Citation

Gilbert A. ITE J. 1984; 54(1): 48-52.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1984, Institute of Transportation Engineers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Experience indicates that signalized intersection capacity standards may be too low and the rigid interpretation of level of service is not supported by theory of practice. This paper attempts to provide some background numbers or rules of thumb that might be useful, and suggest directions for more in-depth study of the problems. The paper discusses basic methodology, basic flow rates, peak hour factor, and accuracy. The critical movements analysis technique is a better approach for the analysis of signalized intersections than that of the Highway Capacity Manual. The critical movements analysis technique is close to Webster's method. However, without an understanding of numerical results, capacity analysis could be led astray by flow rate standards that are too low, the influence of peak hour factor, and the inherent variation in the traffic demand data.