildings.

4. Environment: Vehicles deface the visual aesthetics in addition to emissions and noise

8.3 Zoning and Parking Space Requirement Standards

On-street parking and its regulation is an important aspect of the overall parking policy of a town.
However, to ensure development of land-use and building activity adequately takes care of future
parking needs, zoning ordinances are promulgated whereby all new or re-modelled buildings will
be required to have within their cartilage a prescribed parking space. Zoning and land-use
controls are vital for fostering safe and efficient traffic.

Parking demand is a function of the land-use, though variations can exist within the same land-
use. Notwithstanding the difficulties that arise in prescribing a uniform parking space requirement
standard for all communities, it is possible to prescribe minimum standards based on extensive
experience. Typical values are given in Table 7-1.

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Table 7-1 Desirable Parking Space Standards for Different Land Use

Land use Parking space standard

1. Residential
(i) Detached, semi-detached row houses
Plot area upto 100 sq. m.
Plot area from 101 to 200 sq. m. Only community parking space is required.
Plot area from 201 to 300 sq. m. Only community parking space is required.
Plot area from 301 to 500 sq. m.
Plot area from 501 to 1000 sq. m.
Plot area 1001 sq. m. and above
(ii) Flats.
(Hi) Special, costly developed area.
(iv) Multi-storeyed group-housing schemes. cities like Calcutta and Bombay where the
2. Offices
3. Industrial premises
4. Shops and markets
5. Restaurants
6. Theatres and cinemas
7. Hotels and motels
i) Five and four-star hotels
(ii) Three-star hotels
(iii) Two-star hotels
(iv) Motels
8. Hospitals
No private or community parking space is
required.
Minimum one-third of the open area earmarked
for parking.
Minimum one-fourth of the open area
earmarked for parking.
Minimum one-sixth of the open area earmarked
for parking.
One space for every two flats of 50 to 99 sq. m.
or more of floor area.
One space for every flat of 50 to 100 sq. m. of
floor area. One and a half spaces for every flat
of 100 to 150 sq. m. of floor area. Two spaces
for every flat of above 150 sq. m. of floor area.
One space for every four dwellings except in
demand may be more.
One space for every 70 sq. m. of floor area.
One space for upto 200 sq. m. of initial floor
area. Additional spaces at the rate of one for
every subsequent 200 sq. m. of fraction thereof.
One space for every 80 sq. m. of floor area.
One space for every 10 seats.
One space for every 20 seats.
One space for every 4 guest rooms.
One space for every 8 guest rooms.
One space for every 10 guest rooms.
One space for each guest room.
One space for every 10 beds.

When applying the above standards, the parking space requirement of a car can be considered
as 3m x 6m when individual parking space is required and 2.5 x 5m when community parking is
envisaged. For two-wheelers, a stall 0.8m x 2.5m is desirable. .

For loading and unloading of commercial vehicles, the requirements given in Table 12.2 are
recommended.

Table 12-2Commercial Vehicle Loading and Unloading Space Standards

Description Loading and unloading space standard

All kinds of developments One berth for initial 500-1500 sq. m. of floor area. Additional
excepting residential berths at the rate of one for every subsequent 1000 sq. m. or
warehouses and godowns. part thereof.
Two berths for initial 500 to 1500 sq, m. of floor area. Additional
For warehouses and
berths at the rate of one for every subsequent 500 sq. m. or part
godowns.
thereof.

The space requirement for one commercial vehicle is 3.75 m x 7.5 m

The parking area required per bicycle is 1.4 – 1.8 sq. m.

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8.4 Design Standards for On-street Parking Facilities

8.4.1 Common methods of on-street parking

These are :
(i) Parallel parking
(ii) 30° angle parking
(iii) 45° angle parking
(iv) 60° angle parking
(v) Right angle parking.

Parallel parking consumes the maximum curb length which decreases as the angle of parking
increases. The minimum curb length is consumed by right angle parking, which accommodates
nearly 2 times the number of vehicles as parallel parking.

Parallel parking consumes the least street width, and fits well for in narrow streets. As the parking
angle increases the width of street used also increases.

Considering manoeuvrability, angle parking is better than parallel parking which usually involves
a backing motion. Delay to traffic is minimum with angle parking.

As regards safety, it has been noticed that angle parking is more hazardous than parallel parking.

Considering the above, it is recommended that in general parallel parking should be favoured on
streets. On exceptionally wide (wider than 20 m) and low volume streets, consideration might be
given for angle parking.

The figure below gives some of the typical layouts and dimensions for on-street parking stalls.

97
8.5 Traffic Regulatory Measures for On-street Parking

Appropriate traffic management measures mitigate on some ill-effects of on-street parking. They
range from waiting restrictions in a street to the comprehensive control over an extended area,
including restrictions on park areas, waiting time and parking charges.

The regulatory measures are generally of two types:

• one where the use of parking space is authorized for certain periods free or for payment,
• where parking is prohibited but which allows waiting for picking up or setting down goods
and passengers.

98
 When a controlled parking scheme is planned, the zone boundaries should be clearly delineated
and suitable traffic signs installed. Natural boundaries such as a river or a railway line could be
adopted. The carriageways should be adequately marked.

8.5.1 Prohibited parking

It is desirable to prohibit parking at certain locations and for a period to ensure safety and
convenience. Such locations include:
• Near intersections.
• Narrow streets.
• Pedestrian crossings.
• Structures.
• Entrance driveways

The period for which the parking is to be prohibited should be determined by a careful analysis of
the traffic conditions. Normally the period can be from 8am or 9am to 6pm or 7pm, with
relaxations on Sunday or such other closed days.

8.5.2 Free parking for limited period

Under the scheme, free parking is allowed in designated stalls for a limited period. The
enforcement is done by traffic police or wardens. The conditions which favour the adoption of this
scheme are the availability of sufficient parking spaces to meet the demand and the knowledge
that the parkers usually leave their vehicles for a time which is less than the posted time limits.

8.5.3 Parking meters

Under the parking meter scheme a controlled zone is established within which, during specified
days and hours, parking may only take placé at a metered parking bay, but within which, unless
specificially prohibited by signs or markings, stopping for the purpose of picking up or setting
down passengers or collecting or delivering goods is permitted anywhere without charge,
including at metered parking bays for the time being unoccupied. The controlled zone is distinctly
marked by traffic signs to alert the drivers.

The meters are of two general types, i.e. manual and automatic.

The manual meter is operated by inserting the appropriate coin(s) and working handle or lever.
This activates the clockwork mechanism of the meter. The automatic meter is wound up
periodically (say once a week) by an attendant. Upon the insertion of the coin(s) a needle shows
in the time scale the time bought and it will start moving across the time scale on the face of the
meter until the period of time bought has expired. Thereupon a flag or other indication will appear
on the meter and the excess charge period comes into operation. When the excess charge
period has also expired, another flag, usually red, appears on the meter face, denoting that the
motorist is liable to prosecution and the vehicle may be towed away at the owner's expense.

The meters can be of two general types, i.e. the "cancelling" or "non-cumulative" type and the
"cumulative" type. In the former, any unexpired time remaining on the meter is cancelled out by
the insertion of the next coin, with the next motorist getting no more time than he actually pays
for. With the latter type, the unexpired time left is added to the time paid for by the next motorist,
the total time being limited to the maximum which the scheme allows to be purchased.

8.6 Off-street Parking Facilities

The types of off-street facilities commonly considered are:

(i) Surface car parks
(ii) Multi-storey can parks
(iii) Roof parks
(iv) Mechanical car parks
(v) Underground car parks.

99
 There are certain basic considerations which govern the location of these facilities. Since these
facilities are costly to provide and maintain, a comprehensive study should be done before hand
to help determine the location, types and size of these facilities.

Obviously, the prime consideration should be the nearness to the place of useage by the
prospective customers. The facility should be served by good access streets. It is desirable to
locate the facility such that no exit or entrance is within a distance of at least 50 m from an
intersection.

8.6.1 Surface car parks

Surface car parks are very popular with the motorists. Great care is needed in their design and
operation. The overall aesthetics of the area should receive due attention.

A stall size of 2.5 m x 5 m is probably adequate for most conditions, predominated by small-size
cars, whereas for American conditions 2.6 m x 5.5 m is recommended. A variety of layouts can
be possible depending upon the area. A few of them are illustrated in Fig. 12-3

Fig. 12.3. Typical layouts of parking areas

If the surface park is to be operated with a fee-charging system, there should be arrangement for
collecting the money. This can be either manually by stationing an attendant in a kiosk at the

100
 entrance or by installing an automatic ticket vending machine designed to raise a barrier rail upon
insertion of a coin.

8.6.2 Multi-storey car parks

Multi-storey car parks provide a good alternative when land is costly, and have become common
and popular in many cities.

Multi-storey car parks are designed for a capacity of about 400 to 500 cars. Larger capacity tends
to increase the time for unparking a car. About five floors is also the upper limit for the same
reason.

Some of the desirable standards for designing of the multistorey car parks are:
(i) Gradient of the ramp: 1 in 10 generally and 1 in 8 for very short ramps.
(ii) Clear height between floors: 2.1 m
(iii) Parking stall dimensions: 2.5 m x 5 m
(iv) Inside radius of curves: 7 m
(v) Width of traffic lane on ramps and entrances: 3.75 m
(vi) Gradient of sloping floors: Not steeper than 1 in 20
2
(vii) Loading standards: 400 kg/m .

The arrangement of the floors and the access ramps needs careful thought and a large number
of alternatives are available. Ramps are preferably made one-way. If two-way, they should be
divided. A simple arrangement is to have level floors and direct floor to floor ramps. Another
arrangement could be with parking floors themselves continuously sloping to gain access from
one level to another. Horizontal floors with separate helical entrance and exit ramps have been
found to be efficient.

The car parking floors, the ramps, the entrance and the exits should be well lighted. If the garage
is without external walls, as is often the case, there is no need for artificial means for ventilation.
Otherwise, mechanical ventilators should be provided.

The operation of the multi-storey car parks can be with customer parking or attendant parking or
a combination of the two.

8.6.3 Roof parks

Avery popular method of solving the parking problems adopted in many cities is to park the
vehicles on roof tops. Access ramps or mechanical lifts provide the necessary access to the
roofs. To access ramp, in addition to the ramps, extra cost is involved in designing the rooftops
and the structural elements for the parking load.

8.6.4 Mechanical car parks

Mechanical car parks provide for lifting of the cars from floor to floor by means of a lift and
transfer of cars to and from the parking stall by means of wheeling or mechanically operated
transfer dollies or cradles. Since the ramps and aisles are eliminated in this system, it is more
economical in space as compared to the ramped system, multi-storey garages. The
disadvantages are the higher maintenance costs and the possibility of breakdown due to
mechanical or power failure.

8.6.5 Underground car parks

The great advantage of underground car parks is the least intrusion they cause to the aesthetics
of a place. Since the work involves large quantities of excavation, construction of retaining walls,
ventilation and lighting, such car parks tend to be very costly. Underground car parks can be
single-storeyed or multi-storeyed though the latter tend to be very costly.

8.6.6 Peripheral Parking Schemes

Since the centre of the town is the worst hit by the parking problem, it is natural to think in terms
of providing parking facilities at the periphery of the town and induce the motorists to park there
101
 and travel to the busy town centre by some other mode. There are a number of schemes which
have been devised to secure the desired objectives. They are:

(i) Park and walk

(ii) Park and ride
(iii) Kiss and ride.

8.6.7 Loading and Unloading Facilities

(a) Bus-bays

Properly designed bus-bays recessed into the curb facilitate loading and unloading of
passengers without the vehicles blocking the stream of traffic on the carriageway. The following
are the guidelines for the location of the bus-bays:
(i) The bus stops should not be located too close to the intersections. The bus stops should
be located preferably on the farther side of the intersection.
(ii) Bus stops should be as far as possible so located as to disembark the passengers at safe
places such as curbs or islands.
(iii) For buses intending to turn right at an intersection, the stop should be sufficiently away from
the intersection so that the bus can be manoeuvered from the curb to the extreme right
lane well before the intersection.

The length of the recess should be about 12-15 m for a single bus with an additional length of 12-
15 m for every additional bus. The taper on either side should be about 8:1, the maximum value
being 6:1.

(b) Commercial traffic

Loading and unloading of goods by trucks on the roadside makes demands upon the space
reserved for pedestrians as well as for moving vehicles. The problem can be controlled by
permitting loading and unloading only between 6pm and 8pm, or by permitting loading and
unloading only at specified location. The long-term solution of the problem is in providing
adequately designed truck terminals outside the cities.

(c) Truck Terminals

The factors justifying the provision of truck terminals include:

• The indiscriminate parking of trucks in the streets causes degradation of the environment
and the increased hazards to traffic.
• Security of the goods contained in the parked vehicles
• The need for truck drivers to take rest, toilet facilities and food

The right approach is to provide well designed truck terminals at the fringes of the cities. The
truck terminals should be located on important arterial routes and at the confluence of a number
of such routes, and preferably close to major generators of commercial activity.

The length of truck berths depends upon the type of trucks to be handled. Truck-trailer
combinations obviously need longer lengths than single unit trucks. For single unit trucks a space
of 3.75 m x 7.5 m per vehicle is adequate. For truck-trailer combinations lengths upto 15 m may
be needed. The width of the loading platforms should be 3.5 to 4.5 m. About 600-750 trucks can
be accommodated in a parking area of one hectare. The area required for the entrance forecourt,
hotel, resting place and ancillary facilities (weigh bridge, fuelling facilities, workshop) is in addition
to the parking area requirement.

(d) Long Distance Bus Terminals

In a town, it is desirable to provide a properly designed bus terminal to handle exclusively long
distance bus traffic. Such terminals should preferably be outside the congested portions of the
town. If a town has ring road, the ideal location in many cases is on the ring road itself. The
terminal should be planned such that one-way circulation of buses is achieved. The entrances
and exits should be located with this in view.

102
The platforms where pedestrians wait should be raised. Parking facilities for cars, taxis, cycles,
scooters, etc. should be liberally provided. The terminals should be planned for the anticipated
future traffic in the design year.

103
9 TRAFFIC SIGNALS

9.1 Introduction

The use of traffic signals for control of conflicting streams of vehicular and pedestrian traffic is
extensive in most of the towns and cities. The first traffic signal is reported to have been used in
London as early as in 1868 and was of the semaphore-arm type with red and green lamps for
night use. During the hundred years since then traffic signals have been developed to a high
degree of sophistication.

9.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Traffic Signals

Traffic signals, when properly designed, located and operated, have one or more of the following
advantages:

(i) They provide for an orderly movement of traffic,

(ii) When proper geometric layouts and control measures are employed, they can increase
the traffic-handling capacity of the intersection.
(iii) They reduce the frequency of certain types of accidents, especially the right-angle type
and pedestrian accidents.
(iv) Under favourable conditions, they can be co-ordinated to provide for continuous or nearly
continuous movement of traffic at a definite speed along a given route.
(v) They can be used to interrupt heavy traffic at intervals to permit other traffic-vehicular or
pedestrian-to cross.
(vi) Traffic signals dispense with police control and can thus be economical.
(vii) If properly designed and set, they can assign right-of-way impartially to traffic, unlike
manual controls which can stop and interrupt traffic streams at the personal whim of the
traffic controller.

Their disadvantages include the following, especially if the signals are installed improperly:

(i) Excessive delay to vehicles may be caused, particularly during off-peak hours.
(ii) Unwarranted signal installations tend to encourage the disobedience of the signal
indications.
(iii) Drivers may be induced to use less adequate and less safe routes to avoid delays at
signals..
(iv) Accident frequency, especially of the rear-end type, may increase.
(v) When the installations break down, due to any fault in the system, total and widespread
confusion and difficulties can result.

9.3 Signal Indications

9.3.1 Types of signals

The types, meaning and sequence of signal indications vary in different countries.

(A) British practice.

In British practice, the signal sequence is red, red/amber shown together, green and amber.

The common practice is to use circular red, amber and green signals, though in certain
circumstances green-arrow signals are also used. When the red signal is displayed, the right of
way is denied to the traffic from entering the intersection. The red/amber signifies an alert to the
drivers that the signal aspect is about to change to green so that they can be in readiness to go.
104
 The green signal aspect denotes that the right of way is given to the drivers to enter the
intersection. The amber signal alerts the drivers that the red signal aspect is about to commence
shortly and the green aspect is about to be terminat arrow aspect permits the drivers
terminated. A green-arrow
to enter the intersection to make the movement indicated by the arrow.

(B) American practice.

In American practice, the signal sequence is Red, Green and Yellow. Red indication prohibits
entry into the section, whereas the green permits entry. Yellow indication warns the traffic that
the related green movement is being terminated and the red indication is about to commence.
Thus, while allowing entry into the intersection, the yellow aspect requires the traffic to clear the
intersection before the yellow expires. In addition to circular red, green and yellow, American
practice permits red arrow, green arrow and yellow arrow indications to control traffic in certain
direction .

9.3.2 Pedestrian signals indications

ons

In U.K. practice, the don't cross indication is given by a red standing man. The cross in
indication is
a green walking man,, whereas a flashing green signifies don't start to cross.

Fig. 8-1.
1. Pedestrian Signal Indications
Ind

9.3.3 Flashing amber.

ing amber signal is a hazard identification beacon is normally used to warn of obstruction
A flashing
and intersections to supplement regulatory signs and to warn of midblock crosswalks.

9.4 Signal Face

The minimum number of lenses in a signal face is three-red,

three amberr and green, and the maximum
number in American practice is five. The lenses in a signal face can be arranged in a vertical or
horizontal straight line. The relative positions (top to bottom or left to right) are: red, amber and
green.

Fig. 8-2. Signal face.

