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CONTENT

TRAFFIC FLOW AND ANALYSIS OF ROADS

INCLUDING QUEUING ANALYSIS AND
LEVEL OF SERVICE ASSESSMENT

I. PRIMARY ELEMENTS OF TRAFFIC FLOW

I. BASIC TRAFFIC STREAM MODELS

I. INTRODUCTION TO QUEUING THEORY

TRAFFIC STREAM
PARAMETERS
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PRIMARY ELEMENTS OF
TRAFFIC FLOW

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Traffic Flow

The study of the movement of

individual drivers and vehicles
between two points and the
interactions they make with one
another.

Traffic Flow

Unfortunately, studying traffic flow

is difficult because driver behavior
cannot be predicted with one-
hundred percent certainty.

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Traffic Flow

To better represent traffic flow, relationships have been

established between the three main characteristics:
(1) flow
(2) density
(3) speed

These relationships help in planning, design, and operations of

roadway facilities.

Traffic Flow

Types of Flow

• Uninterrupted – vehicles are not

required to stop by any cause external to
UNINTERRUPTED
the traffic stream

• Interrupted – vehicles are required to

stop by cause outside the traffic stream,
such as a traffic sign, or signal (usually at
an at-grade intersection)

INTERRUPTED

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Flow

Flow (q) is the equivalent hourly rate

at which vehicles pass a point on a
highway during a time period less
than 1 hour.
It can be determined by:

Where:
n = the number of vehicles
passing a point in the roadway in
T sec
q = the equivalent hourly flow

Flow

Flow rates are collected directly

through point measurements, and by
definition require measurement over
time. They cannot be estimated from
a single snapshot of a length of road.
Flow rates and time headways are
related to each other as follows

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Flow

SAMPLE PROBLEM
Given that 40 vehicles pass a given point in 1
minute and traverse a length of 1 kilometer,
what is the flow rate?

Where:
n = the number of vehicles passing a point in the roadway in T sec
q = the equivalent hourly flow

Speed

Speed (u) is the distance traveled by a vehicle during a unit

of time. It can be expressed in miles per hour (mi/h),
kilometers per hour (km/h), or feet per second (ft/sec).

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Time Mean Speed

It is the arithmetic mean

of the speeds of vehicles
passing a point on a
highway during an
interval of time.
Where:
n = number of vehicles passing a point on the highway
ui = speed of the ith vehicle

Space Mean Speed

It is the harmonic mean of the speeds of vehicles passing a

point on a highway during an interval of time. It is obtained
by dividing the total distance traveled by two or more
vehicles on a section of highway by the total time required
by these vehicles to travel that distance. This is the speed
that is used in flow-density relationships.

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Space Mean Speed

Where:
us = space mean speed (ft/sec)
n = number of vehicles
ti = the time it takes the ith vehicle to travel across a section of highway (sec)
ui = speed of the ith vehicle (ft/sec)
L = length of section of highway (ft)

Time Mean Speed

The time mean speed is always higher than the space mean speed. The difference between
these speeds tends to decrease as the absolute values of speeds increase. It has been shown
from field data that the relationship between time mean speed and space mean speed can be
given as:

Where:
ut = time mean speed, km/h
us = space mean speed, km/h

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SAMPLE PROBLEM

The speeds of five vehicles were measured (with radar) at the midpoint of a 0.5-mile
section of roadway. The speeds for vehicles 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were 44, 42, 51, 49, and
46 mi/h, respectively. Assuming all vehicles were traveling at constant speed over this
roadway section, calculate the time-mean and space-mean speeds.

SAMPLE PROBLEM

Find Time Mean Speed:

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SAMPLE PROBLEM

Find Space Mean Speed:

Density

Density (k), sometimes

referred to as
concentration, is the
number of vehicles
traveling over a unit
length of highway at an
instant in time.

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Density

The unit length is usually 1 mile (mi) thereby

making vehicles per mile (veh/mi) the unit of
density. If metric the unit length will be 1 km
(veh/km)

Density

FORMULA:

NUMBER OF VEHICLES TRAVEL

DENSITY=
LENGTH OF THE HIGHWAY

k= n
L

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Density

SAMPLE PROBLEM

It shows that a vehicles traveling at constant speeds on a

two-lane highway between sections X and Y. An observer
located at point X observes the four vehicles passing point
Y. The distance between x and y is equal to 300 feet.
Calculate the density.

Density

SAMPLE PROBLEM

It shows that a vehicles traveling at constant sp

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Density

SAMPLE PROBLEM

Given Required:
n= 4 Density
L or d= 300ft

SOLUTION

Space Headway

Space headway (d) is the distance between the

front of a vehicle and the front of the following
vehicle and is usually expressed in feet (can also
be in meter)

d= 1
k

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Space Headway

SAMPLE PROBLEM

Given that 40 vehicles pass a given point and a traverse

a length of 3 kilometer, what is the density, and space
headway?

Space Headway

SAMPLE PROBLEM
SOLUTION
Given
n= 40 k= n = 40 = 13.33veh/km
L= 3km L 3km
Required:
Density and d= 1 = __1__ = 0.075km = 75 m
space k 13.33
headway

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Time Headway

Time headway (h) is the difference between the time the

front of a vehicle arrives at a point on the highway and
the time the front of the next vehicle arrives at that same
point. Time headway is usually expressed in seconds.

h= 3600
q

Time Headway

SAMPLE PROBLEM

Given that 40 vehicles pass a given point in 1 minute

and traverse a length of 1 kilometer, what is the flow,
and time headway?

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Time Headway

SAMPLE PROBLEM
SOLUTION
Given
n= 40 q= 3600n = 40(3600)= 2400 veh/hr
t=1 min=60 s t 60s

h= 360 = 3600 =
Required: 1.5 s
Flow and time 0 2400
headway
q

BASIC TRAFFIC STREAM

MODELS

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TRAFFIC MODEL
is a mathematical model of real-world traffic.
also be used to estimate the impact of policies to reduce
demand through pricing or other restrictions.

are used to estimate the benefits, in terms

of increases in speeds and reliability – of
changes in highway capacity.

Speed Density Model

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