Highway Capacity Quality Of Service And Traffic Flow And Characteristics

Since 1950, the Highway Capacity Manual has been a standard used in the planning, design, analysis, and operation of virtually any highway traffic facility in the United States. It has also been widely used abroad, and has spurred the development of similar manuals in other countries. The twin concepts of capacity and level of service have been developed in the manual, and methodologies have been presented that allow highway traffic facilities to be designed on a common basis, and allow for the analysis of operational quality under various traffic demand scenarios. The manual also addresses related pedestrian, bicycle, and transit issues. This book details the fundamental development of the concepts of capacity and level of service, and of the specific methodologies developed to describe them over a wide range of facility types. The book is comprised of two volumes. Volume 1 (this book) focuses on the development of basic principles, and their application to uninterrupted flow facilities: freeways, multilane highways, and two-lane highways. Weaving, merging, and diverging segments on freeways and multilane highways are also discussed in detail. Volume 2 focuses on interrupted flow facilities: signalized and unsignalized intersections, urban streets and arterials. It is intended to help users of the manual understand how concepts, approaches, and specific methodologies were developed, and to understand the underlying principles that each embodies. It is also intended to act as a basic reference for current and future researchers who will continue to develop new and improved capacity analysis methodologies for many years to come.

Highway Capacity Analysis provides students with foundational principles, concepts, and theory regarding capacity analysis to prepare them for work as an operational traffic engineer. Students learn how the mastery of capacity analysis applies to signal operations and optimization, roadway and intersection design, transportation planning, and traffic impact analysis. The text also prepares students to use the necessary software employed within the traffic engineering profession. The text is divided into three sections: Uninterrupted Flow, Interrupted Flow, and Application Extensions. In Part I, students learn how to analyze uninterrupted flow segments and facilities, including freeways and highways. Part II discusses the analysis of stop control, roundabouts, signalized intersections, urban streets, interchanges, and alternative intersections, with multimodal analysis and travel time reliability included where applicable. Part III extends the procedural analyses outlined in Parts I and II into broader applications, including signal timing optimization and traffic impact studies. Students follow step-by-step procedures to work through exercises by hand, then code them into software to experience their learnings in practice. Providing a practical, succinct, and logical approach to traffic engineering processes and procedures, Highway Capacity Analysis prepares students to enter the traffic engineering profession with the knowhow and practical experience required to succeed. The text is well suited to courses in traffic engineering and transportation.

This Record presents papers on practical investigations relating to traffic flow theory and measurements of highway quality of service when interrupted or impeded by slow traffic or accidents.