development of an updated traffic signal operations ...docs.trb.org/prp/16-5451.pdf · 1...

Development of an Updated "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" Document 1

for the City of Toronto 2 3

4

5

Rajnath Bissessar, P.Eng. 6 City of Toronto – Transportation Services 7

703 Don Mills Road, Toronto, ON M3C 3N3, Canada 8

Tel: 416-392-8826, Email: [email protected] 9

10

Landy L. Cheung, M.A.Sc., Corresponding Author 11 City of Toronto – Transportation Services 12

703 Don Mills Road, Toronto, ON M3C 3N3, Canada 13

Tel: 416-397-5009, Email: [email protected] 14

15

16

17

18

Word count: 6,410 words text + 4 tables/figures x 250 words (each) = 7,410 words 19

20

21

22

23

November 14, 201524

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Bissessar and Cheung 2

ABSTRACT 1 Congestion of road networks is a persistent problem in almost all large and growing metropolitan 2

areas. In the City of Toronto, a combination of transportation policies and strategies are applied 3

to address congestion issues. One way of mitigating the impacts of congestion is through 4

consistent, safe, and efficient control of traffic signals. Historically, the City’s traffic signal 5

operations were guided by Standard Operating Practices (SOPs) that were inconsistent, 6

incomplete, or out-of-date. A consolidated document to provide guidance to City staff and 7

consultants was not available. To address this gap, a three-member Working Group was 8

established to develop the City's "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document. 9

The policies and strategies in this document complement and support the broader vision, goals 10

and objectives of the Toronto Official Plan and Transportation Services Division Strategic 11

Agenda, providing guidelines for the City's signal operations while promoting the consistent, 12

safe, and efficient control of traffic signals for all road users. This paper discusses the policy 13

developmental framework and the policy-making process used to develop the policies and 14

strategies of traffic signal operations in Toronto. It also addresses the challenges and sensitive 15

issues that arose during the process. 16

17

18

Keywords: Policy Development, Policy, Strategy, Traffic Signal Operations, Traffic Signals, 19

Signal Timing Policies 20


INTRODUCTION 1 Toronto is the largest city in Canada, the capital of the Province of Ontario and the fourth largest 2

city in North America. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture, and home to a 3

diverse population of 2.8 million people. The city is served by a road network with 90 km of 4

province-owned highways, 40 km of City-owned highways, and over 5,600 km of City-owned 5

roads. There are 2,288 traffic signals on the road network. 6

Prior to World War II, road infrastructure was limited and of poor quality. During the 7

war, gas rationing further restricted car use. Following the war, prosperity, improved inter-urban 8

roads, and suburbanization pushed automobile ownership to new levels. The enormous increase 9

in the number of cars increased the demand for new roads. In 1953, the City of Toronto 10

(formerly Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and referred to as the City hereon in) assumed 11

control of arterial roads and spent much of its budget on roads and highways, such as the Don 12

Valley Parkway (1). The expanded road network encouraged urban sprawl, whereby many of the 13

middle class moved away from the Toronto downtown core to the suburbs. 14

In the late 1960s, residents who had moved to the suburbs started to move back into the 15

downtown core because of the comparative health of these older neighbourhoods and 16

communities (1). Gentrification allowed the downtown core to become revitalized where it had 17

previously begun to fall into decline. Though the road network was the focus of transportation 18

development in Toronto, there were some improvements to the transit system. The Toronto 19

Transit Commission (formerly Toronto Transportation Commission and referred to as TTC 20

hereon in) took over the existing privately-operated bus routes, initiated new bus routes in the 21

suburbs, made improvements to the downtown surface routes, and opened subway lines (1). In 22

the 1970s, anti-car advocates worked to convince people to take transit, to cycle, or to walk 23

rather than driving, for the sake of their health and the environment (1). 24

Historically, Toronto's roads served all modes of transportation but provided preferential 25

treatment to vehicles. Today, the City adopts the Complete Streets approach when constructing 26

new roads or reconstructing existing roads (2). The needs of all users, such as people who walk, 27

bicycle, take transit or drive, and people of varying ages and levels of ability are now considered. 28

The goal is to build a city with a well-functioning street network that supports and sustains 29

quality of life in Toronto (2). 30

Traffic signals are a key component of the road network, controlling the flow of traffic 31

for different users travelling through the road network. As the city's population increases, greater 32

travel demand creates more traffic congestion and the challenge of deciding how to share the 33

limited road space among all road users. Efficient traffic signal operations assist the mitigation of 34

traffic congestion on the road network. Day-to-day traffic signal operations are managed by the 35

