Traffic Signal Cycle at the Intersection of 23 Mile Road and Chesterfield Road

Prepared for: Amy Ann Latawiec, Instructor, English 3050, Wayne State University

Prepared by: Gregory Iacobelli, Undergraduate Student, Wayne State University

April 17th, 2016

Table of Contents
Executive Summary.1
Introduction......2
Findings...........................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion and Recommendation...6
Reference.....7

Executive Summary
The timing of the traffic signal cycle for drivers heading either North or South through the
intersection of 23 Mile Road and Chesterfield Road has fixed up a stir in Chesterfield Road for
some time now. Between traffic backups and causing drivers to be late for things like school,
work, etc., its about time now that someone look into the situation and determine whether or not
this issue can be resolved. I choose that the best method of research was to make observations at
the source, the intersection. By observing the size of traffic backups at the end of the traffic
signal cycle and the number of vehicles that run the red light at the end up of the cycle, along
with researching why traffic signal cycles are setup the way they are, I was able to discover that
more times than not there is actually no traffic backup at the intersection following the ending of
a traffic signal cycle, even at times when the roads may be more congested (8:00AM and
4:30PM). It was actually found to be more likely that the main source of the traffic backups were
caused by vehicles traveling from more major and more congested intersections and arriving at
this smaller one, and therefore was recommended that nothing be done to the timing of the traffic
signal cycle.

Introduction
The current traffic light system for the intersection of 23 Mile Road and Chesterfield
Road causes issues and frustrations for drivers on a daily basis. The current traffic signal cycle
gives a sufficient of time to the drivers heading either East or West on 23 Mile Road; however,
for the drivers heading the opposite directions, which would be either North or South on
Chesterfield Road, the cycle creates some issues. A green light for the drivers heading either
North or South on Chesterfield Road lasts just about under ten seconds, rarely allowing for more
than four vehicles to make it through the intersection before the light is again red. Due to this
scenario, traffic quickly builds up North and South of this intersection, especially in the late
morning or early afternoon when the road is more congested due to school traffic (there is an
elementary school on Chesterfield Road), and rush hour. The traffic in itself creates frustration,
which then joins other issues that are brought about due to the current traffic signal cycle, such as
aggressive driving, drivers running through the red light once the cycle has completed, and
drivers being late for things such as school, work, etc. Aggressive driving often occurs when a
driver just misses the end of the traffic signal cycle; the driver can react aggressively by running
the red light, not paying attention, speeding up, slamming on the breaks, etc. Aggressive driving
is a severe issue in itself as it is a safety hazard to the other drivers of the road. Although drivers
and residents should be planning extra driving time due to the knowingly short traffic cycle,
there will always be days where people are running late, and it would be extremely beneficial to
drivers approaching the intersection, and the other drivers in the area, if the traffic signal cycle
had a longer duration.

Research Methods
To determine whether or not it would be worth while to extend the timing of the traffic
signal cycle for the drivers heading either North or South on Chesterfield Road, two different
primary research methods were used. Both methods involved myself parking at a nearby parking
lot on the corner of the intersection (Texas Roadhouse, which can be see in the Google Earth
screenshot included on the cover page), and observing both the number of vehicles that are
stopped at the red light on Chesterfield Road at the ending of the traffic signal cycle, and the
number of vehicles that run the red light following the completion of the traffic signal cycle.
Thursdays at both 8:00AM and 4:30PM were reserved for making these observations;
observations would be made for five traffic signal cycles per sitting. The observations were
recorded in a notebook and the time present and later transferred into data table which will be
presented in the findings of this report. In addition to these two research methods, the use of the
Internet also played a key role in finding secondary sources that provided information and
explanations for why traffic signal cycles were certain lengths based on certain circumstances
(i.e. location, railroad tracks, size of intersection, etc.).

