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APPENDIX A
Glossary of Traffic Engineering Terms
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APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERING TERMS
Term Definition
Capacity Maximum number of vehicles which have a reasonable expectation of
passing a given section of roadway in one direction during a given time
period under prevailing roadway and traffic conditions. These are
estimates which are expressed as vehicles per hour (vph).
Centroid An origin or destination located in the interior of the EPZ.
Content Number of vehicles occupying a section of roadway at a particular point
in time.
Destination A location in the network, either within the interior or on the periphery,
of the EPZ to which trips are attracted.
Entry Node A network node, that serves only as an origin. Vehicles are generated
there and move onto the network to travel toward their respective
destinations.
Exit Node A network node, usually located on the periphery of a network, which
serves only as a destination. Vehicles that arrive at an exit node are
discharged from the network.
Green-Time to The ratio of the duration of a green interval to the signal cycle length.
Cycle Time This ratio is the proportion of time available to service specified traffic
Ratio (G/C Ratio) movement discharging from specified approaches to an intersection.
Internal Node All nodes that are not Entry or Exit nodes. Vehicles travel through these
nodes from one link to the next along their respective paths toward their
respective destinations.
Level of Service An index (A, B, ..., F) which is a qualitative descriptor of the operational
performance of traffic on a section of roadway, usually expressed in
terms of speed, travel time or density. In practice, each Level of Service
index is often associated with a range of service volumes. This relation
depends on the type of facility (freeway, rural road, urban street).
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Evacuation Time Estimate Rev. I
Tern Definition
Link A network link represents a specific, one-directional section of roadway.
A link has both physical (length, number of lanes, topology, etc.) and
operational (turn movement percentages, service rate, free-flow speed)
characteristics.
Measures of Statistics describing traffic operations on a roadway network.
Effectiveness
Node A network node generally represents an intersection of network links.
A node has control characteristics, i.e., the allocation of service time to
each approach link.
Origin A location in the network, either within the interior, or on the periphery,
where trips are generated at a specified rate expressed in vehicles per
hour (vph). These trips enter the roadway system to travel to their
respective destinations.
Network A graphical representation of the geometric topology of a physical
roadway system, which is comprised of directional links and nodes.
Prevailing roadway Relate to the physical features of the roadway,
and traffic conditions the nature (e.g., composition) of traffic on the roadway and the ambient
conditions (weather, visibility, pavement conditions, etc.).
Service Rate Maximum rate at which vehicles, executing a specific turn maneuver, can
be discharged from a section of roadway at the prevailing conditions,
expressed in vehicles per second (vps) or vehicles per hour (vph).
Service Volume Maximum number of vehicles which can pass over a section of roadway
in one direction during a specified time period with operating conditions
at a specified Level of Service. (The Service Volume at Level of
Service, E, approximates Capacity.) Service Volume is usually
expressed as vehicles per hour (vph).
Signal Cycle, The total elapsed time to display all signal indications, in sequence. The
Cycle Time, Length cycle length is expressed in seconds.
Signal Interval A single combination of signal indications. The interval duration is
expressed in seconds. In general, a sequence of intervals comprise a
signal phase.
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Evacuation Time Estimate Rev. 1
Term Definition
Signal Phase A set of signal indications (and intervals) which services a particular
combination of traffic movements on selected approaches to the
intersection. The phase duration is expressed in seconds.
Traffic Assignment A process of assigning traffic to paths of travel in such a way as to satisfy
all trip objectives (i.e., the desire of 'each vehicle to travel from a
specified origin in the network to a specified destination) and to
optimize some stated objective or combination of objectives. In general,
the objective is stated in terms of minimizing a generalized "cost". For
example, "cost" may be expressed in terms of travel time.
Traffic Density The number of vehicles that occupy one lane of a roadway section of
specified length at a point of time, expressed as vehicles per mile (vpm).
Traffic Distribution A process for determining the destination of all traffic generated at the
origins. The result often takes the form of a Trip Table, which is a
matrix of origin-destination traffic volumes.
Traffic Simulation A computer model designed to replicate the real-world operation of
vehicles on a roadway network, so as to provide statistics describing
traffic performance. These statistics are called Measures of
Effectiveness.
Traffic Volume The number of vehicles that pass over a section of roadway in one
direction, expressed in vehicles per hour (vph). Where applicable,
traffic volume may be stratified by turn movement.
Travel Mode Distinguishes between private auto, bus, rail and air travel modes.
Trip Table or A rectangular matrix or table, whose entries contain the number
Origin-Destination of trips generated at each specified origin, during a specified time
Matrix period, that are attracted to (and travel toward) each of its specified
destinations. These values are expressed in vehicles per hour (vph) or
in vehicles.
Turning Capacity The capacity associated with that component of the traffic stream which
executes a specified turn maneuver from an approach at an intersection.
Indian Point Energy Center A-4 KLD Associates, Inc.
Evacuation Time Estimate Rev. I