105
The lenses are normally of two sizes, viz., 200 mm and 300 mm diameter. The larger size is used
where the 85th percentile approach speeds exceed 65 K.P.H., for special problem locations, for
all arrow indications, for intersections where signalization may be unexpected and for
intersections where drivers may view both traffic control and lane direction control signs
lane-direction
simultaneously. The British Standard recommended a size of 200 mm for light signals intended
for drivers, 300 mm for green arrow signals and 300 mm for signals intended for pedestrians.
arrow

Fig. 15-3. Standard arrow

The arrows are pointed vertically upward to indicate a straight through movement and in a
straight-through
horizontal direction to indicate a turn at approximately right angles. When the angle of the turn is
substantially different from a right angle, the arrow can be positioned on an upward angle
approximately equal to that of the turn.

The arrow specified in the British Standard is given in Fig

Figure below.

Fig. 8-4. Some signals

A suggested layout of the signal post is given below.

Fig. 8-5.
5. Typical layout of traffic signal installations in U.K.

106
9.5 Illumination of the Signals

The American Practice requires that the signals should be so illuminated as to be visible for a
4 km under normal atmospheric conditions. Detailed specifications for the
distance of at least 0.4
illumination of the lamps for signals are contained in relevant country codes.

9.6 Number and Location of Signal Faces

The American Practice requires a minimum of two signal faces to be provided and be visible from
a point at least the "following distances in advance of and to the stop line :

Table 8.1 Location of Signal Faces

85 percentile speed (K.P.H.) Minimum visibility (m)

30 30
40 55
50 75
60 100
65 120
75 145
80 170
90 190
100 210

A signal face is, however, permissible for control of an exclusive turn lane.

Normally one primary signal is installed at 0.90 m from the stop line and a second primary signal is
usually installed if there is a central island. A secondary signal is commonly installed diagonally
opposite the first primary signal on the back of the primary signal intended for the opposing
traffic. The typical layout of traffic signal installations as per British practice is given in Fig. 8-5
above.

The height of the signals shall be such that when erected the centre of the amber signals shall
not be less than 2.4 m nor more than 4.0 m above the carriageway level.

9.7 Amber Period. Red/Amber Period and Intergreen Period

U.K. Practice: A typical example of signal indications in a two phase signal as per U.K. practice is
two-phase
shown below :

Fig. 8-6.
6. Signal indications in a two
two-phase signal as per U.K. practice.

107
 American practice: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices recommends a yellow interval
of 3 to 6 seconds, longer intervals being appropriate to higher approach speeds. Sometimes a
short all-red
red clearance interval may be prov ided immediately after the yellow period to permit the
provided
intersection to clear before cross traffic is released.

Fig. 8-7.
7. Signal indications in a two phase signal as per American practice.

In Figs. 8-6 and 8-7 ength is the time required for one
7 the cycle length is indicated. The cycle llength
complete sequence of signal indications. Phase is defined as the sequence of conditions applied
to one or more streams of traffic which, during the cycle, receive simultaneous identical signal
indications.

9.8 Fixed-Time Signals

gnals and Vehicle
Vehicle-Actuated Signals

Fixed time signals are those in which the green periods, and hence the cycle lengths are
predetermined and of fixed duration. Vehicle actuated signals, on the other hand, are those in
which the green periods vary and are related to the actual demands made by traffic. This is made
possible by installing detectors on all the approaches. An intermediate type, semi semi-vehicle-
actuated signals, is also available, in which the right of way normally rests with the main road and
detectors
ectors are located only on the side roads.

actuated signals are very popular in U.K., whereas in the U.S.A. fixed time signals are far
Vehicle-actuated
more numerous than vehicle
vehicle-actuated types.

The advantages and disadvantages of the three types are briefly given below:

Type Advantages Disadvantages

( i ) Inflexible and hence may cause
Fixed time ( i ) Simple in construction.
avoidable delay.
( i i ) Relatively inexpensive. ( i i ) Require careful setting
( H i ) Most successfully used in linked
systems requiring a fixed cycle length
for a given pattern and speed of
progression.
( i ) They are flexible and are able to
( i ) Require costly equipment such as
Vehicle-actuated. adjust to changing traffic conditions
detectors and sophisticated controllers.
automatic
automatically l
( i i ) Delay is held to a minimum and
( i i ) Cannot provide signal
maximum
coordination.
capacity is achieved.
Useful for junction of a side street
Semi-vehicle- They are believed to cause high
having low traffic volume with a main
actuated accident rates at times of light traffic.
street having heavy flow.

The amber period is standardised in U.K. as 3 seconds and the red/amber at 2 seconds. The
minimum intergreen period (i.e. the time from the end of the green period of the phase losing
right-of-way
way to the beginning of the green period of the phase gaining right way) is normally 4
right-of-way)
second, but can be increased to suit particular needs such as pedestrian crossing requirement.
needs
108
 Modern fixed time equipments are built for operation with different settings at certain periods of
the day, to cover different conditions. This is achieved by providing time switches.

9.9 Determination of Optimum Cycle Length and Signal Settings for an

Intersection with Time Signals

One of the important steps in designing a fixed time signal system is to determine the cycle time.
The British practice, which is easy and simpl
simple, is outlined here.

Main consideration
ion in selecting the cycle time should be :
• least delay is caused to the traffic passing through the intersection
• proportion of the time lost (in the intergreen period and by starting delays) to the cycle
time.

If the cycle time is small, the proportio n of the time lost to the cycle time will be high, resulting in
proportion
an inefficient signal operation and lengthy delays. On the other hand, if the cycle is large, the
proportion of the time lost to the cycle time will be small, and the signal operation will be more
efficient. Iff the cycle time is too large, there is a danger that a good portion of the green time will
be used by unsaturated flow of traffic, which again leads to inefficiency. For each traffic flow
volume there is an optimum cycle time which result s in the minimum delay to the vehicles.
results

The above subject was studied in the Road Research Laboratory (U.K. ) by means of computer
simulation of flow at the traffic signals. Some examples of the variation of delay wit
with cycle time
are shown in Fig. 8-9.

Fig. 8-9.
9. Effect of variation of cycle time on delay.

It will be seen therein that for cycle times within the range of ¾ to 1½ times the optimum value
the delay is never more than 10 20 per cent above that given by the optimum cycle time. The
10-20
result could
uld thus be used in determining the compro mise cycle time that would suit variations in
compromise
flow during the day.

By differentiating the equation for the total delay for the intersection with respect to cycle time,
the following equation for the optimum
optim cycle time has been obtained:

109
Fig. 15-10.
10. Rate of flow against time.

The above figure shows that as soon as the green signal is given, the rate of discharge begins to
pick up and some time is lost before the flow reaches the maximum value (saturation flow).
Similarly at the termination of the green phase, the flow tends to taper off, involving a further lost
time. The lost time for the phase would then be:

110
Table 15-2
2 Saturation Flow for Widths 3 to 5.5
5 m

Width w in metres 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5

s (PCU/hour) 1850 1890 1950 2250 2250 2900

When the approaches are in a gradient, the saturation flow needs some adjustment.
Approximately this can be done by decreasing the saturation flow by 3 per cent for each 1 per
cent uphill gradient and increasing the saturation flow by 3 per cent for each 1 per cent of
downhill gradient.

The effect of composition of vehicles can be accounted for in measuring the flow and saturation
flow by converting into PCU equivalents as per values given in Table 15-3.

Table 15-3 PCUU Equivalents for Traffic Signal Computations

Types of Vehicle PCU Equivalent
Heavy or medium goods vehicles 1.75
Light goods vehicle 1.00
Bus 2.25
Motor cycle, moped or scooter 0.33
Pedal cycle 0.20

111
The effect of right-turning traffic on the saturation flow can be accounted for in the following
manner:
(i) No opposing flow, no exclusive right turning lanes. An overall figure of saturation flow for
the approach, irrespective of turning movements, can be obtained using the rules given
above.
(ii) N o opposing flow, exclusive right turning lanes. The saturation flow of right turning
stream through a right angle should be obtained separately by the following formula:

s = . / PCU/hour for single file streams

and s = . / PCU/hour for double file streams
where r is the radius of curvature (in metres) of the right turning stream through a right
angle.
(iii) Opposing flow, no exclusive right turning lanes. Three effects are possible under these
circumstances. Firstly, because of the opposing traffic, the right turners are themselves
delayed and consequently delay other non-right-turning vehicles in the same stream.
Secondly, their presence tends to inhibit the use of the off-side lane by straight ahead
vehicle. These two effects can be allowed by assuming that on the average each right
turning vehicle is equivalent to 1.75 straight ahead vehicles. The third effect pertains to
the discharge of right turners through suitable gaps in the opposing stream. The following
equation gives the maximum number of right turning vehicles per cycle ( n r ) that can
take advantage of gaps in the opposing stream:
 
 =  

sr = right turning saturation flow
g = green time
qc = flow in opposite arm
s = saturation flow for opposing arm

If g and c are in seconds in the above equation, s should be flow per second.
If the average number of right turners per cycle is more than nr, the difference between
the two (nw) will have to wait at the intersection at the termination of the green time. For
allowing all these nw vehicles to clear the intersection, the intergreen time can be made
equal to 2½nw seconds, assuming each vehicle takes 2½ seconds to clear.

(iv) Opposing flow, exclusive right turning lanes. There will be no delay to the straight ahead
traffic using the same approach as the right turners, but there will be an effect on the
cross-phase and this should be calculated as outlined in ( i i i ) above.

The effect of left turners on the saturation flow can be disregarded if the percentage of left turners
is less than 10. If more, a correction is made for the excess over 10 per cent by assuming each
left turner is equivalent to 1.25 straight ahead vehicles.

The effect of site characteristics can be considered by applying the factors given in Table 15-4.

112
Table 15-4
4 Effect of Site Characteristics on Saturation Flow (Réf. 1)
Percentage of
Site
Description standard
Designation
saturation flow
Dual carriageway. No interference from pedestrians,
parked vehicles, right
right-turning traffic, (either owing to
Good 120
their absence or because special provision is made for
them). Good visibility and adequate turning radii.
Average Average sites. Some characteristics of 'Good' and 'Poor'. 100
Average speed low. Some interference from standing
vehicles, pedestrians, right turning traffic. Poor visibility
Poor 85
and/or poor alignment of intersection. Busy shopping
street.

The following examples illustrate the use of the approach described so far in determining the
settings
ttings of fixed time signals.

Problem 8-1.1. A fixed time 2

2-phase
phase signal is to be provided at an intersection having a North
North-
South and an East- West road where only straight
straight-ahead
ahead traffic is permitted. The design hour
flows from the various arms and the saturation
ation flows for these arms are given in the following
table :
North South East West
Design hour flow (q) 800 400 750 1000
in PCUs/hour
Saturation flow (s) 2400 2000 3000 3000
in PCUs/hour

Calculate the optimum cycle time and green times for the minimum overall delay. The intergreen
time should be the minimum necessary for efficient operation. The time lost per phase due to
starting delays can be assumed to be 2 seconds. The value of the amber period is 2 seconds.
Sketch the timing diagram
iagram for each phase.

Solution:

N S E W
q 800 400 750 600
s 2400 2000 3000 3000
y =q/s 0.33 0.20 0.25 0.20
y (max) values 0.33 0.25

113
The timing diagram is indicated in Fig. 15
15-11.

Fig. 15-11.
11. Timing Diagram.

Problem 8-2. A three-phase

phase traffic signal is to be installed at a right angled crossing of two city
streets. The site is "average" and the approaches are 12 metres wide between kerbs. The
approaches are straight and level and parking is prohibited on them. One of the pha phases is to be a
"pedestrian only" phase occurring at the end of each cycle. Starting delay may be taken as 2
seconds. An "all-red"
red" period of 4 seconds is to be provided after each vehicle phase to allow
clearance of right turning vehicles left over in the crossing.
crossing. The design hour traffic volumes in
PCUs/hour
hour are given in the following table:

From N E S W
To E S W S W N W N E N E S
PCUs/hr 40 800 70 60 500 50 60 660 60 70 680 60

Calculate the optimum cycle time for a fixed time installation. Sketch the phasing diagram for
each phase. Draw a diagram showing the timings for all three aspects for a complete cycle.
Make suitable assumptions for Amber and for the pedestrian interval.

Solution. The width roadway being 12 metres, the time taken for pedestrians to cross the street is
10 seconds, with a speed of walk of 1.2 1 2 metres per second. Because of the large width of the
streets, it is desirable to have a central pedestrian refuge of at least 1 m width. The time that will
be needed by a pedestrian to reach tthehe pedestrian refuge from the kerb will then be :

This will be the pedestrian clearance interval during which no signal is displayed to the
pedestrians and those who have just left the kerb or the central refuge before the termination of
the pedestrian green signal can reach safely the central refuge of tthe
he kerb as the case may be.
The American practice is to display the flashing "DONT WALK" indication for this clearance
interval. The pedestrian clearance interval is followed by Amber of the next vehicular phase and
by the Red signal in the pedestrian phase.
phas

114
A total length of 13 seconds will be provided for the pedestrian phase as follows :
• Pedestrian green time = 8 seconds
• Pedestrian clearance interval = 5 seconds
• The width of the approach road from each direction is (12-1)/2 = 5.5m

and this will be used to calculate the saturation flow from the formula

s = 525W

Since the site is "average" and is level with parking prohibited, no corrections are needed for the
saturation flow obtained from the above formula.

The effect of left-turning

turning traffic will be accounted for if it constitutes more than 10 per cent of the
traffic by counting each left turner as equivalent to 1.25
1 25 straight ahead vehicles. Since no exclu
exclu-
sive right turning lanes are provided, the effect of right turning traffic will be accounted for by
counting each right turner as equivalent to 1. 1.75 straight ahead vehicle.

The following tabulations indicate the sequence of calculations:

From N E S W
To E S W S w N W TV E N E S
Given flow
40 800 80 80 500 52 60 660 60 70 680 60
PUCs/hr
Correction for
left turners - - - +20 - - - - - - - -
Correction for
right turners - - +60 - - +39 - - + 45 - - +45
Total 40 800 140 100 500 91 60 660 105 70 680 105
Q 980 691 825 855
s = 525 W 2900 2900 2900 2900
y = q/s 0
0-34 0-24 0-28 0-29
y(max)
N-S 0
0-34
E-W 0-29

115
 g EW = 40 seconds

The phasing diagram is given in Fig. 15

15-13.

116
Fig. 15-13.
13. Phase in diagram.

Problem 8-3.3. An intersection controlled by traffic signals is formed by two roads running North to
South and East to West. There is a heavy turning movement of 500 vehicles per hour from South
to East. The flow from North to South is 800 vehicles per hour through an approach width at stop
line of 8 m. The cycle time is 70 seconds and the effective green time for the flow from the North
is 32 seconds. The effective right
right-turning
turning saturation flow is 450 vehicles per hour for an opposing
flow of 800 vehicles per hour, related to a minimum headhead-way of 2½ seconds for the right
right-turning
stream. Calculate the early--cut-off period required to allow for the right-turning
turning movement.

117
Thus, on an average, 9.72 – 2.88, i.e. 6.84
84 or 7 vehicles will be left over at the end of the green
period. These vehicles will
ill take 7 x 2½
2 sec = 17-5 sec or 18 sec to discharge.

Thus the early cut-off

off period should be 18 sec. The timing diagram is indicated in Fig. 15
15-14.

Fig. 15-14.
14. Timing diagram.

Problem 8-4. 4. A dual carriageway runs North and South and is intersecte intersected by a single
carriageway running East and West. The layout of the junction has been designed such that
there are two straight through lanes of 3 3-50 m width and an exclusive right-turn turn lane in each of
the Northern and Sourthern approaches. The central reservation is reduced to 12m at the
junction to accommodate the exclusive rightright-turning
turning lane. The radius of the right
right-turning stream is
15 m. The width of the East
East-West carriageway is 12 m. A fixed cycle three-phase phase signal is to be
installed with an exclusive phase for right-turners
right turners from North and South. Assume lost time due to
"starting up" and "tailing off to be 2 seconds. Suitable values for the intergreen
intergreen and amber times
may be assumed. The traffic flow in PCUs I hour are given in the following table:

From N E S W
To E S W S W N W N E N E S
Flow 55 1010 250 45 500 120 150 950 200 60 500 110
PUCs/Hour

118
From N E S W
To E S W S W N W N E N E S
Given flow PCU/ hour 55 101 250 45 500 120 150 950 200 60 500 110
0
Correction for left + 38 +38
turners (+ 25%)

Correction for right + 90 + 83

turners (+-"75%)

119
Fig. 15-15.
15. Timing Diagram.

120
 Fig. 15.16. Phasing Timing.

9.10 Warrants for Signals

In U.K., the installation of signals at a particular intersection is judged on the merits of the
situation, there being no laid down warrants. Generally, the Department of the Environment have
laid down certain criteria for d
deciding on signal installation.

The minimum traffic flows for which signals are considered justified as per curren
current U.K. practice
are given below:

Table 15-5
5 Minimum Traffic Flows for Signal Installation (Ref. 7)

Type of Area Average hourly flow in V.P.H. to exceed

Total entering Contribution from side

intersection roads
Large Urban Area 500 150
Suburban and small urban areas 400 125
Elsewhere 300 100

121
9.11 Co-ordinated
ordinated Control of Signals

9.11.1 Need for co-ordinated

ordinated control

Need for co-ordinated

ordinated control of signals arises on a main traffic route when it is desirable to
reduce delays and avoid main traffic from having to stop at every junction. When a signal
indicates a stop aspect at a junction, a queue of vehicles is formed behind the stop line. When
the signal
nal changes to green, the vehicles start moving in a platoon. If this platoon is made to
meet a green aspect at the next junction no delay is caused to the vehicles. This principle of
linking adjacent signals so as to secure maximum benefits to the flow of traffic is called coco-
ordinated control of signals.

