Essentials of Urban Road

Traffic Engineering

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Dr Tarig Obeid Medani

Traffic questions

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Have you ever driven out of a traffic jam only to

find that nothing was apparently causing it?
Why does stop and go traffic happen?
Why does traffic slow down as it gets heavier?
How do we predict congestion, and what can
we do about it?
How is the performance of a traffic system?
What are the implications of various scenarios?

Course Description and Objectives

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Introduction to fundamentals of urban traffic engineering,

including data collection, analysis, and design. Traffic
engineering studies, traffic control devices, capacity and level
of service analysis of freeways and urban streets.
The objective of this course is to introduce students to traffic
engineering fundamentals. Emphasis is on the safe and
efficient operations of roadway
intersections.
By the end of this course, students should be able to
evaluate, analyze, and design timing plans for signalized
intersections.

Traffic and Transportation Engineering

Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
Transportation Engineering: The application of
technological and scientific principles to the
planning, functional design, operation and
management of facilities for any mode of
transportation.

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Traffic Engineering: The phase of transportation

engineering dealing with the planning, geometric
design and traffic operations of roads, street and
highways, their networks, terminals, abutting lands
and relationships with other modes of
transportation.

Traffic Engineering
Traffic:
.. The actual movement of vehicles or
pedestrians on a facility..

CEE 320
Fall 2008

.. the science of measuring traffic and travel, the

study of the basic laws relating to traffic flow and
generation, and the application of knowledge to
the professional practice of planning, designing
and operating traffic systems to achieve safe and
efficient movement of persons and goods.

Transportation Modes
Road

Maritime
Rail
Pipeline

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Air

Transportation modes
Urban People Transportation Systems
Automobile Taxi/For-Hire Vehicles Local Bus Transit
Express Bus Transit Para-transit Light Rail Heavy Rail
Ferry
Intercity People-Transportation Systems
Automobile Railroad Intercity Bus Air Water

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Urban and Intercity Freight Transportation

Long- Haul Trucks Local Trucks Railroad Water Air
Freight Pipelines

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Elements of Traffic Engineering I

Traffic studies and characteristics
involve measuring and quantifying various aspect of highway traffic. Studies focus
on data collection and analysis that is used to characterize traffic, including (but not
limited to) traffic volumes and demands, speed and travel time, delay, accidents,
origins and destinations, modal use, and other variables.
Performance evaluation
is a means by which traffic engineers can rate the operating characteristics of
individual sections of facilities and facilities as a whole in relative terms. Such
evaluation relies on measures of performance quality and is often stated in terms of
levels of service.
Facility design
involves traffic engineers in the functional and geometric design of highways and
other traffic facilities. Traffic engineers, per se, are not involved in the structural
design of highway facilities but should have some appreciation for structural
characteristics of their facilities.
Traffic control
is a central function of traffic engineers and involves the establishment of traffic
regulations and their communication to the driver through the use of traffic control
devices, such as signs, markings, and signals.

Elements of Traffic Engineering II

Traffic

operations

involves measures that influence overall operation of traffic facilities, such as oneway street systems, transit operations, curb management, and surveillance and
network control systems
Transportation

systems management

Involves virtually all aspects of traffic engineering in a focus on optimizing system

capacity and operations. Specific aspects of TSM include high-occupancy vehicle
priority systems, car-pooling programs, pricing strategies to manage demand, and
similar functions.

Integration of intelligent transportation system technologies (ITS)

CEE 320
Fall 2008

refers to the application of modern telecommunications technology to the operation

and control of transportation systems. Such systems include automated highways,
automated toll-collection systems, vehicle-tracking systems, in-vehicle GPS and
mapping systems, automated enforcement of traffic lights and speed laws, smart
control devices, and others.