City’s Transportation Services Division. There are different units within Transportation Services 36

that are responsible for the various tasks that promote efficient traffic signal operations: 37

38

Intelligent Transportation Systems Operations (ITSO) is responsible for the operation 39

of the City's traffic control systems; implementation of signal timing changes, signal 40

modifications, construction timings and special event timings; signal coordination studies; 41

and the development of policies and procedures for signal operations. ITSO's focus is on 42

the system-wide impact of traffic signal operations. 43

44

District Traffic Operations (DTO) is responsible for signal warrant analysis, 45

development of signal phasing for new traffic signals, developing updates to existing signal 46


timing plans and the development of construction timings. The four DTOs' focus is on the 1

traffic signal operations at the local level. 2

3

Traffic Plant Installation and Maintenance (TPIM) is responsible for design, 4

installation and maintenance of all electrical traffic control devices (traffic signals, 5

pedestrian crossovers, flashing beacons). 6

7

Intelligent Transportation Systems Capital Projects Planning and Delivery (ITSC) is 8

responsible for planning, procurement and project management of large-scale ITS projects 9

to improve Toronto’s road network. 10

11

Electrical Maintenance Contractor (EMC) is the traffic signals maintenance contractor 12

retained by the City to provide maintenance services to the traffic control devices for a 13

predetermined period, normally four years. 14

15

In Ontario, municipal governments receive limited provincial and federal funding for 16

their traffic signal operations. Traffic signals on Toronto's road network are owned, managed, 17

and funded by the City, with the exception of 55 traffic signals that are in close proximity to the 18

provincial highways. These 55 traffic signals are owned by the Province of Ontario but managed 19

by the City under an agreement with the provincial Ministry of Transportation (MTO). The MTO 20

is responsible for approving any operational changes and providing funding for any equipment 21

upgrades. 22

Historically, traffic engineers make decisions based on user expectation and complaints, 23

which may not represent best practices or the agency’s policy (3). In order to promote consistent, 24

safe, and efficient control of traffic signals for all road users in Toronto, a Working Group was 25

established within ITSO to develop the "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" 26

document that would provide guidance for the City's signal operations. The Working Group 27

consisted of three City staff who collectively have over 50 years of experience in traffic signal 28

operations and traffic control systems. Over a 12 month period, the Working Group reviewed all 29

existing documentation and reached out to stakeholders. The Working Group also reviewed 30

procedures and practices followed by municipalities in Canada and United States. The Working 31

Group ensured that the proposed document would support the broader goals and objectives of the 32

Toronto Official Plan (4) and Transportation Services Strategic Agenda (5). ITSO is the 33

custodian of the "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document. 34

35

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE OF THE CITY OF TORONTO 36 The City of Toronto's administrative structure, known as the Toronto Public Service, consists of 37

a City Manager and three Deputy City Managers who oversee 44 City divisions (6). The City 38

Manager is the most senior official in the City's administrative structure and is accountable to the 39

Toronto City Council, the governing and legislative body of the City. In addition to providing 40

guidance and advice to the 44 member City Council, the City Manager also coordinates the work 41

of the City divisions and is responsible for delivering programs and services to the public. There 42

are three City divisions that are involved with the building, operation and improvement of 43

Toronto's road network: 44

45


1. Transportation Services – This division is responsible for all aspects of Toronto's road 1

network including expressways, streets, bridges, traffic signs, street name signs and 2

traffic signals to sidewalks and street furniture (6). The division also handles traffic 3

operations, right-of-way by-law enforcement and right-of-way maintenance (6). 4

5

2. City Planning – This division manages the growth and physical form of the city (6). 6

Since the road network is an element of the physical form of the city, City Planning 7

activities impact the growth and evolution of the road network. 8

9

3. Engineering and Construction Services – This division provides specialized services 10

such as engineering design, construction, management, development engineering review 11

and engineering and control surveying (6). 12

13

An understanding of the responsibilities of each division and their relation to different 14

aspects of the road network provided the Working Group context for how the "Traffic Signal 15

Operations Policies and Strategies" document should be developed and how it would be used. 16

17

RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPING THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL OPERATIONS POLICIES 18