The co-ordination
ordination of signals is sought for with the following objectives in view :
(i) To pass the maximum amount of traffic without enforced halts.
(ii) To have minimum overall delay to traffic streams, both in the main and side roads.
(iii) To prevent the queue of vehicles at one intersection from extending and reaching the next
intersection.

9.11.2 Off-set

The off-set is defined as the difference between the starts of green time at the successive
upstream and downstream signal. This is an important consideration in planning a system of co co-
ordination. If the start of green at the downstream signal is offset at a particular
particular value such that
the platoon, which starts at the upstream signal upon a green indication there, arrives at the
downstream signal just in time for the green signal, the platoon has an unhindered movement).

Fig. 15-17. Off-set.

9.11.3 Time-and distance diagram

ram

In planning a system of co
co-ordinated
ordinated signal control, it is often expedient to indicate the system
diagrammatically by what is known as a "time
"time-and-distance" or "time-and-space"
space" diagram. On
this diagram,
gram, the time and signal settings are indicated alon
along the horizontal axis to a suitable
122
scale, whereas the distance travelled along the major route is plotted vertically to a suitable
scale. A typical time-and-distance
distance diagram for a one
one-way-street
street is shown in Fig. 15
15-18 and one
for a two-way-street in Fig. 15-19.
15

Fig. 15-18. Typical time-and

and-distance diagram for one-way
way streets with linked signals.

123
 Fig. 15-19. Typical time-and
and-distance diagram for a two-way
way street with linked signals.

9.11.4 Types of co-ordinated

ordinated signal system

The four basic types of co-ordinated

ordinated signal systems are :
(i) Simultaneous system, also known as synchronised system
(ii) Alternate system, or limited progressive system (Hi) Simple progressive system
(iv) Flexible progressive system.

These systems are described in detail below.

(a) Simultaneous system

Under this system, all the signals along a given street always display the same indication to the
same traffic stream at the same time. The division of the cycle time is the same at all
intersections. A master controller is employed to keep the series of signals in step. The
disadvantages of a simultaneous system are :
(i) It is not conductive to give continuous movement of all vehicles.
(ii) It encourages speeding of drivers between stops. (Hi) The overall speed is often reduced.
(ic) Because the division of the cycle time is the same at all the intersections, inefficiency is
inevitable at some intersection.
( v ) The simultaneous stoppage of a continuous line of traffic at all intersections often results in
difficulty for the side street
et vehicles in turning into or crossing the main side street.

(b) Alternate system (limited progressive system)

Under this system, consecutive signal installations along a given road show contrary indications
at the same time. This permits the vehicles to tr
travel
avel one block in half the cycle time. This system
operates efficiency where the blocks are of equal lengths. It also brings about a certain measure
of speed control since speeding drivers are stopped at each signal. Some of the disadvantages
of this system are:

(i) The green times for both the main and side streets have to be substantially equal, resulting
inefficiency at most of the intersec
intersections.
(ii) In situations where the block lengths are unequal, the system is not well suited.

124
 (iii) Adjustments are
re difficult for changing traffic conditions.

(c) Simple progressive system

With this system, the various signals along a street display green aspects in accordance with a
time schedule to permit, as nearly as possible, continuous operation of platoons of ve vehicles along
the street at a planned rate of motion, which may vary in different parts of the system.
The offset at each installation is determined so as to secure the best continuous movement of
platoons in both directions. These offsets are fixed and can
cannot
not be altered at different periods of
the day. Each signal installation may have a cycle division different from the others, but that
division remains fixed throughout the day.

(d) Flexible progressive system

This system is an improvement over the simple pr progressive

ogressive system with the following provisions :
(i) It is possible to vary the cycle time and division at each signal depending upon traffic.
(ii) It is possible to vary the offset, thus enabling two or more completely different plans.
(iii) It is possible to introduce flashing or shut down during off
off-peak hours.

Flexible progressive systems require a master controller which keeps the local controllers at each
intersection in step.

9.12 Signal Approach Dimensions

The approach dimensions have an influence on the design and performance of intersections.
One method of improving the efficiency of signalised intersections is to modify the approach
dimensions.

Since the signals permit traffic movement from any approach for only a proportion of the time, it
stands to reason that the approach roads in immediate vicinity of the intersection should have a
wider roadway than the normal. Thus when planning an improvement in the geomet geometric layout of
the existing intersections or planning for new facilities
facilities,, it helps to keep in view the improvement in
flow conditions that can be achieved with wider approaches.

Webster and Newby have proposed the following simple rules for determining the approach
dimensions:
(i) For a two phase cross-roads
cross the approach widths
ths should be proportional to the square
roots of the flows. If qx and q2 are the maximum flows on phase 1 and 2 respectively,
the green times (g± and g2), lengths widened (dy and d2) and widths (wi and w2) are
related in the following way, vide Fig. 15
15-20.

If the approach width deduced from the above rule is less than that of the feeder road, it
should be made equal to that of the feeder road and the green time made
correspondingly less. The extra green time thus allocated to the other phase results in
less widening being necessary on those approaches. The flow used should be the maxi maxi-
mum flow on the two or more arms of the same phase.

(i) phase intersections the above rule itself can be extended as follows :
With multi-phase

125
 Fig. 15-20
15

(ii) For T-junctions

tions with 2
2-phase
phase control, the ratios of widths, green times and lengths should
be:
 
= 
 

  

and = = 
  

where the suffix 2 refers to the stem of the T

T-junction.

The examples given below illustrate the use of the above principles.

Problem 8-5. A T-junction

junction has a design year flow of 300 vehicles per hour on the south arm and
2400 vehicles per hour on the east and west arms. What should be the ratio of approach widths,
lengths and green times of the arms?

The east-westt arm should be made twice as wide as the south arm. The green time apportioned
to the east-west
west phase should be four times the green time apportioned to the south phase. The
east-west
west approach should be widened over a length which is four times the length widened on
the south arm.

Problem 8-6. 6. The following table gives the flows in the arms of an intersection where a two phase
signal is to be designed. Arm. Flow (vehicle I hour)

North 4000
South 3800
East 1000
West 900
Determine the proportion of dimensions of the approaches and the green times for the two
phases.

126
 Solution. Selecting the maximum of the flows in each phase, and denoting N
N-S
S phase as Phase 1
and E-WW phase as Phase 2.
ql =4000
q2 = 1000

9.13 Area Traffic Control

9.13.1 Introduction

In an earlier section on co-ordinated

ordinated signal systems, a descrip
description
tion of simple linked systems along
a single road was given. Area traffic control is a further extension of the same principles of coco-
ordination to include signals in a substantial area.

Area Traffic
fic Control can be defined as a technique which provides for a centralised control of
numerous signal installations distributed throughout an urban area, such that there is a planned
coordination
ordination between signals at different junctions. The technique invar
invariably
iably employs digital
computers for achieving the desired objective.

The earliest known scheme of Area Traffic Control was in Toronto begun in a modest scale in
1959. The success of the project prompted its application in many important cities of the wor
world. In
U.K. controlled experiments were initiated in certain areas of Glasgow and London to assess the
amount of benefit that could be expected from different system of centralised control. By now,
nearly 100 cities have some form of Area Traffic Control.

The subject has grown into a very interesting and promising field with extensive literature. In this
section only a general introduc
introduction is sought to be given.

The objectives in an Area Control System are one or more of the following:
(i) Minimising journey
rney time for vehicles
(ii) Minimising vehicular stops, resulting in less noise, less pollution and less consumption of fuel
(iii) Reducing accidents
(iv) Discouraging use of certain areas
(v) Minimizing person-time.

Area Control System has proved to be a very efficient tool in tackling the serious problem of
congestion at signalised intersection.

9.13.2 Traffic control methods

The following are the main types of methods in general use:

1. Fixed time plans based on historical data and calculated off line by a computerised optimizing
technique. The information about vehicle movement is obtained manually or through detectors
and fed to the computer, which then determines the signal settings, and transmits the settings to
the signals. Examples of this type are tthe
he Combination Method and TRASNYT (Traffic Analysis
Study Tool), which will be described briefly later.

2. Co-ordinated
ordinated systems with local response at each signal. Example of this type are the
FLEXIPROG (Flexible Progressive) and EQUISAT (Equally Saturated).

3. Fully responsive systems such as S.P.G., (Signal Plan Generation) and PLIDENT (Platoon
Identification).

9.13.3 Combination method

This method has been developed by the Road Research Laboratory, UK and uses delay/offset
relationship to obtain the relative timings or off-sets
off of traffic signals in a network
network. It applies a
127
 rigorous optimization process to a reasonable model of the traffic and assumes that the cycle
time, green times, flow and saturation flows are known and then chooses the offsets of the
signals to minimise delay over the whole network. The technique can be applied on an area
basis, subject to some restraints on the type of the network. It suffers from a serious restriction in
assuming that the delay between two signals depends solely on the relative settings of the two
signals, which is a good approximation only in heavily loaded conditions.

9.13.4 TRANSYT method (Traffic Analysis Study Tool)

The TRANSYT, implemented by a digital computer programme, is a method of automatically

determining fixed time signal plans to meet known network conditions. It is a widely used system,
and as demonstrated by the Glasgow experiments, is an improvement over the Combination
Method. The traffic model makes allowance for flow intersection between successive sections of
roads and represents average traffic behaviour more correctly than the Combination Method. It
represents platoon dispersion effectively. The solution time is short and good convergency on the
optimum signal settings is achieved by a "hill climbing" type of optimization procedure. The
overall impedance to traffic is measured by a "performance index" that can be chosen with any
desired balance between journey time and number of stops. The optimization procedure
minimizes the performance index by a altering the points within the signal cycle at which each
stage starts. Thus, both signal offsets and green times are included in the optimization
procedure.

9.13.5 FLEXIPROG (Flexible progressive)

This is a vehicle-actuated progressive system and requires the use of detectors on the approach
arms. With a continuous stream of traffic all over the detectors, the signals behave as a fixed
time system. Under lighter traffic conditions, the signals can change after detecting a suitable gap
in the traffic. Stages are missed if there is no demand for them. This system has not proved
better than the combination method in the Glasgow experiments.

9.13.6 EQUISAT (Equally Saturated)

Under this system, the cycle time and offset pattern are fixed. The allocation of green time is
varied to equalise the degree of saturation of each stage. Detectors on each approach arm and
computer logic are used to measure or deduce both flow and saturation flow. This system too did
not prove to be measurably better than the Combination method in the Glasgow experiments.

9.13.7 PLIDENT (Platoon Identification)

This is a system developed by the Road Research Laboratory, U.K. The system identifies
platoons of vehicles and operates signals to allow unimpeded passage to them on priority routes.
The scheme has no fixed cycle or offsets, but adjusts the length of each stage to suit the various
platoons. The effect of the scheme is to give the priority streets just the amount of green they
require at times which avoid delay to the approaching platoons. This scheme, though
successfully implemented in the Glasgow experiment, produced the largest average journey
times there.

9.13.8 SPG (Signal Plan Generation)

This is a fully responsive system and generates cycle times, splits and offsets on line using
measured data on traffic conditions. This type of system is installed in Madrid and Barcelona.

9.13.9 SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Options Technique)

The SCOOT is a new entrant into the field of traffic signal controlled network. It has been
developed in the U.K. by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory and the British industry. A
large number of detector loops are laid across the road which transmit the data on traffic to the
central control system which adjusts the signal plans according to actual needs. Traffic delays
can be substantially reduced (upto 12%) when compared to fixed time plans. Delay at Signalised
Intersections.

128
9.14 Delay at Signalised Intersections
An important consideration that has to be faced by an engineer in designing and operating a
signalised installation is the delay to traffic. An understanding of the delay problem is important
because the economic losses involved by vehicula
vehicularr delays at signals can be enormous.

Webster's investigations on the subject at the Road Research Laboratory, U.K. are based on
queueing theory and computer simulation. The following formula has been presented by him for
the average delay per vehicle on a particular intersection arm:

where d = average delay per vehicle on the particular arm

X = proportion of the cycle which is effectively green for the phase under consideration (i.e. g/c)
x = the degree of saturation. This is ratio of the flow to the maximum
maximum possible flow under the
given settings
tings of the signals and equals q/λs
c = cycle time
g = effective green time
q = flow
s = saturation flow.

In the above formula, if c is in seconds, q should be in vehicles per second and delay will be
obtained in seconds.

In order to simplify the calculations, ready made tables are available.

available A nomogram for the
determination of delay based on the above equation has been presented.

129
10 ELEMENTS OF HIGHWAY TRAFFIC ANALYSIS

10.1 Introduction
This chapter is concerned with the capacity and performance analysis of actual transportation
facilities and systems. Transportation facilities and systems work under uninterrupted or under
interrupted flow conditions. A freeway section without on- and off-ramps and a transit
guideway between two stations are good examples of uninterrupted flow. A signalized
intersection and a rail-transit station are good examples of interrupted flow. Uninterrupted flow
can often be approximated by fluid dynamics analogies or other continuous mathematical
formulations. Interrupted flow is usually more complex and involves more interacting elements
and probabilities for event occurrence. The mathematical formulation usually yields capacity
in units per hour [e.g., vehicles per hour (veh/h)] and one or more measures of effectiveness
such as speed, density, or delay. The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) includes specific
definitions of the level of service (LOS) for each type of facility. LOS ranges from A (the best)
to F (the worst) and is defined based on ranges of values for a specific measure of
effectiveness (e.g., density for freeways, delay for intersections.)

The concepts and analytical procedures in this chapter largely reflect methodologies
presented in published volumes of the HCM (1994 and 1997 editions) as well as draft
materials of HCM 2000. Substantial amount of information found in the HCM has not been
included here. Some procedures have been simplified and others have been expanded.

The HCM is a "living" document subject to frequent updates. As a result, the material in this
chapter is appropriate for education and learning, but it should not be used for conducting
real-world analyses. Instead, the HCM itself or locally approved procedures should be used.

This chapter begins with the capacity and performance analysis of pedestrian and bicycle
facilities. Then it examines transit facilities, separately for uninterrupted and interrupted flow
conditions. The capacity and performance of highways is presented next, again separately for
uninterrupted and interrupted flow. Interrupted highway flow is given special attention because
it represents the urban traffic intersection systems. Extensive sections on the capacity and
performance of signalized and unsignalized intersections follow along with a section on traffic
data collection methods.

10.2 Introduction Traffic Analysis

The primary function of a highway is to provide a transportation service. In an engineering

context, the functional effectiveness of a highway is measured in terms of its ability to assist
and accommodate the flow of vehicles with both safety and efficiency. This requires certain
parameters of the highway to be measured and analysed, including:
• The quantity of traffic
• The type of vehicles within the traffic stream
• The distribution of flow over a period of time (usually 24 hours)
• The average speed of the traffic stream
• The density of the traffic flow.

Analysis of these parameters directly influences the scale and layout of the proposed
highway, together with the type and quantity of materials used in its construction. This
process of examination is termed traffic analysis.

In undertaking such an analysis, the various dimensions of traffic, such as number of vehicles
per unit time (traffic volume), vehicle types, vehicle speeds, and the variation in traffic
volumes over time, must be addressed because they will influence highway design (the

130
 selection of the number of lanes, pavement types, and geometric design) and highway
operations (selection of traffic control devices including signs, markings, and traffic signals),
both of which impact the performance of the highway in terms of its ability to handle vehicle
traffic. It is therefore important for the analysis of traffic to begin with theoretically consistent
quantitative techniques that can be used to model traffic volumes, speeds, and temporal
fluctuations.

10.2.1 Nomenclature

Nomenclature for traffic analysis

D deterministic arrivals or departures
Dt total vehicle delay
h time headway
K traffic density
KJ traffic jam density
KM traffic density at maximum flow
l highway length
M exponentially distributed arrivals or departures
n number of vehicles
nc departure channel number
N total number of departure channels
Q traffic flow
qm maximum traffic flow
Q length of queue
Q average length of queue
QM maximum number of vehicles in the queue
t time

t average time, average time spent in the system

U space-mean speed

uf free-flow speed

um speed at maximum flow

ut time-mean speed
w average time waiting in queue

λ arrival rate
µ departure rate

r traffic intensity

131
10.3 Traffic Flow, Speed, and Density

Traffic flow, speed, and density are variables that underpin traffic analysis. The basic
definitions of traffic flow, speed, and density are presented below.

Traffic flow, q, is simply defined as the number of vehicles, n, passing some designated
highway point in a time interval of duration, t, expressed in vehicles per hour.

 =


Time headway, h, is the time between the passage of the fronts of successive vehicles. Time
headway is are related to time, t, as follows
!

 = ℎ
"

where hj is the time headway of the i-th vehicle. Substituting into the equation of flow gives:
! 
 = ∑& or  =
%' $% $

where h is the average headway (∑(hi/n).

Time-mean speed, ūi, is the arithmetic mean of the speeds observed at some designated
point along the highway, expressed as

where ui is the spot speed of the i-th vehicle.

Space-mean speed, u, is average traffic speed and is determined on the basis of the time
necessary for a vehicle to traverse some known length of highway, l, that is,

where l, is the length of highway used for the speed measurement of vehicle i , and

where t n (l n ) is the time necessary for vehicle n to traverse a section of highway of length l.
Note that if all vehicle speeds are measured over the same length of highway (L = l1 = l2 =
……ln),

which is the harmonic mean of speed (space-mean speed). This space-mean speed is the
average speed used in traffic models.

Traffic density, k, refers to the number of vehicles occupying some length of highway at
some specified time, and is simply

132
10.4 Basic Traffic Stream Models

Based on the definitions presented in the preceding section, the basic relationship between
traffic flow, speed (space-mean speed), and density is given as follows:

with typical units of flow (q), speed (u), and density (k) being vehicles per hour (veh/h),
kilometres per hour (km/h), and vehicles per kilometer (veh/km), respectively. This equation is
important in linking specific models of traffic into a consistent generalized model.

