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CH 77

This document defines highway capacity and level of service (LOS), which are key concepts in transportation planning and design. It discusses how capacity is the maximum hourly rate of vehicles that can pass through a highway section, while LOS describes operational conditions using grades A through F. For two-lane rural highways, LOS is defined by average travel speed and percent time spent following other vehicles. The document also differentiates between two classes of rural two-lane highways and their intended functions of mobility versus accessibility.

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82 views1 page

CH 77

This document defines highway capacity and level of service (LOS), which are key concepts in transportation planning and design. It discusses how capacity is the maximum hourly rate of vehicles that can pass through a highway section, while LOS describes operational conditions using grades A through F. For two-lane rural highways, LOS is defined by average travel speed and percent time spent following other vehicles. The document also differentiates between two classes of rural two-lane highways and their intended functions of mobility versus accessibility.

Uploaded by

zeru3261172
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 7-Highway Capacity %Definition of capacity by HCM 2000

Definitions “The capacity of the facility is the maximum hourly rate at which persons or vehicles reasonably
Volume – number of vehicles (persons) passing a point during a specified time period which is usually one can be expected to traverse a point or a uniform section of a lane or roadway during a given time
period under prevailing roadway, traffic, and control conditions”
hour.
%HCM [Highway Capacity Manual] – It is a standard for capacity analysis
Capacity – maximum and repeatable volume of vehicles/travelers that can traverse a point or short
segment during a specified time period. For most cases, the rate used is for the peak 15 minutes of the peak %Highway capacity analysis serves three general purposes
hour. ÈTransportation planning: capacity of the network
Demand – number of vehicles (persons) that desire to travel past a point during a specified period also
ÈHighway design: to select the highway type and to determine dimensions
usually one hour. It is a volume not influenced by highway capacity
ÈTraffic operational analysis: for identifying bottleneck locations and identifying improvements
%Theoretically, actual volume can never be observed at levels higher than the true capacity of the section. %The two-lane, two-way rural highway is the only type of highway link on which traffic in one direction
has a distinct operational impact on traffic in the other direction.
Capacity Demand %Rural two-lane highways serve two primary functions in the nation’s highway network:
Traffic Intensity

È Mobility
È Accessibility
%Many two-lane rural highways, however, serve low volumes, sometimes under 100 veh/day.
Volume
Congestion %There are two distinct classes of rural two-lane, two-way highways:
Class I: These are highways on which motorists expect to travel at relatively high speeds, including
major intercity routes, primary arterials, and daily commuter routes.
È Serve primarily for mobility needs.

1
Time 2

Generally Level of Service (LOS):- is Chief measure of “quality of service”


Class II: These are highways on which motorists do not necessarily expect to travel at high
ÈDescribes operational conditions within a traffic stream.
speeds, including access routes, scenic and recreational routes that are not primary ÈDoes not include safety
arterials, and routes through rugged terrain. ÈDifferent measures for different facilities
È Serve primarily for accessibility needs. %Six measures (A through F)
%Freeway LOS % LOS A
%The HCM 2000 defines level of service as follows
ÈBased on traffic density È Free-flow operation
%“level of service (LOS) is a quality measure describing operational conditions within a traffic stream,
generally in terms of such service measures as speed and travel time, and comfort and convenience.” % LOS B
%“A level of service is a letter designation that describes a range of operating conditions on a particular type È Reasonably free flow
of facility.”(ranges from A (highest) to F (lowest)) È Ability to maneuver is only slightly restricted
%LOS is a convenient way to describe the general quality of operation on a facility with defined traffic road È Effects of minor incidents still easily absorbed
way control conditions
% LOS C % LOS E
%Level of service for two-lane rural highways is defined in terms of two measures of effectiveness: È Speeds at or near FFS È Operation near or at capacity
È Average travel speed (ATS) È Freedom to maneuver is noticeably restricted È No usable gaps in the traffic
È Percent time spent following (PTSF) È Queues may form behind any significant stream
blockage. È Operations extremely volatile
%Average travel speed (ATS) is the average speed of all vehicles traversing the defined analysis
% LOS D È Any disruption causes queuing
segment for the specified time period, which are usually the peak 15-minutes of a peak hour È Speeds decline slightly with increasing flows
È Density increases more quickly % LOS F
%Percent time spent following (PTSF) is the aggregate percentage of time that all drivers spend in
È Freedom to maneuver is more noticeably È Breakdown in flow
queues, unable to pass, with the speed restricted by the queue leader. limited È Queues form behind breakdown
È Minor incidents create queuing points
3 4
È Demand > capacity

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