Safe Waves: Signal Timing Guide, Analysis Tool, and Case Studies

Speeding on arterial roads can be reduced by timing traffic signals to minimize the number of speeding opportunities – occasions when a vehicle arrives at an intersection on a stale green with no vehicle ahead for at least five seconds. The “Safe Waves” approach to traffic signal timing aims to minimize speeding opportunities while still providing good two-way progression using short cycles, short coordination zones, pedestrian recall where pedestrian demand is moderate and undersized phases where it’s low, and offsets that prevent high-speed progression. A test on a suburban arterial found that with Safe Waves signal timing, the number of vehicles exceeding the speed limit fell by 75%, while arterial travel time increased by only 2 seconds per intersection. A simulation-based case study in another suburban corridor found that Safe Waves signal timing reduced speeding opportunities by more than 50%, while network delay per vehicle rose 2 s in the p.m. peak and 21 s in the a.m. peak. A web app, the Safe Waves Analysis Tool (SWAT), was developed to enable designers to visualize and count the speeding opportunities afforded by a proposed arterial signal timing plan.

• Record URL:
  https://www.mass.gov/doc/using-traffic-signals-to-reduce-speeding-and-speeding-opportunities-on-arterial-roads-final-report/download
• Corporate Authors:

  Northeastern University

  Boston, MA  United States  02115

  Massachusetts Department of Transportation

  Office of Transportation Planning
  Boston, MA  United States 

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Furth, Peter G
  • Tahmasebi, Milad
  • Ozbek, Yusuf
• Publication Date: 2024-2-29

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 155p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Arterial highways; Mobile applications; Speeding; Traffic signal timing; Traffic simulation; Travel time
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01919599
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: May 28 2024 9:14AM