10.4.1 Speed-Density Model

Consider a section of highway with only a single vehicle on it. Under these conditions, the
density is very low and the driver can travel freely at a speed close to the design speed of the
highway (referred referred to as free-flow speed, u f ) . As the flow increases, the traffic
density will increase and the average operating speed of vehicles will decline from the free-
flow value as drivers slow to allow for the manoeuvres of other vehicles. Eventually, the
highway section will become so congested that the traffic will come to a stop ( u = 0) and the
density will be determined by the length of the vehicles and the spaces that drivers leave
between them. This high-density condition is referred to as the jam density, kj.

One possible representation of the process just described is the linear relationship shown in
Fig. 5.1.

Figure 5.1 Illustration of a typical linear speed-density relationship.

Mathematically, such a relationship can be expressed as

The advantage of using a linear representation of the speed-density relationship is that it

provides a basic insight into the relationships among traffic flow, speed, and density
interactions without having these insights clouded by
the additional complexity that
a nonlinear speed-density relationship introduces. However, it is important to note that field
studies have shown that the speed-density relationship tends to be nonlinear at low densities
and high densities (i.e., those that approach the jam density).

10.4.2 Flow-Density Model

133
 Using the assumption of a linear speed-density relationship, a parabolic flow-density model
can be obtained as follows:

The general form of Eq. 5.12 is shown in Fig. 5.2.

Figure 5.2 Illustration of the parabolic flow-density relationship.

Note that maximum flow rate, q m , represents the highest rate of traffic flow that the highway is
capable of handling, referred to as the traffic flow at capacity or simply the capacity of the
highway. The density corresponding to maximum flow is k m , and the corresponding speed is
um .

Equations for q m ,k m , and u m can be derived by differentiating the derived equation of flow
since at maximum flow,

and because the free-flow speed ( u f ) is not equal to zero,

Substituting gives

and also

10.4.3 Speed-Flow Model

Returning to the linear speed-density model, a corresponding speed flow model can be
developed as follows:

134
By substituting Eq. 5.17 into Eq. 5.10, we obtain

The speed-flow model defined by Eq. 5.18 again gives a parabolic function as shown in Fig.
5.3.

Figure 5.3 Illustration of the parabolic speed-flow relationship.

The figure shows two speeds are possible for flows, q, up to the highway's capacity qm. It is
desirable, for any given flow, to keep the average space-mean speed on the upper portion of
the speed-flow curve (i.e., above um). When speeds drop below um, traffic is in a highly
congested and unstable condition.

All of the flow, speed, and density relationships and their interactions are graphically
represented in Fig. 5.4.

Figure 5.4 Flow-density, speed-density, and speed-flow relationships (assuming a linear

speed-density model).

Example 5.1
A section of highway is known to-have a free-flow speed of 90 km/h and a capacity of 3300
veh/h. In a given hour, 2100 vehicles were counted at a specified point along this highway
section. If the linear speed-density relationship applies, estimate the space-mean speed of
these 2100 vehicles.

135
10.5 Models of Traffic Flow

With the basic relationships among traffic flow, speed, and density formalized, we now turn
attention to a more microscopic view of traffic flow. That is, instead of simply modelling the
number of vehicles passing a specified point on a highway in some time interval, there is
considerable analytic value in modelling the time between the arrivals of successive vehicles.

The most simplistic approach to vehicle arrival modelling is to assume that all vehicles are
equally or uniformly spaced. This results in what is termed a deterministic, uniform arrival
pattern. However, actual observations show that such uniformity of traffic flow is not always
realistic, and hence a representation of vehicle arrivals that goes beyond the deterministic,
uniform assumption is often warranted.

10.5.1 Poisson Models

Models that account for the non-uniformity of flow are derived by assuming that the pattern of
vehicle arrivals corresponds to some random process. An example of a probability distribution
is the Poisson distribution, which is expressed as

where t is the duration of the time interval over which vehicles are counted, P( n) is the
probability of having n vehicles arrive in time t, and λ is the average vehicle flow or arrival
rate (in vehicles per unit time).

Example 5.2
An engineer counts 360 veh/h at a specific highway location. Assuming that the arrival of
vehicles at this highway location is Poisson distributed, estimate the probabilities of having 0,
1 , 2 , 3, 4, and 5 or more vehicles arriving over a 20-second interval.

Solution
The average arrival rate, λ, is 360 veh/h or 0.1 vehicles per second (veh/s). Using this in Eq.
5.19 with t = 20 seconds, we find the probabilities of having 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 vehicles are

136
For five or more vehicles,

A histogram of these probabilities is shown in Fig. 5.5

Figure 5.5 Histogram of the Poisson distribution for λ = 0.1 vehicles per second.

Example 5.3
Traffic data are collected in fifteen 60-second intervals at a specific highway location as
shown in Table 5.1.

Table 5.1 Observed Traffic Data for Example 5.3

Time Period Observed Number of Vehicles
12:00 p.m. to 12:01 p.m. 3
12:01 p.m. to 12:02 p.m. 5
12:02 p.m. to 12:03 p.m. 4
12:03 p.m. to 12:04 p.m. 10
12:04 p.m. to 12:05 p.m. 7
12:05 p.m. to 12:06 p.m. 4
12:06 p.m. to 12:07 p.m. 8
12:07 p.m. to 12:08 p.m. 11

137
12:08 p.m. to 12:09 p.m. 9
12:09 p.m. to 12:10 p.m. 5
12:10 p.m. to 12:11 p.m. 3
12:11 p.m. to 12:12 p.m. 10
12:12 p.m. to 12:13 p.m. 9
12:13 p.m. to 12:14 p.m. 7
12:14 p.m. to 12:15 p.m. 6

Assuming the traffic is Poisson distributed and continues to arrive at the same rate as that
observed in the first fifteen time periods, what is the probability that six or more vehicles will
arrive in each of the next three 60-second time intervals (i.e., 12:15pm to 12:16pm, 12:16pm
to 12:17pm, and 12:17pm to 12:18pm)?

Solution

Table 5.1 shows that a total of 101 vehicles arrive in the 15-minute period from 12:00pm to
12:15pm. Thus the average arrival rate, λ, is 0.112 veh/s (101/900). As in previous example,
the Poisson equation is applied to find the probabilities of exactly 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 vehicles
arriving. With λ = 0.112 veh/s and t = 60 seconds (λt = 6.733), the equation gives probabilities
0.0012, 0.008, 0.027, 0.0606, 0.102, and 0.137 for having 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 vehicles,
respectively, arriving in a 60-second time interval. The summation of these probabilities
(0.3358) is the probability that 0 to 5 vehicles will arrive in any given 60-second time interval
(i.e., P ( n < 5)), so 1 minus 0.3358 (=0.6642) is the probability that 6 or more vehicles will
arrive in any 60-second time interval (i.e., P( n ≥ 6)). The probability that 6 or more vehicles
will arrive in three successive time intervals (i’s) is simply the product of probabilities:

The assumption of Poisson vehicle arrivals also implies a distribution of the time intervals
between the arrivals of successive vehicles (i.e., time headway). To show this, let the average
arrival rate, λ,, be in units of vehicles per second so that

(=
3600

where q is the flow in vehicles per hour. Substituting this to the Poisson model gives

 ! 1/2
( / 0
P(n/= 3600
!

Note that the probability of having no vehicles arrive in a time interval of length t (i.e., P(0)) is
equivalent to the probability of a vehicle headway, h, being greater than or equal to the time
interval t. So from above equation,

4(0/ = 4(ℎ ≥ / = 0 1/2

This distribution of vehicle headways is known as the negative exponential distribution and is
often simply referred to as the exponential distribution.

Example 5.4
Consider the traffic situation in Example 5.2 (i.e., 360veh/h). Again assume that the vehicle
arrivals are Poisson distributed. What is the probability that the gap between successive

138
 vehicles will be less than 8 seconds, and what is the probability that the gap between
successive vehicles will be between 8 and 10 seconds?

Solution
By definition, P ( h < t) = 1 - P( h > t). Therefore, the probability that the gap will be less than
8 seconds is defined as follows:

Probability that the gap will be greater than or equal to 10 seconds is also obtained

So the probability of the gap being between 8 and 10sec is (1 -0.551 - 0.368) = 0.081.

Fig. 5.6 shows the probability distribution with the flow, q, equal to 360 veh/h as in Example
5.4.

Figure 5.6 Exponentially distributed probabilities of headways ≥ t with q = 360 veh/h.

10.5.2 Limitations of Poisson Models

Poisson-distributed traffic arrivals is most realistic in lightly congested traffic conditions. As

traffic flows become heavily congested or when traffic signals cause cyclical traffic stream
disturbances, other distributions of traffic flow become more appropriate. The primary
limitation of Poisson models of vehicle arrivals is the constraint imposed by the Poisson
distribution that the mean of period observations equals the variance.

10.6 Queuing Theory and Traffic Flow Analysis

The formation of traffic queues in congested periods is a source of considerable time delay
and results in the loss of highway performance. The problem of queuing is not unique to traffic
analysis. Non-transportation fields, such as the design and operation of industrial plants, retail
stores, and service-oriented industries, must give serious consideration to the problem of
queuing.

10.6.1 Dimensions of Queuing Models

139
 The purpose of traffic queuing models is to provide a means to estimate important measures
of highway performance including vehicle delay and traffic queue lengths. The models are
derived from underlying assumptions regarding arrival patterns, departure characteristics, and
queue disciplines.

Queuing models are typically identified by three alphanumeric values: the first value indicates
the arrival rate assumption; the second value gives the departure rate assumption; and the
third value indicates the number of departure channels. For traffic arrival and departure
assumptions, the uniform, deterministic distribution is denoted D, and the exponential
distribution is denoted M. Thus a DIDM queuing model assumes deterministic arrivals and
departures with one departure channel. Similarly, an MIDI queuing model assumes
exponentially distributed arrival times, deterministic departure times, and one departure
channel.

10.6.2 D/ D/ 1 Queuing

The case of deterministic arrivals and departures with one departure channel ( D/ D/ 1
queue) is an excellent starting point in understanding queuing models because of its
simplicity. The D / D/ 1 queue lends itself to an intuitive graphical or mathematical solution that
is best illustrated by example.

Example 5.5
Vehicles arrive at an entrance to a recreational park. There is a single gate (at which all
vehicles must stop), where a park attendant distributes free brochures. The park opens at
8:00 a.m., at which time vehicles begin to arrive at a rate of 480veh/h. After 20 minutes, the
arrival flow rate declines to 120veh/h and continues at that level for the remainder of the day.
If the time required to distribute the brochure is 15 seconds, and assuming D/ D/ l queuing,
describe the operational characteristics of the queue.

Similarly, the number of vehicle departures is 4t for all t

These equations can be illustrated graphically as shown in Fig. 5.7. When the arrival curve is
above the departure curve, a queue condition will exist. The point at which the arrival curve
falls below the departure curve is the moment when the queue dissipates (i.e., no more queue
exists).

140
Figure 5.7 DI D/ 1 queuing diagram for Example 5.5.

In this example, the point of queue dissipation can be determined graphically by inspection of
Fig. 5.7, or analytically by equating appropriate arrival and departure equations; that is,

Solving for t gives t = 60 minutes. Thus the queue that began to form at 8:00 a.m. will
dissipate 60 minutes later (9:00 a.m.), at which time 240 vehicles will have arrived and
departed (i.e., 4 veh/min X 60 min).

Another aspect of interest is individual vehicle delay. Under the assumption of a FIFO queuing
discipline, the delay of an individual vehicle is given by the horizontal distance between arrival
and departure curves starting from the time of the vehicle's arrival in the queue. So, by
inspection of Fig. 5.7, the 160th vehicle to arrive will have the longest delay of 20 minutes (the
longest horizontal distance between arrival and departure curves), and vehicles arriving after
the 239th vehicle will encounter no queue delay because the queue will have dissipated and
the departure rate will continue to exceed the arrival rate. It follows that with the LIFO queuing
discipline, the first vehicle to arrive will have to wait until the entire queue clears (i.e., 60
minutes of delay).

The total length of the queue at a specified time, expressed by the number of vehicles, is
given by the vertical distance between arrival and departure curves at that time. For example,
at 10 minutes after the start of the queuing process (8:10 a.m.) the queue is 40 vehicles long,
and the longest queue (longest vertical distance between arrival and departure curves) will
occur at t = 20 minutes and is 80 vehicles long (see Fig. 5.7).

Total vehicle delay, defined as the summation of the delays of each individual vehicle, is given
by the total area between arrival and departure curves (see Fig. 5.7) and, in this case, is in
units of vehicle-minutes. In this example, the areas between arrival and departure curves can
be determined by summing triangular areas, giving total delay, D„ as

Finally, because 240 vehicles encounter queuing delay (as previously determined), the
average delay per vehicle is 10 minutes (2400 veh-min/240 veh).

141
 Example 5.6
After observing arrivals and departures at a highway toll booth over a 60-min period, an
observer notes that the arrival and departure rates (or service rates) are deterministic but,
instead of being uniform, change over time according to a known function. The arrival rate is
given by the function λ(t) = 2.2 + 0.17t - 0.0032t2, and the departure rate is given by µ(t) = 1.2
+ 0.01t, where t is in minutes after the beginning of the observation period and λ(t) and µ(t)
are in vehicles per minute. Determine the total vehicle delay at the toll booth and the longest
queue assuming D/D/l queuing.

Solution
Note that this problem is an example of a time-dependent deterministic queue because the
deterministic arrival and departure rates change over time. We begin by solving the time-to-
queue dissipation by equating vehicle arrivals and departures:

which gives t = 61.8 minutes. Therefore, the total vehicle delay (which is the area between the
arrival and departure functions) is

The queue length (in vehicles) at any time t is given by the function

Solving for the maximum queue length gives

Substituting with t = 39.12 minutes gives the maximum queue length,

10.6.3 M/ D/ 1 Queuing

The assumption of exponentially distributed times between the arrivals of successive vehicles
(i.e., Poisson arrivals) will, in some cases, give a more realistic representation of traffic flow
than the assumption of uniformly distributed arrival times. Therefore, the M / D/ 1 queue
(exponentially distributed arrivals, deterministic departures, and one departure
channel) has some important applications within the traffic analysis field. Although a

142
graphical solution to an M / D/ 1 queue is difficult, a mathematical solution is straightforward.
Defining a traffic intensity term, p, as the ratio of average arrival to departure rates (A/p), and
assuming that p is less than 1, it can be shown that for an M/D/1 queue the average length of
queue (in vehicles) is given as

The average time waiting in the queue (for each vehicle) is

The average time spent in the system (i.e., the summation of average queue waiting time and
average departure time, or, as it is frequently referred to, service time) is

It is important to note that under the assumption that traffic intensity (p) is less than 1 (i.e., A <
p), the D / D/1 queue will predict no queue formation. However, a queuing model that is
derived based on random arrivals or departures, such as the M/ D/ 1 queuing model, will
predict queue formations under such conditions. Also, note that the M/ D/ 1 queuing model we
have presented is based on steady-state conditions (i.e., constant average arrival and
departure rates) with randomness arising from the assumed probability distribution of arrivals.
This contrasts with the time-varying deterministic queuing case, as presented in Example 5.6,
in which arrival and departure rates changed over time, but randomness was not present.

EXAMPLE 5.7
Consider the entrance to the recreational park described in Example 5.5. However, let the
average arrival flow rate be 180veh/h and Poisson distributed (exponential times between
arrivals) over the entire period from park opening time (8:00 a.m.) until closing at dusk.
Compute the average length of queue (in vehicles), average waiting time in queue, and
average time spent in the system, assuming M / D/1 queuing.

Solution
Putting arrival and departure rates into common units of vehicles per minute gives

and

Aaverage length of queue (in vehicles)

Average waiting time in the queue

Average time spent in the system (queue time plus departure or service, time),

143
 Alternatively, because the departure time (or service time) is (i.e., the 0.25 min it takes the
park attendant to distribute the brochure),

10.6.4 M/M/1 Queuing

A queuing model that assumes one departure channel and exponentially distributed
departure time patterns in addition to exponentially distributed arrival times (i.e., an
M/M/1 queue) is also useful in some traffic applications. For example, exponentially
distributed departure patterns might be a reasonable assumption at a toll booth where some
arriving drivers have the correct toll and can be processed quickly, and others may not have
the correct toll, thus producing a distribution of departures about some mean departure rate.
Under standard M/M/1 assumptions, it can be shown that the average length of queue (in
vehicles), again assuming that p is less than 1, is

The average time waiting in the queue (for each vehicle) is

The average time spent in the system (the summation of average queue waiting time and
average departure time) is

Example 5.8
Assume that the park attendant in Examples 5.5 and 5.7 takes an average of 15 seconds to
distribute brochures, but that the distribution time varies depending on whether or not park
patrons have questions relating to park operating policies. Given an average arrival rate of
180 veh/h as in Example 5.7, compute the average length of queue (in vehicles), average
waiting time in queue, and average time spent in the system, assuming M/M/1 queuing.

Solution
Using the average arrival rate, departure rate, and traffic intensity as determined in Example
5.7, the average length of queue (in vehicles) is given as

Average waiting time in the queue is

144
 Average time spent in the system is

10.6.5 M/M/N Queuing

A more general formulation of the M/M/1 queue is the M/M/N queue where N is the total
number of departure channels. M/M/N queuing is a reasonable assumption at toll booths
entering turnpikes or at toll bridges where there is often more than one departure channel
available (i.e., more than one toll booth open). A parking lot is another example, with N being
the number of parking stalls in the lot and the departure rate, p, being the exponentially
distributed times of parking duration. M/M/N queuing is also frequently encountered in non-
transportation applications such as checkout lines at retail stores, security checks at airports,
and so on.

The following equations describe the operational characteristics of M/M/N queuing. Note that,
unlike the equations for M/D/1 and M/M/1, which require traffic intensity, r, to be less than 1,
the following equations allow r to be greater than 1 but apply only when r/N (which is called
the utilization factor) is less than 1.