Transportation Demand

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Transportation demand is directly related to land-use

patterns and to available transportation systems and
facilities.
Transportation planners and traffic engineers attempt to
provide capacity for observed or predicted travel demand by
building transportation systems.
The improvement of transportation systems, however, makes
the adjacent and nearby lands more accessible and,
therefore, more attractive for development.
Thus, building new transportation facilities leads to further
increases in land use development, which (in turn) results in
even higher transportation demands.

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Transportation Demand

Transportation System Management (TSM)

TSM is application of strategies aimed at improving
the overall performance of the transportation
network
Facility Design
- Add Lanes
- Remove Bottlenecks (Bridges, Tunnel,)
- Revise Geometrics to Increase Speed

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Traffic Control
- Ramp metering
- Signal Coordination
- Signal Phase Sequence
- Left Turn Treatments
- Parking Restrictions

Transportation System Management (TSM)

Traffic Control
-

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Ramp metering

L turn treatments

Transportation Demand Management (TDM)

CEE 320
Fall 2008

TDM is the application of strategies and policies to

reduce travel demand (specifically that of singleoccupancy private vehicles), or to redistribute this
demand in space or in time.
Reducing Demand
Telecommuting Trip Chaining Shorter Work Week
Residential Relocation Alternative Land Use Pattern
Shifting Demand
Flexible Working Hours Staggered Working Hours
Business Operating Hours
Repacking Demand
Car Pooling and Van Pooling
Transit

Mobility vs. Accessibility

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Mobility: measure of the ability of people to move themselves and

their goods around (traffic circulation). It is a reflection of the ease
with which journeys on different modes or can be made within an
area.
Accessibility: measure of the ease with which people can travel
and move their goods to the various destinations they wish to
reach. It is the reflection of the money, time, and effort required for
an individual or a group of individuals to travel from a specific
origin to a specific destination in an area.
A good transportation system must provide for both
mobility and accessibility and should be designed to
separate the functions to the extent possible to ensure
both safety and efficiency.

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Functional Classification of Roads

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Traffic Concepts

CEE 320
Anne Goodchild

Basic Concepts

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Flow
Speed
Density

Flow (q)
The number of vehicles (n) passing some
designated roadway point in a given time interval (t)

n
q
t

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Units typically vehicles/hour

Volume typically refers to flow in an hour

Flow
Text also uses flow rate
Flow is constantly varying!

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Analysis flow rate is peak 15-minute flow

within the hour of interest.

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Spacing

Spacing

CEE 320
Fall 2008

The distance (m) between successive

vehicles in a traffic stream, as measured
from front bumper to front bumper

Headway (h)
The time (in seconds) between successive
vehicles, as their front bumpers pass a
given point.

n
n

CEE 320
Fall 2008

i 1

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Headway

From HCM 2000

How do we measure average

speed?
The average speed of vehicles that pass
by a specific point in space over a specific
time period (TMS).

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Time necessary for a vehicle to travel a

length of roadway (SMS).

Measuring Speed
Time mean speed
Taken at a specific point
Average of instantaneous speeds

Space mean speed (u)

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Harmonic speed
Look at a segment of roadway
Average speed of all vehicles in that segment

Time Mean Speed

Arithmetic mean of speeds observed at some
point
Easy to measure
radar

CEE 320
Fall 2008

ut

u
i 1

Space Mean Speed

It is the harmonic mean

us

n
n

i 1 ui

nl
n

t
i 1

1
t t1l1 t 2l2 ... t nln
n

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Used in traffic models, but harder to measure

Example
You are in a vehicle traveling a total of 10 miles.
the first 5 miles you travel at 40 mph
the next 5 miles you travel at exactly 60 mph

What is your average speed over the time you spent

traveling that 10 miles?

CEE 320
Fall 2008

What is your average speed over that distance?

Average speed over time and average

speed over distance are different
10 miles

40 mph

60 mph

7.5 minutes

5 minutes

CEE 320
Fall 2008

12.5 minutes

7.5 minutes

5 minutes

Example time
You are in a vehicle traveling a total of 10 miles.
the first 5 miles you travel at 40 mph
the next 5 miles you travel at exactly 60 mph

What is your average speed over the time you spent

traveling that 10 miles?