AND STRATEGIES FOR TORONTO 19 Many agencies do not have written policies for their signal timing operations (3). However, it is 20

a worthwhile undertaking to develop signal timing polices that follow regional and local 21

community transportation goals and objectives (3). The Working Group decided to create a 22

document that addressed both policies and strategies. Policies are courses or principles of action 23

adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, or individual (7). They are statements of 24

intent in plans or guidelines of the government that influence the decision-makers. Strategies are 25

high-level plans of action or approaches designed to achieve a major or overall goal (7). Policies 26

and strategies typically go hand-in-hand, where policies provide the principles and strategies 27

provide the high-level approach for achieving the overall goal. There are three types of policies 28

(8): 29

30

Broad Policy – Policy that enunciates government-wide direction. 31

Sector Policy – Policy developed for particular sector or area of concern (i.e. 32

transportation sector). 33

Operational Policy – Policy that guides decisions on programs and project selection or 34

provides high-level guidance for operational decisions. 35

36

These policies can be placed in a hierarchy (Figure 1). The broad policy is the high-level 37

policy that provides a clear vision or "big picture" for the government. It is supported by 38

different sector or issue-area policies that address different areas of concern. When these sector 39

policies are implemented collectively, they help to achieve the overall vision. These sector or 40

issue-area policies are supported by operational policies that guide decisions of specific 41

programs or operational functions of a sector. These are more specific policies that provide 42

general guidelines for specific operations or programs that address a specific area of concern of 43

the sector. 44

45


Operational or Program Goals and

Objectives

Sector-Specific Goals and Objectives

“Big Picture” or Overall Vision

Broad Policy

Sector A Policy

Operational A(1) Policy

Operational A(2) Policy

Sector B Policy

Operational B(1) Policy

1 2

FIGURE 1 Hierarchy of policy types. 3 4

In Toronto, City Planning is responsible for the growth and physical form of the city. 5

City Planning developed the Toronto Official Plan (referred to as the Official Plan hereon in) 6

that was approved by the City Council in 2002 and updated in 2010. The Official Plan is the 7

broad policy that provides the "big picture" vision for shaping Toronto's collective future (4). It 8

provides overall guidance for City divisions to achieve a unified goal for successful city-9

building. As a part of city-building, the road network plays a crucial role. In conformity with the 10

Official Plan, Transportation Services developed a Strategic Agenda (referred to as the Agenda 11

hereon in) to provide a roadmap to guide its work towards the common goals of delivering a 12

safe, efficient, and effective transportation system that serves residents, businesses, and visitors. 13

The Agenda acts as the sector strategic and policy plan that helps division staff understand the 14

importance of their daily activities and establish appropriate priorities (5). 15

Prior to the development of the "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" 16

document, traffic signal operations were governed by practices that were not documented, or 17

were not current. In compliance with the Official Plan and the Agenda, ITSO developed the 18

"Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document that would act as the operational 19

strategic and policy plan that promotes consistent, safe, and efficient control of traffic signals for 20

all road users in Toronto. 21

22

THE POLICY DEVELOPMENTAL FRAMEWORK 23 The policies and strategies of Toronto's traffic signal operations were developed 24

following a hierarchical policy developmental framework (Figure 2). Each component of the 25

framework is described in this section. 26

27


Practices and Processes for

Implementation

Operational Policy

Sector Policy

Broad Policy Toronto Official Plan

Transportation Strategic Agenda

Traffic Signal Operations Policies

and Strategies

Standard Operating

Practices (SOP)

1 2

FIGURE 2 Hierarchical policy developmental framework used to develop Toronto's 3

Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies. 4 5

Toronto Official Plan 6 The Official Plan is the broad policy that provides a road map to Toronto's future, providing the 7

basis for building a city-wide consensus around change. Transportation policies need to 8

encourage transit, walking and cycling over private automobile use and ensure the movement of 9

people and goods as the number of businesses, employees and residents increase (4). Ways to 10

reduce car dependency could be through creative and flexible management of urban growth, or 11

examination of existing transportation modes to create policies and programs that emphasize the 12

use of public transit, walking and cycling over automobile travel. These policies should not only 13

address the physical infrastructure of the City’s transportation system, but also have 14

complementary policies that make more efficient use of this infrastructure to support the goal of 15

reducing car dependency throughout the city (4). For example, cycling can be encouraged by 16

improving the safety of cyclists through the design and operation of streets and through 17

education and promotion programs. Ultimately, the City needs to move towards a more 18

sustainable transportation system where transit, cycling and walking are attractive alternatives to 19

using the car (4). In a mature city like Toronto, especially in the downtown core, there is little 20

space available for the expansion of transportation capacity. Therefore, emphasis must be placed 21

on making better use of the existing capacity to efficiently move people throughout the city (4). 22