The probability of having no vehicles in the system is

where n c is the departure channel number. The probability of having n vehicles in the system
is

The average length of queue (in vehicles) is

The average time spent in the system is

The average waiting time in the queue is

The probability of waiting in a queue (the probability of being in a queue, which is the
probability that the number of vehicles in the system, n , is greater than the number of
departure channels, N) is

Example 5.9
At an entrance to a toll bridge, four toll booths are open. Vehicles arrive at the bridge at an
average rate of 1200veh/h, and, at the booths, drivers take an average of 10 seconds to pay
their tolls. Both the arrival and departure rate can be assumed to be exponentially distributed.

145
How would the average queue length, time in the system, and probability of waiting in a
queue change if a fifth toll booth was opened?

Solution
Using the equations for M/M/N queuing, we first compute the four-booth case. Note that µ =
6veh/min, λ = 20veh/min, and therefore r = 3.333. Also, because r/ N = 0.833 (which is less
than 1), the above equations can be used. The probability of having no vehicles in the system
with four booths open is

The average queue length is

The average time spent in the system is

The probability of having to wait in a queue is

With a fifth booth open, the probability of having no vehicles in the system is

The average queue length is

The average time spent in the system is

The probability of having to wait in a queue is

So, opening a fifth booth reduces the average queue length by 1,32veh (3.287 - 1.967),
average time in the system by 0.066 min (0.331 - 0.265), and the probability of waiting by 022
(0.548 - 0328).

146
 Example 5.10
A convenience store has four available parking spaces. The owner predicts that the duration
of customer shopping (the time that a customer's vehicle will occupy a parking space) is
exponentially distributed with a mean of 6 minutes. The owner knows that in the busiest hour
customer arrivals are exponentially distributed with a mean arrival rate of 20 customers per
hour. What is the probability that a customer will not have an open parking space available
when arriving at the store?

Solution
Putting mean arrival and departure rates in common units gives µ = 10veh/h, and λ =
20veh/h. So r = 2.0 and, because r/N = 0.5 (which is less than 1). The probability of having
no vehicles in the system with four parking spaces is

Thus the probability of having not having an open parking space when arriving is

10.7 Traffic Analysis at Highway Bottlenecks

Some of the most severe congestion problems occur at highway bottlenecks, which can be
generally defined as a portion of highway with a lower capacity ( q m ) than the incoming
section of highway. This reduction in capacity can originate from a number of sources
including a decrease in the number of highway lanes and reduced shoulder widths. There are
two general types of traffic bottlenecks, vide

• Recurring bottlenecks, where the highway itself limits capacity and

• incident-induced bottlenecks occur as a result of vehicle breakdowns or accidents
that effectively reduce highway capacity by restricting the through movement of
traffic

Because incident-induced bottlenecks are unanticipated and temporary in nature, they have
features that distinguish them from recurring bottlenecks, such as the possibility that the
capacity resulting from an incident-induced bottleneck may change over time. A feature
shared by both recurring and incident-induced bottlenecks is the adjustment in traffic flow that
may occur as travellers choose other routes and/or different trip departure times to avoid the
bottleneck area, in response to visual information or traffic advisories.

The analysis of traffic flow at bottlenecks can be undertaken using the queuing models
discussed earlier. The most intuitive approach from which traffic congestion at bottlenecks
can be analyzed is to assume D/ D/ 1 queuing.

Example 5.11
An incident occurs on a freeway that has a capacity in the northbound direction, before the
incident, of 4000veh/h and a constant flow of 2900veh/h during the morning commute (i.e., no
adjustments to traffic flow result from the incident). At 8:00am a traffic accident closes the
freeway to all traffic. At 8:12am the freeway is partially opened with a capacity of 2000veh/h.
Finally, the wreckage is removed and the freeway is restored to full capacity (4000veh/h) at
8:31am. Assume D/ D/1 queuing to determine time of queue dissipation, longest queue
length, total delay, average delay per vehicle, and longest wait of any vehicle (assuming
FIFO).

147
Solution
Let µ be the full-capacity departure rate and µr be the restrictive partial-capacity departure
rate. Putting arrival and departure rates in common units of vehicles per minute,

The arrival rate is constant over the entire time period, and the total number of vehicles is
equal to λt, where t is the number of minutes after 8:00am. The total number of departing
vehicles is

These arrival and departure rates can be represented graphically as shown in Fig. 5.8. As
discussed in the section on D / D / 1 queuing, the queue will dissipate at the intersection point
of arrival and departure curves, which can be determined as

At this time a total of 3777.5 vehicles (48.33 x 78.16) will have arrived and departed (for the
sake of clarity, fractions of vehicles are used). The longest queue (longest vertical distance
between arrival and departure curves) occurs at 8:31 a.m. and is

148
Figure 5.8 D / D / l queuing diagram for Example 5.11.

Total vehicle delay, using equations for triangular and trapezoidal areas to calculate the total
area between arrival and departure curves, is

The average delay per vehicle is 9.95 min (37,604.2/3777.5). The longest wait of any vehicle
(the longest horizontal distance between arrival and departure curves), assuming a FIFO
queuing discipline, will be the delay time of the 633.33rd vehicle to arrive. This vehicle will
arrive 13.1 minutes (633.33/48.33) after 8:00 a.m. and will depart at 8:31 a.m., thus being
delayed a total of 17.9 min.

149
11 LEVEL OF SERVICE ANALYSIS

11.1 Introduction

The underlying objective of level of service analysis is to quantify a roadway's performance

with regard to specified traffic volumes (i.e., its ability to efficiently handle a specified volume
of traffic). This performance can be measured in terms of travel delay (as the roadway
becomes increasingly congested) as well as other factors. The comparative performance of
various roadway segments (which is determined from an analysis of traffic) is important
because it can be used as a basis to allocate scarce roadway construction and improvement
funds. Although the material presented in Chapter 5 covered the basic elements of traffic
analysis, a number of important practical issues must be addressed before this material can
be applied to traffic analysis in a meaningful way. In particular, a number of terms used in
Chapter 5 must be more carefully examined to allow a field analysis of traffic that will
ultimately lead to an assessment of the traffic-related performance of a roadway (i.e., the level
of traffic congestion on the facility). Capacity and flow (typically given in units of vehicles per
hour) are two such terms. In Chapter 5, capacity, q m , is simply defined as the highest traffic
flow that a roadway is capable of supporting. For level of service analysis, a consistent and
reasonably precise method of determining capacity must be developed within this definition.
Because it can readily be shown that the capacity of a roadway section is a function of factors
such as roadway type (e.g., freeway, multilane highway without full access control, or rural
road), free-flow speed, number of lanes, and widths of lanes and shoulders, the method of
capacity determination clearly must account for a wide variety of physical and operational
roadway characteristics.

With regard to traffic flow, recall that Chapter 5 defines traffic flow with units of vehicles per
hour. Two practical issues arise when using this unit of measure. First, in many cases
vehicular traffic consists of a variety of vehicle types with substantially different performance
characteristics. These performance differentials are likely to be magnified by changing
roadway geometries, such as upgrades or downgrades, which have a differential effect on the
acceleration and deceleration capabilities of the various types of vehicles (e.g., grades have a
larger impact on the performance of large trucks relative to automobiles). As a result, traffic
must not only be denned in terms of vehicles per unit time but also in terms of vehicle
composition, because it is clear that a 1500-veh/h traffic flow, consisting of 100%
automobiles, will differ sigificantly with regard to operating speed and traffic density when
compared to a 1500-veh/h traffic flow that consists of 50% automobiles and 50% heavy
trucks.

The other flow-related concern is the temporal distribution of traffic. In practice, the analysis of
roadway traffic usually focuses on the most critical condition, which is the most congested
hour within a 24-hour daily period (the temporal distribution of traffic will be discussed in more
detail in Section 7.7). However, within this most congested peak hour, traffic flow is likely to
be nonuniform (as illustrated in Fig. 7.1). It is therefore necessary to arrive at some method of
defining and measuring the nonuniformity of flow within the peak hour.

To summarize, the objective of level of service analysis is to provide a practical method of

quantifying the degree of traffic congestion and being able to relate this to the overall traffic-
related performance of the roadway. The following sections of this chapter discuss and
demonstrate accepted standards for level of service analysis.

150
 Figure 7.1 Example of non-uniform flow over a peak hour.

11.2 Defining Level of Service (LoS)

To begin to quantify a roadway's degree of congestion, a qualitative measure describing

traffic operational conditions and their perception by drivers is first needed. Such a measure is
referred to as level of service and is intended to capture factors such as speed and travel
time, freedom to maneuver, and safety. Current practice designates six levels of service
ranging from A to F, with level of service A representing the best operating conditions and
level of service F the worst. The Highway Capacity Manual (Transportation Research Board
1994) defines level of service (LOS) for freeways (divided highways with two or more lanes in
each direction and full access control) as follows:

Level of Service A LOS A represents free-flow conditions (i.e., traffic operates at free-flow
speeds as defined in Chapter 5). Individual users are virtually unaffected by the presence of
others in the traffic stream. Freedom to select desired speeds and to maneuver within the
traffic stream is extremely high. The general level of comfort and convenience provided to
drivers is excellent.

Level of Service B LOS B also allows speeds at or near free-flow speeds, but the presence
of other users in the traffic stream begins to be noticeable. Freedom to select desired speeds
is relatively unaffected, but there is a slight decline in the freedom to maneuver within the
traffic stream relative to LOS A.

Level of Service C LOS C has speeds at or near free-flow speeds, but the freedom to
maneuver is noticeably restricted (e.g., lane changes require careful attention on the part of
drivers). The general level of comfort and convenience declines significantly at this level.
Disruptions in the traffic stream, such as an incident (e.g., vehicular accident or disablement),
can result in significant queue formation and vehicular delay. In contrast, the effects of
incidents at LOS A or LOS B are minimal, and cause only minor delay in the immediate
vicinity of the event.

Level of Service D LOS D represents the conditions where speeds begin to decline slightly
with increasing flow. The freedom to maneuver becomes more restricted and drivers
experience reductions in physical and psychological comfort. Incidents can generate lengthy

151
queues because the higher density associated with this LOS provides little space to absorb
disruptions in the traffic flow.

Level of Service E LOS E represents operating conditions at or near the roadway's capacity.
Even minor disruptions to the traffic stream, such as vehicles entering from a ramp or
changing lanes, can cause delays as other vehicles give way to allow such maneuvers. In
general, maneuverability is extremely limited and drivers experience considerable physical
and psychological discomfort.

Level of Service F LOS F describes a breakdown in vehicular flow. Queues form quickly
behind points in the roadway where the arrival flow rate temporarily exceeds the departure
rate, as determined by the roadway's capacity (see Chapter 5). Such points occur at minor
incidents and on-and off-ramps where incoming traffic results in capacity being exceeded.
Vehicles often proceed at reasonable speeds and then are required to stop in a cyclic fashion.
The cyclic formation and dissipation of queues is a key characterization of LOS F.

152
 Figure 7.2 Illustration of freeway level of service (A to F). (Reproduced by permission from
Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209, National
Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994).

A visual perspective of level of service for freeways is provided in Fig. 7.2. In dealing with
level of service it is important to remember that roadway capacity (which will be shown as a
function of the prevailing traffic and physical characteristics of the roadway) will always be
reached when the roadway is operating at LOS E. This, however, is not a desirable condition
because LOS E causes considerable driver discomfort that could increase the likelihood of
vehicular accidents and overall delay. In roadway design, the possibility of a degradation in
level of service to LOS E should be avoided, although this is not always possible due to
financial and environmental constraints that may limit the design speed, number of lanes, and
other factors that affect roadway capacity.

11.3 Basic Elements of LoS Analysis

In determining the level of service of a roadway segment, a few key definitions and associated
notations must be well understood.

153
 Hourly Volume Hourly volume is the actual traffic volume on a roadway in vehicles per hour,
given the symbol V. Generally, the highest volume in a 24-hour period (i.e., the peak-hour
volume) is used for V in traffic analysis computations.

Peak-Hour Factor The peak-hour factor accounts for the non-uniformity of traffic flow over the
peak hour (as shown in Fig. 7.1). It is denoted PHF and is defined as the ratio of the hourly
volume (V) to the maximum 15-min rate of flow (V15) expanded to an hourly volume.
Therefore,

Equation 7.1 indicates that the further the PHF is from unity, the more peaked or nonuniform
the traffic flow during the hour. For example, consider two roads both of which have a peak-
hour volume, V , of 2000 veh/h. The first road has 1000 vehicles arriving in the highest 15-min
interval, and the second road has 600 vehicles arriving in the highest 15-min interval. The first
road has a more nonuniform flow, and this is substantiated by the fact that its PHF of 0.5 [i.e.,
2000/(1000 X 4)] is further from unity than the second road's PHF of 0.83 [i.e., 2000/(600 X
4)]. Service Flow Service flow is the actual rate of flow for the peak 15-min period expanded
to an hourly volume and expressed in vehicles per hour. Service flow is denoted SF and is
defined as

Returning to the previous peak-hour factor example, note that the road with PHF = 0.5 has a
service flow of 4000 veh/h and the road with PHF = 0.83 has a service flow of 2400 veh/h. In
determining level of service, service flow (not peak-hour volume) will be used. Thus the road
with a service flow of 4000 veh/h will have a considerably worse level of service even though
both roads have the same hourly volume, V.

These definitions apply to all basic roadway types: freeways, multilane highways, and two-
lane highways (one lane in each direction). However, there are a number of additional terms
that must be introduced before a roadway level of service analysis can be undertaken. These
additional terms are best defined within specific roadway types as presented in the following
sections.

11.4 Basic Freeway Segments

A basic freeway segment is defined as a section of a divided roadway having two or more
lanes in one direction, full access control, and traffic that is unaffected by merging or diverging
movements near ramps or lane additions or lane deletions. It is important to note that capacity
analysis for divided roadways focuses on the traffic in one direction only. This is a logical
approach because the concern is to measure the highest level of congestion and, due to
directional imbalance of traffic flows (i.e., typically during morning rush hours the high
volumes are going toward the central city and during evening rush hours the high volumes are
going away from the central city), consideration of traffic volumes in both directions is likely to
seriously understate the true level of traffic congestion.

Determination of a roadway's level of service begins by specifying ideal roadway conditions.

Recall that in the introduction of this chapter the effect of vehicle performance and roadway
design characteristics on traffic flow was discussed qualitatively. In practice, the effect of such
factors on traffic flow is measured quantitatively, relative to traffic and roadway design

154
conditions that are considered ideal. For freeways, ideal conditions can be categorized as
those relating to lane widths and/or lateral clearances, the effects of heavy vehicles (such as
large trucks and buses), and driver population characteristics. Studies have shown that the
ideal lane width is 12 ft (3.6 m) and objects (e.g., telephone poles or retaining walls) should be
no closer than 6 ft (1.8 m) from the edge of the traveled pavement (at the roadside or
median). Also, under ideal conditions there should be passenger cars only in the traffic stream
with no heavy vehicles such as buses or large trucks, and the driver population should be
weekday drivers or commuters (i.e., regular users) who, due to their presumed familiarity with
traffic and roadway conditions, will behave so as to enhance the efficient flow of traffic.

With the concept of ideal conditions established, the term maximum service flow, MSF;, can
be defined for a given level of service i as the highest service flow that can be achieved while
maintaining the specified level of service i, assuming ideal roadway conditions. Because
ideal conditions specify the presence of passenger cars only, and because it is desirable to
have the maximum service flow rate independent of the number of lanes, MSF, is in units of
passenger cars per hour per lane (pcphpl). Accepted level of service criteria for a given
maximum service flow rate have been found to be a function of the freeway's free-flow speed.
The free-flow speed is a term that was first introduced in Chapter 5 as the speed of traffic as
the traffic density approaches zero. In practice, free-flow speed is determined by the design
speed of the roadway (i.e., the design speed of the horizontal and vertical curves as
discussed in Chapter 3), the frequency of on-ramps and off-ramps and number of vehicles
entering and exiting the traffic stream, the general density of the surrounding development,
the complexity of the driving environment (e.g., possible distractions from roadway signs and
so on), and speed limits. For freeways, free-flow speeds are determined directly from the field
by measuring the mean speed of passenger cars when flow rates are 1300 pcphpl or less.
Table 7.1 provides the level of service criteria corresponding to maximum service flows, traffic
densities, and speeds.

Table 7.1 Level of Service Criteria for Freeways

Maximum Minimum M Maximum Service
Level of Maximum v/c
Density Speed Flow Rate
Service Ratio
(pc/mi/ln) (mph) (pcphpl)
Free-Flow Speed = 70 mph
A 10.0 70.0 700 0.318/0.304
B 16.0 70.0 1,120 0.509/0.487
C 24.0 68.5 1,644 0.747/0.715
D 32.0 63.0 2,015 0.916/0.876
E 36.7/39.7 60.0/58.0 2,200/2,300 1.000
F var var var var
Free-Flow Speed = 65 mph
A 10.0 65.0 650 0.295/0.283
B 16.0 65.0 1,040 0.473/0.452
C 24.0 64.5 1,548 0.704/0.673
D 32.0 61.0 1,952 0.887/0.849
E 39.3/43.4 56.0/53.0 2,200/2,300 1.000
F var var var var
Free-Flow Speed = 60 mph
A 10.0 60.0 600 0.272/0.261
B 16.0 60.0 960 0.436/0.417
C 24.0 60.0 1,440 0.655/0.626
D 32.0 57.0 1,824 0.829/0.793
E 41.5/46.0 53.0/50.0 2,200/2,300 1.000
F var var var var
Free-Flow Speed = 55 mph
A 10.0 55.0 550 0.250/0.239
B 16.0 55.0 880 0.400/0.383
C 24.0 55.0 1,320 0.600/0.574
D 32.0 54.8 1,760 0.800/0.765
E 44.0/47.9 50.0/48.0 2,200/2,300 1.000

155
F var var var var
Note: In table entries with split values, the first value is for four-lane freeways, and the second
is for six- and eight-lane freeways.
Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

Also note that each level of service has a maximum volume-to-capacity ratio that corresponds
to the maximum service flow rate. Within this context, one of the basic relationships
underlying Table 7.1 can be expressed as

where
• MSF is the maximum service flow rate per lane for level of service i under ideal
conditions in pcphpl,
• (v/c), is the maximum volume-to-capacity ratio associated with level of service i for a
specified number of freeway lanes (see Table 7.1), and
• c; is the per-lane capacity under ideal conditions for a freeway with a specified
number of lanes /'.

