TRAFFIC ENGINEERING BASICS

CVL 742: Traffic Engineering

K. Ramachandra Rao
Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi
OUTLINE
¢ Traffic Engineering basics
— Objectives
¢ Transportation Systems – Functions
— Demand
— Mobility and Accessibility
— People, goods and vehicles
— Modes
¢ Highway facilities in India - Classification
¢ Traffic Engineering Elements

¢ Problems faced by Traffic Engineers 2

¢ Standards
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TRAFFIC ENGINEERING: BASICS
¢ Definition from the Institute of Transportation Engineering (ITE),
USA:
“A branch of civil engineering, traffic engineering concerns the safe
and efficient movement of people and goods along roadways.
Traffic flow, road geometry, sidewalks, bicycle facilities, shared lane
markings, traffic signs, traffic lights, and more—all of these elements
must be considered when designing public and private sector
transportation solutions. ”
¢ Traffic engineering:
¢ “Traffic engineering is that phase of transportation engineering
which deals with the planning, geometric design and traffic
operations of roads, streets, and highways, their networks,
terminals, abutting lands, and relationships with other modes of
transportation.” 3

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TRAFFIC ENGINEERING: BASICS
¢ Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE), UK:
“The part of engineering which deals with traffic planning and design
of roads, of frontage development and of parking facilities and with
the control of traffic to provide safe, convenient and economic
movement of vehicles and pedestrians”

Basics
OBJECTIVES OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
¢ The principal goal of the traffic engineer
— Provision of safe system for highways
— India has one of the highest road accident fatalities per year
¢ deaths:148,707 and
¢ injuries: 482,367 (Accidental and Suicidal deaths in India, Chapter 1A – Traffic
accidents, NCRB: National Crime Records Bureau, 2015; India)
— Challenge: to provide safer roads by design
¢ Other Objectives
— Speed
— Comfort
— Convenience
— Economy and
— Environmental compatibility
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RESPONSIBILITY, ETHICS AND LIABILITY OF TRAFFIC
ENGINEERING

¢ The traffic engineer also has a responsibility to protect the

community from liability by good practice.
— Placing control devices that do not conform to applicable standards for
their physical design and placement.
— Failure to maintain devices in a manner that ensures their effectiveness;
Failure to apply the most current standards and guidelines in making
decisions on traffic control, developing a facility plan or design, or
conducting an investigation.
— Implementing traffic regulations (and placing appropriate devices) without
the proper legal authority to do so.

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TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS - FUNCTIONS
¢ Transportation systems are the major components any economy
¢ India has the following road infrastructure (MoRTH, Basic Road
Statistics of India, 2016):
Type Length, km
National Highways and 1,32,500&
Expressways &-(update
31.03.2019

State Highways 1,76,166

District Roads 5,61,940
Rural Roads 39,35,337
Other Roads (urban) 5,09,730
and project)
Other Roads (project 3,19,109
roads) 7
TOTAL* 56,03,293
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NATIONAL HIGHWAYS
¢ National Highways in India have adopted a new numbering system
— NHs aligned in the North-South direction have EVEN numbers
— NHs aligned in the East-West direction have ODD numbers
Kolkata-Chennai NH is now NH-16 (earlier it was NH-5) etc.
¢

¢ Nagpur-Surat NH is now NH-53 (earlier it was NH-6)

¢ This in contrast to the Inter-State Highway numbering system of the

US.
— North-South routes have odd one- or two-digit numbers
— East-West routes have even one- or two-digit numbers

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HIGHWAY FACILITY CLASSIFICATION - INDIA
¢ Rural
— Expressways
— National Highways
¢ Golden Quadrilateral, East-West and North-South corridors
— State Highways
— Major District roads
— Village roads
¢ Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
¢ Urban
— Urban Expressways
— Arterials
— Sub-arterials
— Collectors
— Local
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TRANSPORTATION DEMAND
management of the system to produce optimal results.

¢ Transportation
1.2.1 The Nature of demand is directly related to
Transportation
— Land useDemand
patterns and transportation systems and facilities available
— Transportation
systems and facilities. Figure 1.2planners
Transportation demand is directly related to land-use patterns and to
available transportation illustrates the and traffic engineers attempt to provide capacity –
based
demand is generated by the types, observed and
amounts, and intensity of land use, as predicted travel demand
fundamental relationship, which is circular and ongoing. Transportation

well as its location. The daily journey to work, for example, is dictated by
— Building new transportation infrastructure – leads to improved access;
the locations of the worker’s residence and employer and the times that the
worker is on duty.
hence resulting in higher demand
Figure 1.2: The Nature of
Transportation Demand

