HIGHWAY CAPACITY

DEFINITIONS & CONCEPTS

TYPES OF FACILITIES

• Highways & streets

• Transit facilities
• Pedestrian facilities
• Bicycle facilities
CATEGORIES OF FACILITIES

1. Uninterrupted flow:

• no fixed elements, e.g. traffic signals,

external to traffic stream that cause
interruptions to traffic flow

• traffic flow conditions are result of

interactions among vehicles in traffic
stream, and between vehicles and
geometric & environmental characteristics
of roadway
2. Interrupted flow:

• have fixed elements causing periodic

interruptions to traffic flow, e.g. traffic
signals, stop signs etc

• the devices cause traffic to periodically

stop (or significantly slow) irrespective
of how much traffic exists
• Uninterrupted and interrupted flow are
terms describing the type of facility,
not the quality of traffic flow at any
given time

• Thus, an expressway experiencing

extreme congestion is still an
“uninterrupted flow facility”, as the
cause of congestion are internal to the
traffic stream
CAPACITY & LEVEL-OF-SERVICE CONCEPTS

• A principal objective of capacity analysis is the estimation

of the maximum amount of traffic that can be
accommodated by a given facility

• Traffic facilities generally operate poorly at or near

capacity, and facilities are rarely designed or planned to
operate in this range

• Capacity analysis is also intended to estimate the

maximum amount of traffic that can be accommodated by
the facility while maintaining prescribed operational
qualities
• Capacity analysis is – a set of procedures used to
estimate the traffic carrying ability of facilities over a
range of defined operational conditions.

• It provides tools for analysis and improvement of

existing facilities, and for planning and design of future
facilities.

• The definition of operational criteria is accomplished

using levels of service.

• Ranges of operating conditions are defined for each

type of facility, and are related to amounts of traffic
that can be accommodated at each level.
 CAPACITY
• In general – the maximum hourly rate at which persons or
vehicles can reasonably be expected to traverse a point or
uniform section of a lane or roadway during a given time
period under prevailing roadway, traffic, and control
conditions.
• The time period used in most capacity analysis is 15-min,
which is considered to be the shortest interval during which
stable flow exists.
• Capacity is defined for prevailing roadway, traffic, and
control conditions, which should be reasonably uniform for
any section of facility analysed.
• The definition of capacity assumes that good weather and
pavement conditions exist.
Roadway conditions – refer to geometric
characteristics of the street or highway

• type of facility and its environment

• no. of lanes (by direction)
• lane and shoulder widths
• lateral clearances
• design speed
• horizontal & vertical alignments
Traffic conditions – refer to the
characteristics of the traffic stream using facility

• Distributions of vehicle types in traffic

stream

• Amount & distribution of traffic in available

lanes of the facility

• Directional distribution of traffic

Control conditions – refer to types and specific
design of control devices and traffic regulations present on a
given facility.

• Location, type and timing of traffic signals are

critical control conditions affecting capacity.

• Other important controls include STOP and

YIELD signs, lane use restrictions, turn
restrictions, etc.
• It is important to note that capacity refers
to a rate of vehicular or person flow during
a specified period of interest, most often a
peak 15-min period.

• This recognizes the potential for substantial

variations in flow during an hour, and
focuses analysis on intervals of maximum
flow.
 LEVELS OF SERVICE

• The concept of levels of service is defined as

a qualitative measure describing operational
conditions within a traffic stream, and their
perception by motorists and/or passengers.

• A level-of-service (LOS) definition generally

describes these conditions in terms of such
factors as speed and travel time, freedom to
maneuver, traffic interruptions, comfort,
convenience, and safety.

• Six LOS : A to F
LOS Definitions:

LOS A -

• Represents free flow – individual users are virtually

unaffected by presence of others in traffic stream,
low volumes, high speeds, low density

• Freedom to select desired speed and to maneuver

within traffic stream is extremely high, controlled
only by speed limit & physical roadway conditions

• The general level of comfort and convenience

provided to motorist, passenger or pedestrian is
excellent
LOS B -

• In the range of stable flow, but presence of other users in

traffic stream begins to be noticeable.