The per-lane capacity Cj has been determined to be 2200 pcphpl for four-lane freeways (two
lanes in each direction) and 2300 pcphpl for freeways with six or more lanes. Note that the
value of q equals the maximum service flow rate at LOS E in Table 7.1 because the maximum
volume-to-capacity ratio at LOS E is equal to one [i.e., (v/c)E = 1]. A graphical representation
of Table 7.1 is provided in Fig. 7.3.

156
 Figure 7.3 Speed-flow curves and level of service criteria: (a) four-lane freeways, (b) six-or-
more-lane freeways.

11.4.1 Service Flow Rates and Level of Service

The concept of a maximum service flow provides an important benchmark for determining a
roadway's level of service, but, because ideal conditions are seldom realized in practice, a
method of converting the maximum service flow rate into an equivalent service flow rate
(which accounts for actual prevailing conditions) is needed. Once this is achieved, the highest
service flow rate at prevailing conditions for a given level of service (SF,) can be related to the
service flow rate obtained from actual vehicle counts (i.e., SF in Eqs. 7.2 and 7.3) to
determine the roadway's level of service (as will soon be demonstrated by example). In
calculating service flow rates under prevailing conditions, correction factors are used along
with the number of lanes (in each direction) such that

where
• SF, is the service flow rate (in veh/h) for level of service i under prevailing conditions
for /V lanes (in one direction) in vehicles per hour,
• fw is a factor to adjust for the effects of less than ideal lane widths and/or lateral
clearances (distances from the roadway edge to objects on the side of the roadway),

157
 • fHV is a factor to adjust for the effect of vehicles other than passenger cars in the
traffic stream (i.e., heavy vehicles such as large trucks, buses, and recreational
vehicles), and
• fp is a factor to adjust for the effect of non-ideal driver populations (e.g., drivers who
are not regular users).

The combination of Eqs. 7.4 and 7.5 provides another equation that will prove useful in
forthcoming level of service computations:

Eqs. 7.4, 7.5, and 7.6 form the basis for freeway level of service analysis.

11.4.2 Lane Width and/or Lateral Clearance Adjustment

When lane widths are narrower than the ideal 12 ft (3.6 m) and/or obstructions (e.g., retaining
walls or utility poles) are closer than 6 ft (1.8 m) from the traveled pavement (at the roadside
or at the median), the adjustment factoris used to reflect the impact on level of service. Such
an adjustment is needed because narrow lanes and obstructions close to the traveled lane
cause traffic to slow as a result of reduced psychological comfort and limits on driver
maneuvering and accident avoidance options. This, in turn, leads to an effective reduction in
roadway capacity relative to the capacity that would be available if ideal lane widths and
lateral clearances were provided.

The adjustment factors used in current practice are presented in Table 7.2. Although the
definition of lane width is unambiguous, some elaboration of what is meant by an obstruction
is needed. An obstruction is a right-side (road-side) or left-side (median-side) object that can
either be continuous (e.g., a retaining wall or barrier) or periodic (e.g., light posts or utility
poles). Table 7.2 provides corrections for obstructions on one side of the roadway (either
median or roadside) and for both sides (both median and roadside). For the case where
obstructions are on both sides of the roadway and distances from the travelled pavement
edge to objects are unequal (e.g., 2 ft [0.6 m] to right-side obstructions and 4 ft [1.2 m] to left-
side obstructions), the average distance is used to arrive at ihefw. In this case, the values in
Table 7.2 would have to be interpolated.

Table 7.2 Adjustment Factor for Restricted Lane Width and Lateral Clearance (for Freeways)

Adjustment Factor
Obstructions on Obstructions on
Distance from One Side Two Sides
Traveled Way to Lane Width (ft)
Obstruction
(ft) >12 11 10 >12 1 1 10
>6 1.00 0.95 0.90 1.00 0.95 0.90
4 0.99 0.94 0.89 0.98 0.93 0.88
2 0.97 0.92 0.88 0.95 0.90 0.86
0 0.92 0.88 0.84 0.86 0.82 0.78
a
Interpolation may be used for lane width or distance from traveled way to obstruction.
Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

As an example, suppose we have a freeway with 11-ft (3.4-m) lanes with the unequal
obstructions (on both sides of the roadway) at 2 ft (0.6 m) and 4 ft (1.2 m) as previously
discussed. With an average of 3-ft (0.9-m) obstructions on both sides, /„ is 0.915 [(0.93 +
0.90)/2] for 11-ft (3.4-m) lanes. This implies that 8.5% of the capacity is lost due to nonideal
lane widths and lateral clearances.

158
11.4.3 Heavy Vehicle Adjustment

Large trucks, buses, and recreational vehicles have performance characteristics (slow
acceleration and inferior braking) and dimensions (length, height, and width) that have an
adverse effect on roadway capacity. Recall that ideal conditions stipulate that no heavy
vehicles are present in the traffic stream, and when prevailing conditions indicate that
presence of such vehicles, the adjustment factor fHV is used to translate ideal to prevailing
conditions. The fHV correction term is found using a two-step process. The first step is to
determine the passenger-car equivalent (pee) for each large truck, bus, and/or recreational
vehicle in the traffic stream. These values represent the number of passenger cars that would
consume the same amount of roadway capacity as a single large truck, bus, or recreational
vehicle. These passenger-car equivalents are denoted ET for large trucks and buses, and ER
for recreational vehicles. They are a function of roadway grades because steep grades will
tend to magnify the poor performance of heavy vehicles as well as the sight distance
problems caused by their larger dimensions (i.e., the visibility afforded to drivers in vehicles
following heavy vehicles). For roadway segments where no single section has a grade of
more than 3% for more than 0.25 mi (0.4 km), or is longer than 0.5 mi (0.8 km) if the grade is
less than 3%, the passenger car equivalency factors can be obtained from Table 7.3 with
terrain types defined as follows (Transportation Research Board 1994):

Level Terrain Any combination of grades and horizontal and vertical alignments permitting
heavy vehicles to maintain approximately the same speed as passenger cars. This generally
includes short grades of no more than 2%.

Rolling Terrain. Any combination of grades and horizontal and vertical alignment that causes
heavy vehicles to reduce their speed substantially below those of passenger cars, but does
not cause heavy vehicles to operate at their limiting speed on the given grade for any
significant length of time (i.e., not having F„et(V) = 0 due to high grade resistance as illustrated
in Fig. 2.6).

Mountainous Terrain Any combination of grades and horizontal and vertical alignments that
causes heavy vehicles to operate at their limiting speed on the given grade for significant
distances or at frequent intervals.

TABLE 7.3 Passenger Car Equivalents on Extended Roadway Sections

(for Freeways and Multilane Highways)

Type of Terrain
Category Level Rolling Mountainous
ET for trucks and buses 1.5 3.0 6.0
ER for recreational vehicles 1.2 2.0 4.0
Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

Table 7.4 Passenger Car Equivalents for Trucks and Buses on Specific Upgrades
(for Freeways and Multilane Highways)
Grade Length ET
(*) (mi)
Percent Trucks and Buses
2 4 5 6 8 10 15 20 25
<2 All 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
2 0-V* 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
V4-V2 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Vz-% 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
¥4- 1 2.5 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
1-1% 4.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0 2.0

159
 >m 4.5 3.5 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0 2.0
3 0-V4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
V4-V2 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.5
V2-V4 6.0 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.0
%-i 7.5 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.0 3.0
1-1V2 8.0 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.0
8.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0
4 0-1/4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
1/4-1/2 5.5 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.5
1/2-% 9.5 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5
¥4- 1 10.5 8.0 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0
>i 11.0 8.0 7.5 7.0 6.0 6.0 5.0 5.0 4.5
5 0-1/4 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
1/4-1/3 6.0 4.5 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.0
1/3-1/2 9.0 7.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5
!/2-¥4 12.5 9.0 8.5 8.0 7.0 7.0 6.0 6.0 5.0
¥4-1 13.0 9.5 9.0 8.0 7.5 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5
>1 13.0 9.5 9.0 8.0 7.5 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5
6 0-1/4 4.5 3.5 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0
V4-V3 9.0 6.5 6.0 6.0 5.0 5.0 4.0 3.5 3.0
1/3-1/2 12.5 9.5 8.5 8.0 7.0 6.5 6.0 6.0 5.5
l/2-¥4 15.0 11.0 10.0 9.5 9.0 8.0 8.0 7.5 6.5
¥4 15.0 11.0 10.0 9.5 9.0 8.5 8.0 7.5 6.5
>1 15.0 11.0 10.0 9.5 9.0 8.5 8.0 7.5 6.5
Note: If the length of grade falls on a boundary, apply the longer category; interpolation may
be used to find equivalents for intermediate percent grades. Source: Transportation Research
Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209, National Research Council,
Washington, DC, 1994.

Table 7.5 Passenger Car Equivalents for Recreational Vehicles on Specific Upgrades (for
Freeways and Multilane Highways)
Grade Length ER
(%) (mi)
Percent Recreational Vehicles
2 4 5 6 8 10 15 20 25
<2 All 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
>y2 2.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.2
4 0-V* 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
V4-V2 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.5 1.5
>¥z 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.5
X
5 0- /4 2.5 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
V4-V2 4.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0 2.0
>V2 4.5 3.5 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0
6 0-44 4.0 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.5
V4-V2 6.0 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.0
>V2 6.0 4.5 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.0
Note: If the length of grade falls on a boundary, apply the longer category; interpolation may
be used to find equivalents for intermediate percent grades. Source: Transportation Research
Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209, National Research Council,
Washington, DC, 1994.

If a roadway has grades greater than 3% that are longer than 0.25 mi (0.4 km) or has grades
less than 3% but longer than 0.5 mi (0.8 km), the values in Table 7.3 are no longer valid. In

160
these cases, more detailed tables are used. Tables 7.4 and 7.5 are the tables used for
positive grades (upgrades). These tables assume typical large trucks (with average weight-to-
horsepower between 125 and 150 lb/hp [746 and 895 N/kW]) and recreational vehicles (with
average weight-to-horsepower ratios between 30 and 60 lb/hp [179 and 358 N/kW]). Note that
the equivalency factors presented in these tables increase with increasing grade and length of
grade, but decrease with increasing heavy vehicle percentages. This decrease with
increasing percentages is because heavy vehicles tend to group together as their
percentages increase on steep, extended grades, thus decreasing their adverse impact on
the traffic stream.

When two or more grades are present, a distance-weighted average may be used if all grades
are less than 4% and the total combined length of the grades is less than 4000 ft (1220 m).
For example, a 2% upgrade for 1000 ft (305 m) followed immediately by a 3% upgrade for
2000 ft (610 m) would use the equivalency factor for a 2.67% upgrade [(2 X 1000 + 3 X
2000)/3000] for 3000 ft (914 m) or 0.568 mi. For additional information on combining two
grades within the same section when grades exceed 4% or the combined lengths are greater
than 4000 ft (1220 m), determining the length of a grade that starts or ends on a vertical
curve, and the critical part of a grade when more than one grade exists in the roadway
segment (e.g., if a 4% grade were immediately followed by a 2% grade, the 4% grade would
be used because the vehicle could be assumed to accelerate on the 2% portion), see the
Highway Capacity Manual (Transportation Research Board 1994).

Negative grades (downgrades) also have an impact on equivalency factors because the
comparatively poor braking characteristics of heavy vehicles have a more deleterious effect
on the traffic stream on downgrades than on level terrain. Table 7.6 gives the passenger car
equivalents for trucks and buses on downgrades. It is assumed that recreational vehicles are
not significantly impacted by downgrades; thus downgrade values for ER are drawn from the
level terrain column in Table 7.3.
Once the appropriate equivalency factors have been obtained, the following equation is
applied to arrive at the heavy vehicle correction factor fm:

where P's are the proportions of heavy vehicles in the traffic stream and £'s are the
equivalency factors from Tables 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, and/or 7.6.

Table 7.6 Passenger Car Equivalents for Trucks and Buses on Specific Downgrades (for
Freeways and Multilane Highways)
Downgrade Length of Passenger Car Equivalent, ET
(%) Grade (mi)
Percent Trucks/Buses
5 10 15 20
a a a a
<4 All 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
4 <4 1.5a 1.5a 1.5a 1.5a
4 >4 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.5a
a a a a
5 <4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
5 >4 5.5 4.0 4.0 3.0
a a a a
>6 <4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
>6 >4 7.5 6.0 5.5 4.5
a
Value for level terrain.
Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

Table 7.7 Adjustment Factor for Driver Population (for Freeways)

161
 Traffic Stream Type Adjustment Factor
(fp)
Weekday, commuter (familiar 1.00
users)
Recreational or other 0.75-0.99
Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

As an example of how a heavy vehicle correction factor is computed, consider a freeway with
a 0.75-mi- (1.2-km-) long 4% upgrade with a traffic stream having 8% trucks, 2% buses, and
2% recreational vehicles. Tables 7.4 and 7.5 must be used because the grade is too steep
and long for Table 7.3 to apply. The corresponding equivalency factors for this roadway are
ET = 5.5 (applying the longer cagetory because 0.75 mi [1.2 km] is on the boundary between
two categories, and using a combined truck and bus percentage of 10) and ER = 3.0 as
obtained from Tables 7.4 and 7.5 respectively. Also, from the given percentages of heavy
vehicles in the traffic stream, PT = 0.1 and PR = 0.02. Substituting these values into Eq. 7.7
gives fHV = 0.67 or a 33% reduction in effective roadway capacity relative to the ideal condition
of having no heavy vehicles in the traffic stream.

11.4.4 Driver Population Adjustment

Under ideal conditions, a traffic stream is assumed to consist of regular weekday drivers and
commuters. Such drivers have a high familiarity with the roadway and generally maneuver
and respond to the maneuvers of other drivers in a safe and predictable fashion. There are
times, however, when the traffic stream has a driver population that is less familiar with the
roadway in question (e.g., weekend drivers or recreational drivers). Such drivers can cause a
significant reduction in roadway capacity relative to the ideal condition of having only familiar
drivers.

To account for the composition of the driver population, the fp adjustment factor is used; its
recommended values are given in Table 7.7. Note that for nonideal driver populations (i.e.,
"recreational or other" in Table 7.7), the loss in roadway capacity can vary from 1% to 25%.
The exact value of the nonideal driver correction is dependent on local conditions such as
roadway characteristics and the surrounding environment (e.g., possible driver distractions
such as scenic views, and so on). When nonideal driver populations are present, judgment is
necessary to determine the exact value of this term. This usually involves collection of data on
local conditions (for further information see the Highway Capacity Manual [Transportation
Research Board 1994]).

11.4.5 Freeway Traffic Analysis

With all the terms in Eqs. 7.4, 7.5, and 7.6 defined, these equations can now be applied to
determine freeway level of service and freeway capacity. The manner in which this is done is
best demonstrated by example.

EXAMPLE 7.1
A. six-lane freeway (three lanes in each direction) is on rolling terrain with a 70 mph (113
km/h) free-flow speed, 10-ft (3-m) lanes, with obstructions 2 ft (0.6 m) from both the right and
left edges of the traveled pavement. The traffic stream consists of urban commuters. A
directional weekday peak-hour volume af 2200 vehicles is observed with 700 vehicles arriving
in the most congested 15-min period. If the traffic stream has 15% large trucks and buses and
no recreational vehicles, determine the level of service.

SOLUTION
The approach to take to determine the level of service is to compute the volume-to-capacity
ratio ( v / c ) of the freeway and compare it with the maximum volume-to-capacity ratios for
specified levels of service as given in Table 7.1. To arrive at the freeway's volume-to-capacity
ratio, Eq. 7.6 is rearranged giving

162
where, from Eq. 7.3,

From Eq. 7.7 we obtain

Substituting, we find that

which gives LOS C from Table 7.1, because the maximum v/c for LOS B (with 70-mph [113-
km/h] free-flow speed and a six-lane freeway) is 0.487, and the maximum v/c for LOS C is
0.715 (i.e., 0.487 < 0.614 < 0.715).
This problem can also be solved using maximum service flow. To do so, Eq. 7.5 is applied:

From Table 7.1 we see that the freeway operates at LOS C because the maximum MSF for
LOS B (with 70-mph [113-km/h] free-flow speed and a six-lane freeway) is 1120 pcphpl, and
the maximum MSF for LOS C is 1644 pcphpl (i.e., 1120 < 1411.28 < 1644). Using MSF, this
problem can also be solved graphically by applying Fig. 7.3. Using part (a) of this figure (four-
lane freeway), we draw a vertical line up from 1411.28 pcphpl (on the figure's x-axis) and find
that this line intersects the 70-mph (113-km/h) free-flow speed curve in the LOS C region.

EXAMPLE 7.2
Consider the freeway and traffic conditions in Example 7.1. At some point farther along the
roadway there is a 5% upgrade that is 0.5 mi (0.8 km) long. All other characteristics are the
same as in Example 7.1. What is the level of service of this portion of the roadway, and how
many vehicles can be added before the roadway reaches capacity (assuming that the
proportion of vehicle types and the peak-hour factor remain constant)?