Transportation
Demand

Transportation 10
Facility/Supply Land Use
Figure 1.2: Full Alternative Text
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TRANSPORTATION DEMAND …CONTD
Transportation
Demand

(– )
Transportation
Facility/Supply Land Use

¢ This incremental increase in demand is a positive feedback to the

system which may lead to congestion
¢ The negative feedback into the above cycle can help reduce the
impact of increasing demand
¢ It is important for traffic engineer to understand this process

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MOBILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY
¢ Transportation Systems provide both mobility and accessibility
¢ Mobility refers to the ability to travel to many different destinations
— Gives travellers wide range of choices
— Choice for all trip purposes
— Range of choices is enabled by having an effective transportation network
¢ Accessibility refers to the ability to gain entry to a particular site or
area
— More desirable for development
— Proximity to roads, and related transportation infrastructure

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MOBILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY

¢ Good transportation systems must provide for mobility and

accessibility
— Separate these functions
— Safety and efficiency

¢ Functional Classification as foundation of a rational, hierarchical

roadway system
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¢ Criticized as emphasizing speed over livability/community needs
Figures from: Hausman, J, 2011, FHWA Functional Classification Guidance
Basics Update, presentation
 C = 30 * VOS + 1540 Equation 3.9
For Six Lane Divided Highway Segments:
C = 43 * VOS + 2490 Equation 3.10
For obtaining capacity values corresponding to Operating Speed falling in between those
THE CAPACITY OF TRANSPORTATION MODES
mentioned in Table 3.6, simple linear interpolation can be done. Alternatively, one can use the
equations 3.9 and 3.10 for capacity corresponding to any Operating Speed Pedestrian
between 70 Kmph and
Facilities
100 Kmph.
Table 3.6: Base Capacity Values for varying Operating Speed
Table 9.11: PLOS for Crosswalks

Operating Capacity (PCU/h/direction) LOS Pedestrian Delay (in seconds)

Capacity (PCU/h/direction) for Six
Speed for Four Lane Divided Highway A ≤5
Lane Divided Highway Segments
(Km/h) Segments
B 5 - 10
70 3640 C 5500 11 - 25
80 3940 D 5930 26 - 45

90 4240 E 6360 46 - 80
F > 80
100 4540 6790
Table 9.12: PLOS for Stairways
3.9 ADJUSTMENT FACTORS FOR NON-BASE
LOS
CONDITIONS
Flow (ped/min/m) Speed (m/min) Space (m2/ped)
Often, the parameters laid down for base conditions
A
of traffic
≤ 10
flow are not available
≥ 42.6
on the ≥ 2.5
considered test sections. Therefore, the base capacity values need to be adjusted for the existing field
B
conditions. The conditions in the field can either influence > 10 - 22 speed and >thereby
the operating 37.2 - 42.6
reduce > 1.50 - 2.5
the capacity, or there may be certain conditions that directly
C impact
> 22on- 46the traffic density which in
> 31.2 - 37.2 > 0.75 - 1.50
turn influences flow rate and thereby capacity. Accordingly,
D
equations
>46 - 55
for adjustment factors have
>28.2 - 31.2 > 0.50 - 0.75
been developed for both four lane and six lane divided highways. If for some highway sections, it is 14
E
observed that there is/are certain other extrinsic factor(s) >55 - the
for which 70 adjustment >24.2 - 28.2 is /
factor(s) > 0.40 - 0.50
are not provided here, then the capacity values for such
Basics F sections are to be estimated by developing
Variable - -
speed -density - flow relationship specifically for those sections. The adjustment necessary because
THE CAPACITY OF TRANSPORTATION MODES
¢ Most common unit used in traffic engineering is ‘vehicle’
¢ The goal of highway systems is to move people and goods that
occupy the vehicles
¢ To get a sense of the numbers involved
— 1 lane of freeway/expressway carries 2200 pcph
— 1 lane of a street arterial carries 800 pcph
— Car occupancy of 1.1 pass/vehicle
— 3 lane freeway may carry up to 7260 pass/hour
— 1 bus lane handles 100 buses/hour
— 3 bus lanes may carry up to 3(50)(100)= 15,000 pass/hour ◄
— Light rail transit capacity = 20,000 pass/hour ◄
— Mass (Heavy) Rail Transit headway @ 2 minutes
— MRT capacity can be 30(2,000) = 60,000 pass/hour ◄
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TRANSPORTATION MODES
¢ Traffic engineering deals primarily with highways and highway
vehicles
¢ The important modes that must be integrated into the local, regional
and national transportation networks
¢ Some of the important modes
— Urban – people
¢ Non-motorised: walk, bicycle, and cycle-rickshaw
¢ Motorised vehicles: 2-wheelers, and cars

¢ Para transit: taxis, and 3-wheelers (auto-rickshaw)

¢ Public transport: buses, sub-urban rail, and metro rail

— Regional /intercity – people

¢ Cars
¢ Railways
¢ Waterways
¢ Air
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— Urban and regional/intercity – freight
¢ Cycle-push
Basics carts, 3-wheelers delivery auto-rickshaws, Mini-trucks, trucks, railways,
waterways, and air freight
 Table discussed.
categories 2.1 summarizes the various transportation modes in terms of the
categories discussed.