Findings
One method of research included making observations of the number of vehicles
remaining either North or South of the intersection on Chesterfield Road following the
completion of a traffic signal cycle. Five traffic signal cycles were observed at a time at both
8:00AM and 4:30PM for three weeks. The following tables show the observations made at both
8:00AM and 4:30PM on Thursday of each week.

Week
1
2
3

Cycle 1
1
0
0

Cycle 2
4
4
2

Cycle 3
6
8
5

Cycle 4
8
0
7

Cycle 5
4
2
1

Table 1: Number of Vehicles Remaining at Intersection at 8:00AM

Week
1
2
3

Cycle 1
5
2
7

Cycle 2
0
3
1

Cycle 3
6
0
3

Cycle 4
0
6
5

Cycle 5
3
7
0

Table 2: Number of Vehicles Remaining at Intersection at 4:30AM

In addition to these observations, observations were also made of the number of vehicles that
happened to run the red light once the short traffic signal cycle had ended. The following tables
show these observations that were also made on Thursdays at 8:00AM and 4:30PM for the three
weeks.
Week
1
2
3

Cycle 1
0
1
0

Cycle 2
0
0
0

Cycle 3
0
0
0

Cycle 4
0
0
0

Cycle 5
1
0
0

Table 3: Number of Vehicles that Ran Red Light at 8:00AM

Week
1
2
3

Cycle 1
0
0
0

Cycle 2
0
0
0

Cycle 3
0
1
0

Cycle 4
0
1
0

Table 4: Number of Vehicles that Ran Red Light at 4:30PM

Cycle 5
0
0
0

After examining the tables for the observations made of vehicles that are remaining at the
intersection following the completion of a traffic signal cycle, it can seen that the mode (most
frequent) number of vehicles is zero; this means that more times than not there is no traffic
buildup at the intersection, even at school traffic times and rush hour (8:00AM and 4:30PM). As
for the tables that show the number of vehicles that ran the red light at the end of the traffic
signal cycle, the mode number of vehicles is also zero, meaning that more times than not a driver
will not run the red light, so it is safe to assume that most drivers will not become aggressive due
to the short traffic signal cycle.
In addition to the two different types of observations made to be used as primary research
for this report, the Internet was also used to gain both an interpretation and understanding of why
certain traffic signal cycles were certain time lengths based on certain circumstances. Upon
searching the internet, it was discovered that the main contributing factor to the length of a traffic
signal cycle has to do with that of nearby major intersection; this would make sense in this
scenario as the minor intersection of 23 Mile Road and Chesterfield Road is less than a mile
away from the major intersection of 23 Mile Road and Gratiot, which is often considered by
residents to be one of the most dangerous intersections in the area, if not the most dangerous.
While discovering this, it was also found that traffic backups may not necessarily be caused by
the quick traffic signal cycles of the minor intersection, but by the large number of vehicles
approaching the minor intersection coming from a nearby major intersection; this would be
vehicles approaching 23 Mile Road and Chesterfield Road coming from 23 Mile Road and
Gratiot in this case (Broward County).

Conclusion and Recommendation

Upon analyzing the observations that were made, it can be concluded that more times than not,
there will be no traffic backup North and South of intersection on Chesterfield Road following
the completion of the quick traffic signal cycle. Also, more times than not, there will not be a
vehicle that will run the red light at the end of the traffic signal cycle, so there may not be as
many aggressive drivers as initially thought due to the traffic light. Through these findings,
paired with the finding (through a secondary source) that the traffic is most likely caused by the
large amount of vehicles traveling from a nearby major intersection, it can be concluded that the
short traffic signal cycle at the intersection of 23 Mile Road and Chesterfield Road is most likely
not the main cause of traffic backups and frustrated drivers. So, in the meantime, it is
recommended that the timing of the traffic signal cycle for this intersection remains the same.

Reference
Traffic Signal Timing Frequently Asked Questions. Broward County. (n.d.). Retrieved April
17, 2016, from
http://www.broward.org/Traffic/Pages/TrafficSignalTimingFAQ.aspx