SOLUTION
To determine the LOS of this section of the freeway, we note that all adjustment factors are
the same as those in Example 7.1 except f H V , which must now be determined using an
equivalency factor, E T , drawn from the specific upgrade tables (in this case Table 7.4). From
Table 7.4, ET = 6.0, which gives

163
 which gives LOS D from Table 7.1, because the maximum v/c for LOS C (with 70-mph [113-
km/h] free-flow speed and a six-lane freeway) is 0.715, and the maximum v/c for LOS D is
0.876 (i.e., 0.715 < 0.826 < 0.876).

To determine how many vehicles can be added before capacity is reached, the service flow at
capacity must be computed. Because roadway capacity occurs at LOS E, and the highest
volume-to-capacity ratio under LOS E is 1.0 (Table 7.1, with volume equal to capacity), the
service flow at capacity can be calculated from Eq. 7.6 as

Recall that service flow is based on the highest 15-min volume in the peak hour. To determine
the number of vehicles that can be added to the entire peak hour, service flow must be
converted to an equivalent hourly volume. By rearranging Eq. 7.2, we get

or, because initial V = 2200 veh/h (given) and V15 = 700 vehicles (given),

This means that about 463 vehicles (2663 - 2200) can be added to the peak hour before
capacity is reached. It should be noted that the assumption that the peak-hour factor would
remain constant as the roadway approaches capacity is not very realistic. In practice, it is
observed that as a roadway approaches capacity, the PHF gets closer to one. This implies
that the flow rate over the peak hour becomes more uniform. This uniformity is the result of,
among other factors, motorists adjusting their departure and arrival times to avoid congested
periods within the peak hour. Graphically this means that the "valleys" shown in Fig. 7.1 will
tend to fill in.

11.5 Multilane Rural And Suburban Highways

Multilane highways in suburban and rural settings are highways that do not meet freeway
standards because (1) vehicles may enter or leave the roadway at at-grade intersections and
driveways and may cross the median at certain points (i.e., multilane highways do not have
full access control), (2) traffic signals may be present, (3) design standards (e.g., design
speeds) are typically lower than those for freeways, and (4) the visual setting and
development along multilane highways is more distracting to drivers than along freeways.
Multilane highways are usually four or six lanes (total, both directions), have posted speed
limits between 40 mph (64.4 km/h) and 55 mph (88.5 km/h), and can have physical medians,
medians that are two-way left-turn lanes (TWLTLs), or opposing directional volumes that may
not be divided by a median at all. Some examples of rural and suburban multilanes are given
in Fig. 7.4.

164
 Figure 7.4 Illustration of rural and suburban multilane highways. (Reproduced by permission
from Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994).

Determining level of service on rural and suburban multilane highways differs from the
procedure previously discussed for freeways. As we shall soon see, while freeway and
multilane analyses have some elements in common, there are a number of important
differences. The procedure that we will present is valid only for sections of highway that are
not significantly influenced by large queue formations and dissipations resulting from traffic
signals (this is generally taken as having traffic signals spaced 2.0 mi [3.2 km] or more apart),
do not have significant on-street parking, do not have bus stops with high usage, and do not
have significant pedestrian activity.

Ideal conditions for multilane highways are defined as having level terrain (no grades greater
than 2%), 12-ft (3.6-m) lanes, objects (e.g., utility poles or retaining walls) no closer than 6 ft
(1.8 m) from the edge of the. travelled pavement (at the roadside or median), no direct access
points along the roadway, a divided highway, passenger cars only in the traffic stream, and a
free-flow speed of 60 mph (97 km/h) or more. As was the case in the freeway level of service
analysis, adjustments must be made when non-ideal conditions are encountered.

Level of service estimation for multilane highways is best done by using the speed-flow
relationships shown in Fig. 7.5, which is a graphical representation of the values given in
Table
7.8. The level of service estimation procedure will be to estimate the free-flow speed and the
service flow rate, and to use the intersection of a vertical line from the flow with the
corresponding free-flow curve to determine level of service. For example, a multilane highway
with a free-flow speed of 55 mph (89 km/h) and a service flow rate of 800 pcphpl would be
operating at LOS B. The LOS problem for multilane highways is simply one of determining the
free-flow speed, which can be obtained directly from field studies or by other means, and the
service flow rate, which will be a function of the traffic volume, peak-hour factor, number of
lanes, and a heavy vehicle adjustment factor.

11.5.1 Free-Flow Speed Determination

165
As previously defined, free-flow speed is the mean speed of passenger cars under low to
moderate flow rates, which is usually taken as up to 1400 passenger cars per hour per lane
(pcphpl) for multilane highways, as shown graphically in

Figure 7.5 Speed-flow curves and level of service criteria for multilane highways. (Re-
produced by permission from Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual,
Special Report 209, National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994).

166
Table 7.8 Level of Service Criteria for Multilane Highways

Free-Flow Speed
60 mph 55 mph 50 mph 45 mph
Max Max Max Max
Level of
Max Average Service Max Average Service Max Average Service Max Average Service
Service Max Max Max Max
Density Speed Flow Density Speed Flow Density Speed Flow Density Speed Flow
v/c v/c v/c v/c
(pc/mi/ln) (mph) Rate (pc/mi/ln) (mph) Rate (pc/mi/ln) (mph) Rate (pc/mi/ln) (mph) Rate
(pcphpl) (pcphpl) (pcphpl) (pcphpl)
A 12 60 0.33 720 12 55 0.31 660 12 50 0.30 600 12 45 0.28 540
B 20 60 0.55 1,200 20 55 0.52 1,100 20 50 0.50 1,000 20 45 0.47 900
C 28 59 0.75 1,650 28 54 0.72 1,510 28 50 0.70 1,400 28 45 0.66 1,260
D 34 57 0.89 1,940 34 53 0.86 1,800 34 49 0.84 1,670 34 44 0.79 1,500
E 40 55 1.00 2,200 41 51 1.00 2,100 43 47 1.00 2,000 45 42 1.01) 1,900

Note: The exact mathematical relationship between density and v/c has not always been maintained at LOS boundaries because of the use of
rounded values. Density is the primary determinant ot LUS. LOS F is characterized by highly unstable and variable traffic flow. Prediction of accurate
flow rate, density, and speed at LOS F is difficult.

Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209, National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

167
Fig. 7.5. Unlike freeways (which require direct free-flow speed measurement), multilane highway
free-flow speeds can be determined in a number of ways. The direct measurement approach,
which is to simply measure the mean speed of passenger cars at flow rates at or below 1400
pcphpl, is still the preferred option. If this approach is used, the resultant mean speed (the free-
flow speed) accounts for possible nonideal roadway characteristics, including lane width, lateral
clearance, type of median, and number of access points. However, conducting the necessary
speed study may not always be possible due to financial constraints and/or other reasons. If this
is the case, two other empirical approaches to determine free-flow speed for multilane highways
can be used. The first is to use the 85th-percentile speed from existing speed data (this speed is
often used to determine the roadway's speed limit and is the speed that has 85% of all traffic
traveling slower than the speed and 15% greater than the speed). In determining this 85th-
percentile speed, the speeds of heavy vehicles may be included if the terrain is level, but the
speeds of passenger cars only should be used for rolling or mountainous terrain (see earlier
terrain definitions in section 7.4.3). The second approach is to simply use the speed limit of the
facility.

If either the 85th-percentile speed or speed limit is used to determine freeflow speed, free-flow
speed corrections must be applied. To do this, we first estimate the free-flow speed for ideal
roadway conditions (i.e., 12-ft [3.6-m] lanes, etc.). We denote this speed FFS, and it is
determined from the 85th-percentile and speed limits as shown in Table 7.9. Then free-flow
speed for existing conditions (which may not be ideal) is determined from

where
• FFS is the estimated free-flow speed in mph,
• FFSt is the estimated free-flow speed in mph for ideal conditions,
• FM is an adjustment for median type,
• FLW is an adjustment for lane width,
• FLC is an adjustment for lateral clearance, and
• FA is an adjustment for the number of access points along the roadway.

Note that this equation is used only when speeds are obtained from the 85th-percentile speed or
speed limit. If the mean speed of passenger cars is obtained at flow levels less than 1400 pcphpl,
this equation is not used because FFS is obtained directly.

Values for the adjustment factor for median type FM are provided in Table 7.10. This table shows
that undivided highways have a free-flow speed that is1.6 mph (2.6 km/h) lower than divided
highways (which include those with two-way left-turn lanes). Table 7.11 gives free-flow speed
reductions resulting from lane widths that are less than the ideal 12 ft (3.6 m) (the values in this
table are for the adjustment factor FLW). In this table, lane widths greater than 12 ft (3.6 m) are
assumed to be 12 ft (3.6 km), and no data exist for lane widths less than 10 ft (3.0 m).

Table 7.9 Determination of Free-Flow Speed with Ideal Roadway Conditions (FFSI)
for Multilane Highways
Data Basis for Free-Flow
Speed
85th percentile of speed
Speed limit
Equation for FFSi
FFSi = 85th-percentile speed in mph + [3 - 0.1 x (85th-
percentile speed in mph)]
For 40- and 45-mph speed limits: FFSI - 7 + (speed limit
in mph)
For 50- and 55-mph speed limits: FFS, = 5 + (speed limit
in mph)

Table 7.10 Adjustment for Median Type (for Multilane Highways)

Reduction in Free-Flow
Median Type Speed (mph)
168
Undivided Highways 1.6
Divided Highways (including TWLTLs) 0.0
Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

The adjustment factor for possible nonideal lateral clearances (FLC) is determined first by
computing the total lateral clearance, which is defined as

where
• TLC is the total lateral clearance in feet,
• LCR is the lateral clearance on the right side of the traveled lanes to obstructions (e.g.,
retaining walls, signs, trees, utility poles, and so on), and
• LCL is the lateral clearance on the left side of the traveled lanes to obstructions.

For undivided highways, there is no adjustment for left-side lateral clearance because this is
already taken into account in the FM term (i.e., LCL = 6 ft [1.8 m] in Eq. 7.9). If an individual lateral
clearance (either left or right side) exceeds 6 ft (1.8 m), 6 ft (1.8 m) is used in Eq. 7.9. Finally,
highways with TWLTLs are considered to have an LCL equal to 6 ft (1.8 m). Once Eq. 7.9 is
applied, the value for FLC can be determined directly from Table 7.12.

Table 7.11 Adjustment for Lane Width (for Multilane Highways)

Lane Width Reduction in Free-Flow Speed
(ft) (mph)
10 6.6
11 1.9
12 0.0
Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

Table 7.12 Adjustment for Lateral Clearance (for Multilane Highways)

Four-Lane Highways Six-Lane Highways
Total Lateral Reduction in Free- Total Lateral Reduction in Free-
Clearance" (ft) Flow Speed (mph) Clearance" (ft) Flow Speed (mph)
12 0.0 12 0.0
10 0.4 10 0.4
8 0.9 8 0.9
6 1.3 6 1.3
4 1.8 4 1.7
2 3.6 2 2.8
0 5.4 0 3.9
"Total lateral clearance is the sum of the lateral clearances of the median (if greater than 6 ft, use
6 ft) and shoulder (if greater than 6 ft, use 6 ft). Therefore, for analysis purposes, total lateral
clearance cannot exceed 12 ft.
Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

Table 7.13 Number of Access Points for General Development Environments

(for Multilane Highways)
Access Points per Mile (One Side of
Type of Development
Roadway)
Rural 0-10
Low-Density Suburban 11-20
High-Density Suburban 21 or more
Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.
169
 The final adjustment factor in Eq. 7.8 is the adjustment factor for the number of access points, FA.
An access point is defined to include intersections and driveways (on the right side of the
highway in the direction being considered) that significantly influence traffic flow and, as such, do
not generally include driveways to individual residences or service driveways at commercial sites.
For up to 40 access points per mile (25 access points per kilometer), studies show that every
access point per mile reduces the free-flow speed by approximately 0.25 mph (0.4 km/h). If the
number of access points per mile exceeds 40 (access points per kilometer exceeds 25), a
constant 10 mph (16.1 km/h) reduction in free-flow speed is used. With NAPM equal to the
number of access points per mile, we have

To get some idea of the typical number of access points per mile in different development
environments, see Table 7.13. This provides some important background information on access
point densities in rural and suburban environs.

EXAMPLE 7.3
A four-lane undivided highway has 11-ft (3.4-m) lanes, with 4-ft (1.2-m) shoulders on the right
side. There are seven access points per mile (four access points per kilometer) and the 85th-
percentile is 51 mph (82 km/h). What is the estimated free-flow speed?

SOLUTION
The problem is solved with a direct application of Eq. 7.8:

where
• FFS, = 48.9 mph (78.7 km/h) (from Table 7.9, FFS, = 51 + [3.0 - 0.1 X 51])
• FM = 1.6 mph (2.6 km/h) (from Table 7.10, undivided highways)
• FLW = 1.9 mph (3.1 km/h) (from Table 7.11,11 ft [3.4 m] lane width)
• FLC = 0.4 mph (0.6 km/h) (from Table 7.12, with TLC = 4 + 6 = 10, from Eq. 7.9, with LCL
= 6 ft because the highway is undivided)
• FA = 1.75 mph (2.8 km/h) (from Eq. 7.10, FA = 0.25 X 7 = 1.75)

Substitution gives

which means that the non-ideal conditions reduced the ideal free-flow speed by 5.65 mph (9.1
km/h).

11.5.2 Service Flow Rate Determination

The service flow rate used in Fig. 7.5 is determined by making two adjustments to the hourly
traffic volume: one for the peak-hour factor and one for heavy vehicles. The appropriate equation
is

where vp is the service flow rate in passenger cars per hour per lane (pcphpl), V is the hourly
volume, N is the number of lanes, PHF is the peak-hour factor as defined in Eq. 7.1, and fHV is
the heavy vehicle adjustment as defined in Eq. 7.7. The determination of fHV for multilane
highways is exactly the same as that for freeways, with Tables 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5 used to arrive at
£r's and E R s .

Using vp from Eq. 7.11 and FFS from Eq. 7.8, level of service can be readily determined. This is
demonstrated by the following example.

EXAMPLE 7.4

170
A six-lane rural multilane divided highway is on rolling terrain with two access points per mile
(one access point per kilometer) and has 10-ft (3-m) lanes, with a 5-ft (1.5-m) shoulder on the
right side and a 3-ft (0.9-m) shoulder on the left side. The peak-hour factor is 0.80 and the
directional peak-hour volume is 3000 veh/h. There are 6% large trucks, 2% buses, and 2%
recreational vehicles. No speed studies are available, but the speed limit is 55 mph (89 km/h).
Determine the level of service.

SOLUTION
We begin by determining the FFS by applying Eq. 7.8:

where
FFSi = 60 mph (97 km/h) (from Table 7.9, FFSi = 5 + 55)
FM = 0.0 mph (0 km/h) (from Table 7.10, divided highways)
FLW = 6.6 mph (10.6 km/h) (from Table 7.11,10 ft [3 m] lane width)
FLC = 0.9 mph (1.4 km/h) (from Table 7.12, with TLC = 5 + 3 = 8, from Eq. 7.9)
FA = 0.5 mph (0.8 km/h) (from Eq. 7.10, FA = 0.25 X 2 = 0.5)

Substitution gives

Next, we determine the service flow rate using Eq. 7.11:

where
V = 3000 veh/h (given)
N = 3 (given)
PHF = 0.8 (given)
ET = 3.0 (rolling terrain, Table 7.3)
ER = 2.0 (rolling terrain, Table 7.3)

From Eq. 7.8 we obtain

Substitution gives

As shown in Fig. 7.6, we draw a speed-flow curve for 52 mph (84.7 km/h) FFS (using the same
shape of the curves for 60, 55, 50, and 45 mph as shown in Fig. 7.5) and note that the 1475.8
pcphpl service flow rate intersects this curve in LOS D. Therefore, this highway is operating at
LOS D.

171
 Figure 7.6 Solution to Example 7.4. (Reproduced by permission from Transportation Research
Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209, National Research Council, Washington,
DC, 1994).

EXAMPLE 7.5
A local manufacturer wishes to open a factory near the section of highway described in Example
7.4. How many large trucks can be added to the peak-hour directional volume before capacity is
reached? (Assume only trucks and buses are added and that the PHF remains constant).

SOLUTION
Note that the FFS will remain unchanged at 52 mph (83.7 km/h). Table 7.8 shows that the
capacity with FFS = 55 mph (88.6 km/h) is 2100 pcphpl, and with FFS = 50 mph (80.5 km/h) is
2000 pcphpl, so a linear interpolation gives us a capacity of 2040 pcphpl at FFS = 52 mph (83.7
km/h). The current number of large trucks and buses in the peak-hour traffic stream is 240 (0.08
X 3000), and the current number of recreational vehicles is 60 (0.02 X 3000). Let us denote the
number of new trucks added as V„t. The combination of Eq. 7.7 and 7.11 gives

With V = 3000 veh/h, ET = 3, ER = 2, N = 3, PHF = 0.8, and vp = 2040 pcphpl, we have

which gives Vnl = 452, which is the number of trucks that can be added to the peak hour before
capacity is reached.

11.6 Rural Two-Lane Highways

Two-lane highways are defined as roadways with one lane available in each direction. In terms of
level of service determination, a key distinction between two-lane highways and the freeways and
multilane highways previously discussed is that traffic in both directions must now be considered
(previously we considered traffic in one direction only). This is because traffic in an opposing
direction has a strong influence on level of service. For example, a high opposing traffic volume

172
 limits the opportunity to pass slow-moving vehicles (because such a pass requires the passing
vehicle to occupy the opposing lane) and thus forces a lower traffic speed and, as a
consequence, a lower level of service. It also follows that any geometric features that restrict
passing sight distance (such as sight distance on horizontal and vertical curves) will have an
adverse impact on the level of service. Finally, the type of terrain (i.e., level, rolling, or
mountainous) plays a more critical role in level of service calculations relative to freeways and
multilane highways, because of the sometimes limited ability to pass slower-moving vehicles on
grades (i.e., in areas where passing is prohibited due to sight distance restrictions or opposing
traffic does not permit safe passing).