• Freedom to select desired speed is relatively unaffected,

but there is a slight decline in freedom to maneuver
compared to LOS A.

• Level of comfort and convenience lessen coz presence of

others begins to affect individual behavior.

• Associated with service volumes used in design of rural

highways.
LOS C -
• In range of stable flow, but marks beginning of range of
flow in which operation of individual users becomes
significantly affected by interactions with others in traffic
stream.

• Selection of speed is now affected by presence of

others, and maneuvering within traffic stream requires
substantial vigilance on part of driver.

• Level of comfort and convenience declines noticeably

• Suitable for urban design

LOS D –

• Represents high density, but stable flow

• Speed & freedom to maneuver severely

restricted

• Poor level of comfort & convenience

• Small increases in traffic flow will

generally cause operational problems
LOS E –

• Represents operating conditions at or near capacity level

• All speeds reduced to a low, but relatively uniform value

• Freedom to maneuver extremely difficult, generally

accomplished by forcing a vehicle or pedestrian to “give
way” to accommodate such maneuvers

• Comfort & convenience extremely poor, driver frustration

generally high

• Operations usually unstable, small increases in flow will

cause breakdowns
LOS F –

• Used to define forced or breakdown flow

• Condition exists wherever amount of traffic

approaching a point exceeds amount which can
traverse the point

• Queues form behind such locations, arrival flow

exceeds discharge flow

• Operations within queue – stop & go waves,

extremely unstable
SERVICE FLOW RATES (SFR)

• The maximum hourly rate at which persons

or vehicles can reasonably be expected to
traverse a point or uniform section of a lane
or roadway during a given time period under
prevailing roadway, traffic and control
conditions while maintaining a designated
LOS.

• Generally taken for a 15-min time period

• Service flow rates are discrete values,
while LOS represents a range of
conditions.

• Service flow rates are defined as

maximums for each LOS, they
effectively define flow boundaries
between the various LOS.
MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS (MOE)

• These are parameters selected to define

LOS for each facility type

• Represent those available measures that

best describe the quality of operation on
the facility

• e.g. Table 1-2 of HCM

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF TRAFFIC FLOW

Traffic Flow Measures

• Speed
• Volume and/or rate of flow
• Density
SPEED

• Rate of motion – distance per unit time

• Average travel speed – length of highway/street segment

divided by average travel time of vehicles traversing the
segment (incl stopped delays due to fixed interruptions etc)

• Average running speed – distance divided by average

running time to traverse the distance

• Space mean speed – both the above – statistical term to

denote an average speed based on average travel time of
vehicles to traverse a segment of roadway

• Time mean speed – ave. of speeds measured at a point

• For capacity analysis, speeds are best measured by
observing travel times over a known length of highway

• For uninterrupted flow facilities, in stable flow – length

can be short, several hundred ft

• For interrupted flow facilities – segments should be

long enough to include those points of fixed
interruption of interest

• Time mean speed – generally not relevant in

evaluation of interrupted flow facilities, as travel time
lost to interruptions is a major component of the
evaluation
VOLUME & RATE OF FLOW

• VOLUME: total number of vehicles that pass

over a given point or section of a lane or roadway
during a given time interval; may be expressed in
terms of annual, daily, hourly, sub-hourly periods

• RATE OF FLOW: the equivalent hourly rate at

which vehicles pass over a given point or section
of a lane or roadway during a given time interval
less than one hour, usually 15-min.
PEAK HOUR FACTOR (PHF)

• Defined as ratio of total hourly volume to the

maximum 15-min rate of flow within the hour

• If 15-min periods are used, PHF = V / (4 x V15)