Table 2.1:
Table Transportation
2.1: Transportation
Modes
TRANSPORTATION byby
MODES
Modes Category
BY CATEGORY
Category

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Note that “public” modes are so categorized because they are
Note that “public” modes are so categorized because they are
Personal and Public
Transportation Modes
TRANSPORTATION MODAL ATTRIBUTES

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TRANSPORTATION MODAL ATTRIBUTES

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Table 2.5: Full Alternative Text
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ELEMENTS OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
¢ Traffic Studies and Characteristics
— Measuring and quantifying highway traffic characteristics
— Data collection and analysis
¢ Performance Evaluation
— Level of service (LOS) A to F
— Capacity
— Assess Existing Conditions
— Evaluate Alternative Improvements
— Quantify Associated Costs and Benefits
¢ Facility Design
— Highway design
— Traffic facilities design: signals, parking lots, and roundabouts etc
¢ Traffic Control
— Rules and regulations 20

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ELEMENTS OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERING …CONTD
¢ Traffic Operations
— Measures on overall operations:
¢ transit operations
¢ Regulating flow

¢ Transportation Systems Management

— Reducing Demand
¢ Telecommuting , Trip Chaining, Shorter Work Week, Residential Relocation, Alternative
Land Use Pattern (Company Town?)
— Shifting Demand
¢ Flexible Working Hours, Staggered Working Hours, Business Operating Hours

— Repacking Demand
¢ Car Pooling and Van Pooling, Transit
¢ Integration of intelligent transportation system technologies
— Automatic toll-collections (FASTAG)
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— Vehicle tracking
Basics enforcement – speed limits/red-light violations etc
— Automatic
ELEMENTS OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERING…CONTD
¢ Transportation Systems Management
— Involving all aspects of traffic engineering with a focus on optimization system
capacity and operations
— Facility design
— traffic control

¢ Integration of ITS
— Transportation Management
— Traffic Operations Centers
— Communications
— Incident Management
— Public Transportation
— Traveler Information
— Enhanced Safety 22

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ELEMENTS OF TRAFFIC ENGG: MEASURES
OF EFFECTIVENESS

System User
Aggregated System Measures
• Total Travel time
• Vehicle-km Travelled (VKT)
• Person-km Travelled (PKT)
• Vehicles Hours of Delay

Other Measures Other Measures

• Vehicle Occupancy •Stops
• Stops •Queue Length
• Queue length

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FACILITIES
Type Function Access Control Device
Control

Freeways/ Through Movement Full Meters

Exclusively
Expressways

Arterials Through Movement Partial Signals

Primarily, Some land (Coordination)
access

Collectors Traffic Movement None Signals(Free)

to Freeways,
Arterials, Access to
Abutting Property

Locals Access to Abutting None Signs

Land, Local Traffic
Movement 24

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 ELEMENTS OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
Travel
Vehicles Facilities Demand

System
Operation

Performance Measures
Transportation Travel
System Demand
Management Management
(TSM) Traffic Engineering (TDM)

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Tool Box
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PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES FOR A TRAFFIC ENGINEER
¢ Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
¢ Serving Growing Urban Traffic Demand

¢ Development Impacts

¢ Growth Management

¢ Regional Economic Development

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STANDARDS: SOURCES OF INFORMATION
¢ Manuals and codes

80th year of MUTCD 27

on 07 Nov 2015
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 STANDARDS: SOURCE OF INFORMATION (INDIA)
¢ Manuals and codes

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 STANDARDS: SOURCE OF INFORMATION (INDIA)
¢ Manuals and codes: Expressway Guidelines (Feb
2010)

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STANDARDS: SOURCE OF INFORMATION (INDIA)
¢ Manuals and codes: Road Signage (2012) and
Traffic Management in Work Zones (2014)

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 INDO-HCM (INDIAN HIGHWAY CAPACITY MANUAL)

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 REFERENCES
1. Roess, R.P., Prassas, E.S., and McShane, W.R. Traffic Engineering
(5th Edition), Pearson, 2020
2. Slinn, M., Matthews, P., and Guest, P. Traffic Engineering Design (2nd
Edition), Elsevier, 2005

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