With these points in mind, consider the following ideal conditions for rural two-lane highways
(from the Highway Capacity Manual, Transportation Research Board 1994):
1. Design speed greater than or equal to 60 mph (97 km/h) (see Chapter 3)
2. Lane widths greater than or equal to 12 ft (3.6 m)
3. Clear shoulders wider than or equal to 6 ft (1.8 m)
4. No no-passing zones on the highway segment
5. All passenger cars in the traffic stream
6. A 50/50 directional split of traffic (e.g., 50% travelling northbound and 50% travelling
southbound)
7. No impediments to through traffic due to traffic control or turning vehicles
8. Level terrain (as defined in section 7.4.3)

The capacity of a roadway under such conditions is 2800 passenger cars per hour (pcph), total,
both directions. This leads to the basic service flow expression for two-lane, two-way rural
highways:

where all terms are as defined for freeways (see Eq. 7.6) with the exception of f d , which is an
additional adjustment factor for the non-ideal directional distribution of traffic (i.e., having more
than 50% of the total traffic volume traveling in one of the two directions). The idea behind/,, is
that, as the directional distribution of traffic deviates from 50/50, the 2800 pcph (total both
directions) is adjusted downward toward the extreme case in which the directional distribution is
100/0. In such a case the total capacity in both directions becomes 2000 pcph or, because all of
the flow is in one direction, 2000 pcphpl. The values for the directional distribution adjustment
factor are provided in Table 7.14. Values for (v/c), and

Table 7.14 Adjustment for Directional Distribution on Two-Lane Highways

Directional 100/0 90/10 80/20 70/30 60/40 50/50
Distribution
Adjustment factor, fd 0.71 0.75 0.83 0.89 0.94 1.00
Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

Table 7.15 Level of Service Criteria for Two-Lane Highways

Perce v/c Ratio3
nt
Time
LOS Delay
Level Terrain Rolling Terrain Mountainous Terrain
Avg
Spe Avg Avg
ed Percent No-Passing Zones Speed Percent No-Passing Zones Speed Percent No-Passing Zones
0 20 40 60 80 10 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
0
A < 30 > 58 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0. > 57 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.04 0.03 > 56 0.14 0.09 0.07 0.0 0.0 0.01
5 2 9 7 5 04 5 0 7 5 4 2
B < 45 > 55 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0. > 54 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.15 0.13 > 54 0.25 0.20 0.16 0.1 0.1 0.10
7 4 1 9 7 16 6 3 9 7 3 2
C < 60 > 52 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0. > 51 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.30 0.28 > 49 0.39 0.33 0.28 0.2 0.2 0.16
3 9 6 4 3 32 2 9 5 2 3 0
D < 75 > 50 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0. > 49 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.46 0.43 > 45 0.58 0.50 0.45 0.4 0.3 0.33
4 2 0 9 8 57 2 7 2 8 0 7
E > 75 > 45 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1. > 40 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.90 0.90 > 35 0.91 0.87 0.84 0.8 0.8 0.78
173
 0 0 0 0 0 00 7 4 2 1 2 0
F 100 < 45 — — — — < 40 — — — < 35 — — — — —
a Ratio of flow rate to an ideal capacity of 2800 pcph in both directions.
b Average travel speed of all vehicles (in mph) for highways with design speed > 60 mph; for
highways with lower design speeds, reduce speed by 4 mph for each 10-mph reduction in design
speed below 60 mph; assumes that speed is not restricted to lower values by regulation.

Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

fw are obtained from Tables 7.15 and 7.16, respectively. Determination of the heavy vehicle
adjustment factor (fHV) is slightly different from that used in the freeway and multilane highway
cases in that trucks and buses are now considered separately. The equation thus becomes
(compare to Eq. 7.7),

where PT, PB, and PR are the proportions ot large trucks, buses, and recreational vehicles in the
traffic stream, and ET, EB, and ER are their corresponding equivalency factors. The equivalency
factors for the general terrain types of level, rolling, and mountainous (as defined in section 7.4.3)
are shown Table 7.17. For details on the procedure used to evaluate two-lane rural highways on
specific grades (e.g., a 5% grade 0.75 mi [1.2 km] long), the reader is referred to the Highway
Capacity Manual (Transportation Research Board 1994).

Two points relating to Tables 7.15, 7.16, and 7.17 are worthy of note. First, the v/c terms shown
in Table 7.15 differ from those used in similar tables for freeways and multilane highways (i.e.,
Tables 7.1 and 7.8). The v/c terms in Table 7.15 are implicitly adjusted to include reductions in
level of service resulting from the combined effects of different terrain types and different
percentages of no-passing zones. This explains why the maximum v/c for LOS E is sometimes
less than one (e.g., see values of LOS E for mountainous terrain). The second point relates to
the adjustment factor fw (Table 7.16) and the passenger car equivalency factors (Table 7.17).
Research has found that these factors vary by level of service (which was not the case for
freeways, for example). As will be shown in forthcoming examples, this dependence on level of
service will complicate the traffic analysis procedure.

As a final observation, note that Eq. 7.12 does not contain an adjustment factor for
regular/nonregular users as was the case in Eq. 7.6 for freeways.

Table 7.16 Adjustment for Effects of Narrow Lanes and Restricted Shoulder Widths (for Two-
Lane Highways)
12-ft 11-ft 10-ft 9-ft
Usable3
Shoulde LOS LOSb LOS LOSb LOS LOSb LOS LOS
r Width 1
(ft). A-D E A-D E A-D E A-D E
>6 1.00 1.00 0.93 0.94 0.84 0.87 0.70 0.76
4 0.92 0.97 0.85 0.92 0.77 0.85 0.65 0.74
2 0.81 0.93 0.75 0.88 0.68 0.81 0.57 0.70
0 0.70 0.88 0.65 0.82 0.58 0.75 0.49 0.66
a Where shoulder width is different on each side of the roadway, use average shoulder width.
b Factor applies for all speeds less than 45 mph.
Source: Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209,
National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1994.

Table 7.17 Passenger Car Equivalents for Two-Lane Highways

Type of Terrain
Level of
Vehicle Type Service Level Rolling Mountainous
Trucks, ET A 2.0 4.0 7.0
B and C 2.2 5.0 10.0

174
 D and E 2.0 5.0 12.0
Recreational vehicles, A 2.2 3.2 5.0
ER B and C 2.5 3.9 5.2
D and E 1.6 3.3 5.2
Buses, EB A 1.8 3.0 5.7
B and C 2.0 3.4 6.0
D and E 1.6 2.9 6.5
Source: A. Werner and J. F. Morrall, "Passenger Car Equivalencies of Trucks, Buses, and
Recreational Vehicles for Two-Lane Rural Highways," Transportation Research Record 615,
1976.

This is because the many other complexities of two-lane highways make the composition of
drivers a less significant concern (Transportation Research Board 1994). This lack of significance
was also observed in the multilane highway case.

EXAMPLE 7,6
A rural two-lane highway is on level terrain with 11-ft (3.4-m) lanes, 2-ft (0.6-m) paved shoulders,
and 80% no-passing zones. The directional split is 80/20 and there are 5% large trucks, 2%
buses, and 5% recreational vehicles. Determine the service flow of the roadway at capacity.

SOLUTION
The roadway reaches capacity at the maximum of LOS E, which, from Table 7.15, gives a v/c
ratio of 1.0, on level terrain with 80% no-passing zones. Thus the service flow at capacity can be
computed using Eq. 7.12:

where
• v/c = 1.0 (Table 7.15)
• fd = 0.83 (80/20 directional split, Table 7.14)
• fw = 0.88 (11-ft [3.4-m] lanes, 2-ft [0.6-m] shoulders, LOS E, Table 7.16)
• ET = 2.0 (level terrain, LOS E, Table 7.17)
• ER = 1.6 (level terrain, LOS E, Table 7.17)
• EB = 1.6 (level terrain, LOS E, Table 7.17)

From Eq. 7.13, we obtain

Substituting these terms into the previous equation for SFE,

EXAMPLE 7.7
Consider the conditions described in Example 7.6. If the peak-hour vehicle count is 522 with a
peak-hour factor of 0,90, determine the level of service.

SOLUTION
Note that both fw and fm are dependent on the LOS, which is not yet known. Therefore, this
problem must be approached by initially assuming a LOS, then computing a LOS based on this
assumption, and then making certain that the computed LOS is consistent with the initially
assumed LOS. To begin, assume LOS E. Under this assumption, fd, fw, and fm are all as
determined in Example 7.6. Also from given information, the application of Eq. 7.2 gives

To compute LOS (using v/c), Eq. 7.12 is rearranged:

Substituting, we obtain

175
 From Table 7.15 (level terrain, 80% no-passing zones) LOS C is obtained (i.e., 0.17 < 0.31 <
0.33), which is inconsistent with the earlier assumed LOS E. This means that the above
computations must be reworked. If LOS D is assumed, only fw will change from the assumed
LOS E adjustment factors. In this case, fw = 0.75, assuming LOS D with 11-ft (3.4-m) lanes and
2-ft (0.6-m) shoulders, as indicated in Table 7.16. The v/c is computed as

From Table 7.15, LOS D is obtained (i.e., 0.33 < 0.363 < 0.58), which is consistent with the
assumed LOS D. Therefore, the highway's level of service is D.

As a final point, note that if LOS C had been assumed, fw = 0.75 (as for the LOS D assumption),
but a different fHV would result because now ET = 2.2, EB = 2.0, and ER = 2.5 (level terrain, LOS
C, Table 7.17). So,

Substituting,

From Table 7.15, LOS D is again indicated (i.e., 0.33 < 0.384 < 0.58), which is inconsistent with
the assumed LOS C. Thus LOS D provides the only consistent answer.

11.7 Design Traffic Volumes

In the preceding sections of this chapter, consideration was given to the determination of level of
service, given some hourly volume. However, a procedure for selecting an appropriate hourly
volume is needed to compute level of service and to determine the number of lanes that need to
be provided in a new roadway design to achieve some specified level of service. The selection of
an appropriate hourly volume is complicated by two concerns. First, there is considerable vari-
ability in traffic volumes by time of day, day of week, time of year, and type of roadway. Figure
7.7 shows such variations in traffic volumes by hour of day and day of week for typical intercity
and intracity routes. Figure 7.8 gives variations

Figure 7.7 Examples of hourly variations for intercity and intracity routes.

176
Figure 7.8 Examples of monthly traffic volume variations showing relative traffic trends by route
type on rural roads (Source: T. Mutanyi, "A Method of Estimating Traffic Behavior on All Routes
in a Metropolitan County," Highway Research Record 41, 1963).

by time of year by comparing monthly average traffic flows with the average annual daily traffic,
AADT (in units of vehicles per day and computed as the total yearly traffic volume divided by the
number of days in the year). The second concern is an outgrowth of the first in that, given the
temporal variability in traffic flow, what hourly volume should be used for design and/or analysis?
To answer this question, consider the example diagram shown in Figure 7.9. This figure plots
hourly volume (as a percentage of AADT) against the cumulative number of hours that exceed
this volume, per year. For example, the highest traffic flow in the year, on this sample roadway,
would have an hourly volume of 0.148 xAADT (a volume that is exceeded by zero other hours).
Sixty hours in the year would have a volume that exceeds 0.11 x AADT. In determining the
number of lanes that should be provided on a new or redesigned roadway, it is obvious that using
the worst single hour in a year (the hour with the highest traffic flow, which would be 0.148
xAADT from Fig. 7.9) would be a wasteful use of resources because additional lanes would be
provided for a relative rare occurrence. In contrast, if the 100th highest volume is used for design,
the design level of service will be exceeded 100 times a year, which will result in considerable

Figure 7.9 Highest 100 hourly volumes over a one-year period for a typical roadway.
177
driver delay. Clearly, some compromise between the expense of providing additional capacity
(e.g., additional lanes) and the expense of incurring additional driver delay must be made.

A common design practice in the United States uses a design hourly volume (DHV) that is
between the 10th and 50th highest volume hour of the year, depending on the type and location
of the roadway (urban freeway, rural/suburban multilane highway, and so on), local traffic data,
and engineering judgment. Perhaps the most common hourly volume used for roadway design is
the 30th highest hourly volume of the year. In practice, the i£-factor is used to convert average
annual daily traffic (AADT) to the 30th highest hourly volume. K is defined as

where DHV is the design hourly volume (typically, the 30th highest annual hourly volume) and
AADT is the roadway's average annual daily traffic. So, for example, Fig. 7.9 shows that the
lvalue corresponding to the 30th highest hourly volume is 0.12. More generally, Kt can be defined
as the i^-factor corresponding to the ith highest annual hourly volume. Again, for example, the
20th highest annual hourly volume would have a i^-value, K2o = 0.126, from Fig. 7.9. If K is not
subscripted, the 30th highest annual volume is assumed (i.e., K = K30).

Finally, in the design and analysis of some highway types (e.g., freeways and multilane
highways), the concern lies with directional traffic flows. Thus a factor is needed to reflect the
proportion of peak-hour traffic volume traveling in the peak direction. This factor is denoted as D
and is used to arrive at the directional
design hour volume (DDHV) by application of

where all terms are as previously defined.

EXAMPLE 7.8
A freeway is to be designed as a passenger-car-only facility for an AADT of 35,000 vehicles per
day. It is estimated that the freeway will have a free-flow speed of 70 mph (112.7 km/h). The
design will be for commuters, and the peak-hour fabtor is estimated to be 0.85 with 65% of the
peak-hour traffic traveling in the peak direction. Assuming that Fig 7.9 applies, determine the
number of 12-ft (3.6-m) lanes required (assuming no lateral obstructions) to provide at least LOS
C using the highest annual hourly volume and the 30th highest annual hourly volume.

SOLUTION
By inspection of Fig. 7.9, the highest annual hourly volume has Kx = 0.148. Application of Eq.
7.15 gives

178
We will assume that three or more lanes will be needed (i.e., a six- or eight-lane freeway). This
gives q — 2300 pcphpl. Also, Table 7.1 shows that the worst LOS C condition for a six- or eight-
lane freeway has (v/c)c = 0.715. Substituting, we obtain

Because 2.41 lanes are needed, 3 lanes must be provided to achieve at least a LOS C. Thus the
assumption of a six- or eight-lane freeway (needed to get a value for cj) was correct. For the 30th
highest hourly annual volume, Fig. 7.9 gives K30 = K = 0.12, which, when used in Eq. 7.15, gives

We will now assume that only two lanes will be required (i.e., a four-lane freeway). Therefore, c;
will be 2200 pcphpl instead of the previous 2300 pcphpl, and, from Table 7.1, the maximum
allowable volume-to-capacity ratio at LOS C is 0.747 (for a four-lane freeway). All other terms are
as before, so

This finding shows that only two lanes are needed to provide LOS C or better for the 30th highest
annual hourly volume as opposed to the three lanes needed to satisfy the level of service
conditions for the highest annual hourly volume.

NOMENCLATURE FOR LOS ANALYSIS

AADT average annual daily traffic (in veh/day)
c roadway capacity (in veh/h)
cj capacity per lane at free-flow speed j (in pcphpl), for freeways
D directional factor
DHV design hour volume
DDHV directional design hour volume
passenger car equivalents for buses (two-lane rural highways
EB
only)
ER passenger car equivalents for recreational vehicles
passenger car equivalents for large trucks and buses, for
ET freeways and multilane highways; passenger-car equivalents
for large trucks only, for two-lane rural highways
adjustment factor for directional distribution of traffic (rural
n
two-lane highways only)
adjustment factor for heavy vehicles
f, adjustment factor for driver population (freeways only)
u adjustment factor for lane widths and lateral clearances
FFS estimated free-flow speed (multilane highways)
estimated free-flow speed for ideal conditions (multilane
FFS,
highways)
free-flow speed adjustment for access points (multilane
FA
highways)
free-flow speed adjustment for lateral clearance (multilane
FLC
highways)
free-flow speed adjustment for lane width (multilane
FLW
highways)
free-flow speed adjustment for median type (multilane
FM
highways)
K factor used to convert AADT to 30th highest annual hourly
179
 volume
factor used to convert AADT to /the highest annual hourly
KT
volume
LCL left-side lateral clearance (multilane highways)
LCR right-side lateral clearance (multilane highways)
MSF, maximum service flow rate for level of service / (in pcphpl)
N number of lanes in one direction
NAPM number of access points per mile (multilane highways)
PHF peak-hour factor
SF service flow (in veh/h)
TLC total lateral clearance (multilane highways)
VP service flow rate for multilane highways (in pcphpl)
V hourly volume (in veh/h)
v15 highest 15-minute volume
v/c volume-to-capacity ratio

11.8 Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities

11.8.1 Background

Pedestrian-flow models have been developed that bear a close resemblance to the concepts
discussed in connection with vehicular streams. The speed of a pedestrian regime is, naturally,
measured in units of distance divided by time, for example, feet per second. Flow is given in
terms of pedestrians per unit width of a walkway per unit time. It is thus a point measurement in
the same way as highway flow, where the point at which flow is observed stretches across a
number of lanes. Pedestrians, of course, are not normally obliged to follow strictly any type of
lane assignment, but pedestrian flow per linear foot of walkway width is a tangible measure.
Density is specified as the number of pedestrians per unit area, for example, pedestrians per
square foot. The reciprocal of pedestrian density is called space and has units of surface area
per pedestrian (e.g., square feet per pedestrian). Its vehicular stream equivalent is spacing. The
fundamental relationship q = uk has been found to apply in the case of pedestrians under
generally uninterrupted conditions.

11.8.2 Pedestrian-Flow Models

180