Traffic Engineering Third year College of Engineering Kufa University Asst. Prof. Dr.

Hamid Al-Jameel 2016-2017

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Human civilizations are distinguished by their ability to transport large

numbers of people and mass quantities of goods over long distances. People
want and need to move from one location to another, to ship their goods
between locations and to store goods temporarily at other locations, and they
need these activities to be safe and expeditious. Throughout the ages, people
have achieved this by developing transportation systems, which have evolved
from the ships of the Phoenicians to the spaceships of the 21 century (ITE,
2010).
A safe, reliable and secure transportation system requires more than just the
provision of highway and transit infrastructure for movement of the public and
freight. It also requires efficient and coordinated operations to meet the
performance expectations of the public and both elected and appointed
decision makers (ITE, 2010).

1.1 Definitions
1. Transportation Engineering: Is the application of technology and scientific
principles to the planning, design, operation, maintenance and management
of systems and facilities for any mode of surface transportation in order to
provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and
environmentally compatible movement of people and goods. Figure 1.1
indicates different modes of transportation.
2. Traffic Engineering (what is traffic engineering?) has been defined as a
phase of transportation engineering that deals with the safe and efficient
planning, geometric design and traffic operations of roads, streets and
highways, their networks, terminals, abutting lands and relationships with
other motorized and non-motorized modes of transportation.
(Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, buses and other
conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel.)

1
Traffic Engineering Third year College of Engineering Kufa University Asst. Prof. Dr. Hamid Al-Jameel 2016-2017

Figure 1.1 Different modes of transportation.

1.2 Phases of Traffic Engineering

1. Studies of Traffic Characteristics

Including studies of: 1. the road user 2.The vehicle 3.Speed, travel time
and delay 4. Traffic volume 5.Origin and destination. 6.Parking
7.Accident rates 8.Public transit and 9. Intersections

2. Traffic Operations

Traffic operations include traffic regulatory measures and traffic control

devices:

1. Regulatory measures
a. Laws and ordinances for the purposes of driver, vehicle and
pedestrian controls.
b. Regulations controlling operation of the vehicles in the traffic
stream. The fundamental regulatory measures include intersection
controls, speed controls, one way street and parking controls.
2. Traffic control devices

(2)
Traffic Engineering Third year College of Engineering Kufa University Asst. Prof. Dr. Hamid Al-Jameel 2016-2017

Fundamentals of the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of

traffic signs, signals, pavement markings and channelization devices.

3. Traffic Planning

This phase of traffic engineering encompasses the planning of traffic

facilities. It covers the characteristics of urban travel, including public
transportation, the conducting of major transportation studies, and the basic
techniques in studying and evolving comprehensive transportation plans.
4. Geometric Design
This area includes street design, new arterial highway design and the
improvement of existing ones, channelization and intersection design, and
the design of off-street parking and terminal facilities.

5. Administration
An understanding of the essentials of the administrative and legal
background of traffic control and regulation is an important adjunct to
purely technical knowledge.

Highway Functional Classification

Highways are classified according to their functions in terms of the service
they provide. The classification system facilitates a systematic development of
highways and the logical assignment of highway responsibilities among
different jurisdictions. Highways and streets are categorized as rural or urban
roads, depending on the area in which they are located. This initial
classification is necessary because urban and rural areas have significantly
different characteristics with respect to the type of land use and population
density, which in turn influences travel patterns. Within the classification of
urban and rural, highways are categorized into the following groups:
• Principal arterials
• Minor arterials
• Major collectors
• Minor collectors
• Local roads and streets
Urban Principal Arterial System. This system of highways serves the major
activity centers of the urban area and consists mainly of the highest-traffic-
volume corridors. It carries a high proportion of the total vehicle-miles of travel
within the urban area including most trips with an origin or destination within

(3)
Traffic Engineering Third year College of Engineering Kufa University Asst. Prof. Dr. Hamid Al-Jameel 2016-2017