• When PHF is known, it can be used to convert a

peak-hour volume to a peak rate of flow: v = V / PHF

where, v = rate of flow for a peak 15-min period, in vph;

V = peak-hour volume, in vph.
DENSITY

• Defined as number of vehicles occupying a

given length of a lane or roadway, averaged
over time

• A critical parameter describing traffic

operations

• Describes the proximity of vehicles to one

another and reflects the freedom to
maneuver within the traffic stream
FACTORS AFFECTING CAPACITY, SFR, & LOS

Ideal Conditions
• In principle, an ideal condition is one for which further
improvements will not achieve any increase in capacity
• For e.g. ideal conditions for uninterrupted flow facilities
include:
• 12 feet lane widths
• 6-ft clearance between edge of travel lane and nearest
obstruction at roadside /median
• 70 mph design speed for multi-lane highway; 60 mph design
speed for two-lane highway
• all passenger cars in traffic stream
• In most capacity analyses, prevailing
conditions are not ideal, and
computation of capacity, SFR, or LOS
must include adjustments to reflect this.

• Prevailing conditions are generally

categorised as roadway, traffic or control
conditions
Roadway Conditions

Roadway factors include all of the geometric

parameters describing the roadway:
• Type of facility and its environment
• Lane widths
• Shoulder widths and/or lateral clearances
• Design speed
• Horizontal & vertical alignments
For uninterrupted flow facilities, the general terrain of a
highway is categorised as follows:

Level terrain – any combination of grades and horizontal &

vertical alignment permitting heavy vehicles to maintain
approximately the same speed as passenger cars; generally
include short grades of < 1-2%

Rolling terrain – any combination of grades and horizontal &

vertical alignment causing heavy vehicles to reduce their speeds
substantially below those of passenger cars, but not causing heavy
vehicles to operate at crawl speeds for any significant length of time

Mountainous terrain – any combination of grades and

horizontal & vertical alignment causing heavy vehicles to operate at
crawl speeds for significant distances or at frequent intervals
Heavy vehicles – defined as any vehicle
having > 4 tires touching the pavement

Crawl speed – the maximum sustained

speed which heavy vehicles can maintain on
an extended upgrade of a given percent
Traffic Conditions

1. Vehicle types

Heavy vehicles:

• Trucks – heavy vehicle primarily used to transport goods

• Recreational vehicles – heavy vehicle operated by private
motorist to transport recreational equipment or facilities
• Buses

2. Lane use & directional distribution

Control Conditions

For interrupted flow facilities, the control of time

available for movement of specific traffic flows is a
critical element affecting capacity, SFR and LOS

• Traffic signal – type of control, signal phasing,

green time, cycle length
• STOP and YIELD signs, 4-way STOP
• Restriction on curb parking
• Turn restriction
• Lane use control, reversible lanes
Reduced lane width

The Highway Capacity Manual bases service volumes on ideal

highway conditions where the standard lane width is 3.65 m (12 ft).
Where the width of a traffic lane is reduced below this standard value
then reduced service volumes apply. The percentage reduction in
capacity are given in table 11.4.
Lateral clearance
It is believed that mountable curbs and vertical curbs less than 0.15 m (6 in.)
high have insignificant effect on traffic operation but retaining walls, lighting
columns etc. closer than 1.83 m (6 ft) from the carriageway edge have an
adverse effect.
Alignment

Where the highway alignment is such that speeds below

the design speed are necessary or where overtaking is
limited by lack of adequate sight distances then there is
likely to be a loss of capacity
Speed Reduction
Effect of gradient

The effect of gradient on highway capacity can be most

conveniently summarised as follows:

1. They are often associated with reduced passing sight distances:

this effect is taken account of in alignment.
2. Safe headways are less on uphill grades and greater on downhill
grades than on horizontal highways.
3. Trucks with normal loads travel more slowly on up-grades but
cars negotiate 6 - 7 per cent grades at speeds above which
capacity occurs.