Course Textbooks
We will use three books for this course; the first book listed below is the primary text.
"Traffic Signal Systems Operations and Design, Book 1: Isolated Intersections” (Michael Kyte and Tom Urbanik, 2012) was developed through a grant from the Federal Highway Administration as part of a project that produced four transportation textbooks. The project focused on activity-based learning in which students construct their knowledge base ("what they know") by completing a set of activities.
"Operation, Analysis, and Design of Signalized Intersections" (Michael Kyte and Maria Tribelhorn) [referred to as K&T in Schedule/Activities page] provides an introduction to signalized intersections for the introductory course in transportation engineering. It is used in this course as review for some of the fundamentals of signalized intersection operation.
“Signal Timing Manual” (Federal Highway Administration, 2014) is a guidebook used by practicing traffic engineers that brings together information about how traffic signal systems operate, how they should be designed, and ideas for monitoring their performance.
Guidebooks Used in Practice
There are three common guidebooks used by transportation engineers relating to traffic signal systems.
Federal Highway Administration - Arterial Management Program
FHWA's arterial management program webs site contains a wealth of useful information on federal programs and resources to support the improved operation and management of urban arterials:
Other Resources
Notes on Yellow and Red Clearance Intervals
Transportation in the News
Other
We will use three books for this course; the first book listed below is the primary text.
"Traffic Signal Systems Operations and Design, Book 1: Isolated Intersections” (Michael Kyte and Tom Urbanik, 2012) was developed through a grant from the Federal Highway Administration as part of a project that produced four transportation textbooks. The project focused on activity-based learning in which students construct their knowledge base ("what they know") by completing a set of activities.
"Operation, Analysis, and Design of Signalized Intersections" (Michael Kyte and Maria Tribelhorn) [referred to as K&T in Schedule/Activities page] provides an introduction to signalized intersections for the introductory course in transportation engineering. It is used in this course as review for some of the fundamentals of signalized intersection operation.
“Signal Timing Manual” (Federal Highway Administration, 2014) is a guidebook used by practicing traffic engineers that brings together information about how traffic signal systems operate, how they should be designed, and ideas for monitoring their performance.
Guidebooks Used in Practice
There are three common guidebooks used by transportation engineers relating to traffic signal systems.
- The Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), published by the Federal Highway Administration of the United States Department of Transportation, provides guidance on when a traffic signal is warranted. There are a total of eight warrants which are used to justify the need for a traffic signal. The warrants consider vehicle volumes, pedestrian volumes, school crossings, signal coordination, and crash experience.
- The Signal Timing Manual (STM), also published by the Federal Highway Administration, provides guidance on signal phasing and timing. Most relevant to the material covered in this chapter, the STM covers phasing plans and timing parameter guidance for the green, yellow, and red clearance intervals. The STM also covers a number of topics that are beyond the scope of this chapter, including how signal timing projects are initiated, prioritizing the needs of users of system, the roadway geometry, placement of detectors and how they will function, whether the signal should be coordinated with other nearby signals as a system or operate in isolation, and how to measure intersection performance.
- The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), published by the Transportation Research Board, provides traffic analysis tools to assist the transportation engineer in determining the quality of service that would result at a signalized intersection given traffic flow rates, intersection geometry, and the traffic signal control plan. The HCM models produce estimates of capacity, delay, and queue length, and link delay to level of service.
Federal Highway Administration - Arterial Management Program
FHWA's arterial management program webs site contains a wealth of useful information on federal programs and resources to support the improved operation and management of urban arterials:
- "Arterial roadways are a crucial link in the national transportation system that provide regional mobility and access to land use that is vital to our economy and quality of life. Arterials account for more than one million lane miles of roadway, connecting local and collector roads to the national highway systems. Over 3000 State and local agencies are responsible for the management and operation of the estimated 311,000 traffic signals that are spread across urban, suburban and rural communities throughout the United States. The objective of the Arterial Management Program is to advance management practices and operations strategies that promote the safe and efficient use of arterial roadway capacity to reduce congestion."
Other Resources
Notes on Yellow and Red Clearance Intervals
- National Transportation Operations Coalition discussion
- Defying the Laws of Physics (Red light running camera discussion)
- Guidelines for Timing Yellow and All-Red Intervals at Signalized Intersections
Transportation in the News
- 5 Things to Know About Driving on Marijuana (NY Times, 2014.09.01)
- Drone Developers Consider Obstacles That Cannot Be Flown Around (NY Times, 2014.09.01)
- Copenhagen Opens Skywalk for Bicycles (ASCE Civil Engineering Magazine, 2014,09.02)
- Left Turn Safety at Intersections (University of Minnesota, 2014.09.09)
- Death on a Bike (NY Times, 2014.09)
- Weird Cause for Crash!
- Tappan Zee Bridge reconstruction (NY Times, 2014.09.19)
- Trying to Hit the Brake on Texting While Driving (NY Times, 2014.09.14)
- Roundabouts Are Really Getting Around (Sustainable City Network, 2014.09.11)
- Google's self-driving cars and others get permits to drive in California (The Verge, 2014.09.22)
- Seattle Wants to Change the Whole Conversation on Streetcars (CityLab, The Atlantic, 2014.09.23)
- Jury Says Trinity Industries, a Highway Guardrail Maker, Defrauded U.S. (New York Times, 2014.10.20)
- It Looked Like a Stabbing, but Takata Air Bag Was the Killer (New York Times, 2014.10.21)
- Big Bertha Rescue Pit (King 5, 2014.10.20)
- Truck Traffic in Mind, Port Agency Considers Plans for a Slow Boat to Brooklyn (New York Times, 2014.11.19)
Other
- Signal Timing on a Shoestring, FHWA, March 2005