the urban area. The system also serves trips that bypass the central business
districts (CBDs) of urbanized areas.
The spacing of urban principal arterials is closely related to the trip-end
density characteristics of particular portions of the urban areas. Although no
firm spacing rule applies in all or even in most circumstances, the spacing
between principal arterials (in larger urban areas)may vary from less than 1.6
km [1mi] in the highly developed central business areas to 8 km [5 mi] or
more in the sparsely developed urban fringes.
For freeways and expressways, service to abutting land is subordinate to travel
service to major traffic movements. For facilities within the subclass of other
principal arterials in urban areas, mobility is often balanced against the need to
provide direct access as well as the need to accommodate pedestrians,
bicyclists, and transit users.
Urban Minor Arterial System. Streets and highways that interconnect with and
augment the urban primary arterials are classified as urban minor arterials. This
system serves trips of moderate length and places more emphasis on land access
than the primary arterial system. All arterials not classified as primary are
included in this class. Although highways within this system may serve as local
bus routes and may connect communities within the urban areas, they do not
normally go through identifiable neighborhoods. The spacing of minor arterial
streets in fully developed areas is usually not less than 1 mile, but the spacing
can be 2 to 3 miles in suburban fringes.
The spacing of urban minor arterial streets may vary from 0.2 to 1.0 km [0.1
to 0.5 mi] in the central business district to 3 to 5 km [2 to 3 mi] in the
suburban fringes but is normally not more than 2 km [1 mi] in fully developed
areas.
Urban Collector Street System. The main purpose of streets within this
system is to collect traffic from local streets in residential areas or in CBDs
and convey it to the arterial system. Thus, collector streets usually go through
residential areas and facilitate traffic circulation within residential,
commercial, and industrial areas.
Urban Local Street System. This system consists of all other streets within the
urban area that are not included in the three systems described earlier. The
primary purposes of these streets are to provide access to abutting land and to
the collector streets. Through traffic is discouraged on these streets.
Rural Principal Arterial System. This system consists of a network of
highways that serves most of the interstate trips and a substantial amount of
intrastate trips. Virtually all highway trips between urbanized areas and a high
percentage of trips between small urban areas with populations of 25,000 or
more are made on this system. The system is further divided into freeways

(4)
Traffic Engineering Third year College of Engineering Kufa University Asst. Prof. Dr. Hamid Al-Jameel 2016-2017

(which are divided highways with fully controlled access and no at-grade
intersections) and other principal arterials not classified as freeways.
Rural Minor Arterial System. This system of roads augments the principal
arterial system in the formation of a network of roads that connects cities,
large towns, and other traffic generators, such as large resorts. Travel speeds
on these roads are relatively high with minimum interference to through
movement.
Rural Collector System. Highways within this system carry traffic primarily
within individual counties, and trip distances are usually shorter than those on
the arterial roads. This system of roads is subdivided into major collector
roads and minor collector roads.
Rural Major Collector System. Routes under this system carry traffic
primarily to and from county seats and large cities that are not directly served
by the arterial system. The system also carries the main intracounty traffic.
Rural Minor Collector System. This system consists of routes that collect
traffic from local roads and convey it to other facilities. One important
function of minor collector roads is that they provide linkage between rural
hinterland and locally important traffic generators such as small communities.

Figure 1.2 Schematic Illustration of the Functional Classes for a

Suburban Road Network

(5)
Traffic Engineering Third year College of Engineering Kufa University Asst. Prof. Dr. Hamid Al-Jameel 2016-2017

Figure 1.3 Schematic Illustration of a Functionally Classified Rural

Highway Network.
Rural Local Road System. This system consists of all roads within the rural
area not classified within the other systems. These roads serve trips of
relatively short distances and connect adjacent lands with the collector roads.
Access needs and controls
The two major considerations in classifying highway and street networks
functionally are access and mobility. The conflict between serving through
movement and providing access to a dispersed pattern of trip origins and
destinations necessitates the differences and gradations in the various
functional types. Regulated limitation of access is needed on arterials to
enhance their primary function of mobility.
Conversely, the primary function of local roads and streets is to provide access
(implementation of which causes a limitation of mobility). The extent and
degree of access control is thus a significant factor in defining the functional
category of a street or hghway.

(6)
Traffic Engineering Third year College of Engineering Kufa University Asst. Prof. Dr. Hamid Al-Jameel 2016-2017

Figure 1.4 Relationship of functionally classified systems in serving traffic

mobility and land access.
Allied to the idea of traffic categorization is the dual role that the highway and
street network plays in providing (1) access to property and travel mobility.
Access is a fixed need for every area served by the highway system. Mobility
is provided at varying levels of service. Mobility can incorporate several
qualitative elements, such as riding comfort and absence of speed changes, but
the most basic factor is operating speed or trip travel time.
Table 1.1 Through service provided by various roadway categories

(7)
Traffic Engineering Third year College of Engineering Kufa University Asst. Prof. Dr. Hamid Al-Jameel 2016-2017

Table 1.2 Guidelines for Extent of Urban Functional Systems

(8)