CEE 320
Fall 2008

5 miles at 40 mph = 7.5 minutes

5 miles at 60 mph = 5 minutes
weighted average = (40(7.5) + 60(5))/(7.5 + 5) = 48 mph

Example - distance
5 vehicles over a given 1 mile section take
1.0, 1.2, 1.5, 0.75 and 1.0 minutes respectively
Average travel time
5.45/5 = 1.09 minutes = 0.0182 hours

Therefore, average speed over that distance

CEE 320
Fall 2008

1 mile/0.0182 hours = 55.05 mph

Density (k)
The number of vehicles (n)
occupying a given length (l)
of a lane or roadway at a
particular instant
Unit of density is vehicles
per km (v/km).

CEE 320
Fall 2008

n q
k
l u

Density (k)
Number of vehicles in
length of segment
Inverse of average spacing
k

n
n

CEE 320
Fall 2008

i 1

1
s

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Density

q
k
u

Characterization of current
traffic demand

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Fundamental characteristics of urban traffic

Characterization of current
traffic demand

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Characterization of traffic as discrete objects

(microscopic)

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Time Space Diagram (Trajectory)

Microscopic flow characteristics of vehicles are

stochastic (vary randomly in time and space)

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Time Space Diagram (Trajectory)

CEE 320
Fall 2008

CEE 320
Fall 2008

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Characterization of current
traffic demand

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Characterization of traffic as stream

(macroscopic)

Traffic Flow Theory

A model for the relationship between flow,
density, and speed.

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Represents idealized behavior and

fundamental relationships (uninterrupted flow)
Traffic composition: urban traffic stream
heavy vehicles (trucks and buses)
private vehicles (private cars, minibuses
and minitrucks)
commercial vehicles (taxis, commercial
buses, commercial minibuses)
non-motorized vehicles (bicycles,
tricycles)

CEE 320
Fall 2008

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Free-flow speed (uf): The speed at which vehicles will travel unimpeded
Jam density (kj): The density of vehicles in stopped traffic
Capacity (qm): The maximum flow a section of roadway can maintain

Speed vs. Density

k
u u f 1
k
j

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Speed (mph)

uf
Free Flow Speed

Density (veh/mile)

kj
Jam Density

Flow vs. Density

2

k
q uf k

k
j

Congested Flow

CEE 320
Fall 2008

FLow (veh/hr)

Highest flow,
capacity, qm

Uncongested Flow

km
Optimal density
Density (veh/mile)

kj
Jam Density

Speed vs. Flow

Speed (mph)

uf
Free Flow Speed

Uncongested Flow
um

Congested Flow
CEE 320
Fall 2008

u
q k j u

u
f

Highest flow,
Flow (veh/hr) capacity, qm

qm is bottleneck discharge rate

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Greenshields Model

Find Density corresponding max flow?

Max Flow?

Find Speed corresponding max flow?

CEE 320
Fall 2008

CEE 320
Fall 2008

CEE 320
Fall 2008

flow

CEE 320
Fall 2008

flow

speed

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Measurement
Density can easily be measured by remote
sensing, but has historically been difficult to
measure
Use occupancy obtained from loop-detectors

TMS more easy to measure than SMS

Use correction or approximation
Easy to measure with remote sensing (GPS)

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Flow is easy to measure

Occupancy is measure of density
Only need to measure 2 of 3

Traffic Composition

CEE 320
Fall 2008

PFi=qi/qmix
PDi=ki/kmix
PCU & PCE & SUE

Interrupted flow
Formation of queues or waiting lines
Platoons (several closely grouped traffic
units)

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Delays (saturation headway is const

average headway.this is achieved
after departure of certain no. of units,
normally 6)

CEE 320
Fall 2008

CEE 320
Fall 2008

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Example

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Suppose a traffic stream is moving on a roadway at a given

speed, flow and density illustrated by point 1 in figure. The
curve is based on Greenshields model with uf=75 kph,
kj=125 veh/km. point 1 corresponds to a flow of 1000 veh/h,
density 15 veh/km. A truck in the stream decides to slow to
16 kph.
Determine a) the magnitude and direction of the speeds of
the shock waves at the rear and front of the platoon
b)the rate at which the platoon is growing behind the truck
c) the amount of time it took the platoon to disappear if the
truck existed stream after 10 minutes, and vehicles at front
of platoon were released to a speed of 32 kph
d)the speed of the shock wave that commenced at the
instant the platoon was eliminated?

k
q uf k

k
j

FLow (veh/hr)

2
1

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Density (veh/km)

CEE 320
Fall 2008

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Shock wave analysis

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Analysis of congested flow conditions

Deterministic queuing analysis

demand
No. vehicle
capacity

delay

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Total delay is the total area between arrival and departure curves

Example

CEE 320
Fall 2008

3 lane freeway segment operating under ideal

conditions with a demand of 5500 pcph during
peak hour, 4500 pcph during the hour after the
peak and 3000 pcph thereafter. What will occur if
an incident blocks one lane for 15 minutes at the
beginning of the peak period. Assume capacity of
freeway lane is 2000pcph and getaway capacity
=1500 pcph

CEE 320
Fall 2008

TRAFFIC ASSIGMENTroute choice

Trip Assignment

CEE 320
Fall 2008

! The final step in the modeling process

! Vehicle trips from one zone to another are
assigned to specific travel routes between
zones
! This assignment is done on the basis of
minimum generalized cost of travel between
each i,j pair of zones.
! This generalized cost is defined as a
linear combination of the link journey time and
the link distance + fixed costs such as parking
or tolls.

CEE 320
Fall 2008

The relation between the link ow and link impedance is

called the link cost
function and is given by the equation as shown below:
t =to(1+x^/c)
where t and x is the travel time and flow, respectively on
and C is the link, t is the free flow travel time,
the practical capacity. and are the model parameters,
for which the value of = 0.15 minimum and =
4.0 are typically used.

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Wardrop's first principle states: The journey times in all routes

CEE 320
Fall 2008

actually used are equal and less than those which would be
experienced by a single vehicle on any unused route. Each user
non-cooperatively seeks to minimize his cost of transportation.
The traffic flows that satisfy this principle are usually referred to
as "user equilibrium" (UE) flows, since each user chooses the
route that is the best. Specifically, a user-optimized equilibrium
is reached when no user may lower his transportation cost
through unilateral action.
A variant on this is the (SUE), wherein no driver can unilaterally
change routes to improve his/her perceived travel times.
Wardrop's second principle states: At equilibrium the average
journey time is minimum. This implies that each user behaves
cooperatively in choosing his own route to ensure the most
efficient use of the whole system. Traffic flows satisfying
Wardrop's second principle are generally deemed "system
optimal" (SO).

CEE 320
Fall 2008

All-or-Nothing Method
! Also called Shortest Path Method - assumes
that travelers want to use the minimum
impedance route between two points.
! All drivers will use the fastest route without
regard to congestion caused by other vehicles

CEE 320
Fall 2008

Wardrops Rules:
! Wardrop [1952] is credited with first
identifying the two fundamental approaches
to trip assignment:
System Optimization: Assign O-D flows to
paths so as to minimize the total (average)
system travel time.
User Equilibrium: Assign O-D flows so that no
user of the system can unilaterally change
routes and improve his/her travel time
thereby.

User Equilibrium

CEE 320
Fall 2008

! Each trip-maker chooses his/her route through

the network which minimizes his/her individual
travel time
! Equilibrium is achieved when every trip-maker
is using the best route possible, given
prevailing congestion levels
! This is an equilibrium, since no user can
switch routes and improve his/her travel time,
and so no user will switch voluntarily