This can be achieved by giving priority to streetcars and buses on city roads and promoting 23

mixed use development that increases opportunities for living close to work, while encouraging 24

walking and cycling for local trips. 25

The goal is not to eliminate the use of automobiles altogether, but rather, to present more 26

attractive alternatives for travelers so they have more options when traveling within the city. 27

Thus, the needs of the different road users – pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and vehicle 28

drivers, need to be balanced when creating transportation policies. The policies must also address 29


the safety of all road users, such as minimizing traffic infiltration on adjacent neighbourhood 1

streets. 2

3

Transportation Services Strategic Agenda 4 The Transportation Strategic Agenda is the sector policy and strategy that complements the 5

Official Plan’s transportation policies. The vision of the Agenda is for Transportation Services to 6

become “an international leader in the design, operation, and management of municipal 7

transportation systems that meet the needs of all users” (5). The vision is supported by five goals 8

(5): 9

10

Safety – Enhance transportation safety for all users. 11

Mobility – Improve the operations of our road network for all modes. 12

Liveable Streets – Deliver streets that serve people. 13

Infrastructure – Provide quality infrastructure as a foundation for Toronto's vitality. 14

Operations – Provide excellent, efficient, and sustainable service to all customers. 15

16

Each goal is supported by numerous objectives to guide the efforts to achieve the vision. The 17

purpose of a transportation system is to enhance mobility of all users of the network by 18

improving the operations. There are different ways to improve operations, such as enhancing and 19

expanding the walking and cycling networks, supporting operations of high-quality transit 20

services, implementing cost-effective strategies to mitigate congestion, and providing new 21

innovative services to support mobility for users of all modes. However, safety is also paramount 22

to the Division. It is achieved through programs and policies that reduce injuries and fatalities for 23

users of all modes of travel. 24

In compliance with the Official Plan, Toronto needs to move towards a more sustainable 25

transportation system. The Agenda's goal of delivering streets that serve people and designing 26

for liveable streets is in tandem with this vision. This is achieved by advancing a Complete 27

Streets approach to balance the needs of all users and ensuring an attractive, accessible, 28

sustainable, and properly managed public realm. The transportation system needs to be 29

maintained in a state of good repair and infrastructure needs to be properly managed in the public 30

right-of-way. 31

32

Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies 33 The high-level vision for the city and its road network provides guidance when creating the 34

"Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document. The purpose and guiding 35

principles of the "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document were developed in 36

compliance with the Official Plan and the Agenda. The Plan and Agenda provide guidance for 37

the development of specific policies and strategies pertaining to different aspects of traffic signal 38

operations. 39

The "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document is the operational 40

policy that outlines policies and strategies from administrative-related items to technical 41

elements that pertain to traffic signal operations. Its purpose is to provide guidance on various 42

signal operations practices to promote consistent, safe, and efficient control of traffic signals 43

within the city for all road users (9). It is driven by the following guiding principles (9): 44

45

To ensure safety of all users of the road. 46


To encourage person throughput. 1

To encourage walking. 2

To minimize vehicular delay. 3

To encourage transit usage. 4

To encourage cycling. 5

6

Typically, policies are created by policy makers who have limited experience with the 7

technical complexity of implementing the strategy associated with a specific policy. This poses a 8

challenge for practitioners if an agency’s established policies are not fully understood by staff, or 9

the staff may not recognize that the policy was established (3). To address this potential 10

drawback when developing the "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document, the 11

Working Group was established within ITSO to bring technical expertise to the table while 12

addressing the "big picture". ITSO staff are both the practitioners and policy makers for traffic 13

signal operations policies and strategies, thus closing the gap between policy creation and 14

implementation. 15

Three versions of the document were created, each for a different audience. First, a 150-16

page Technical Report was developed to document all the research conducted in developing the 17

Report. The audience for the Report are City staff and stakeholders who are interested in the 18

technical background used to develop the policies and strategies. This report is restricted to City 19

staff and is posted on the City's intranet. The Technical Report was used to develop the 70-page 20

"Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document that summarizes and details each 21

policy and strategy. The audience for this document are consultants, external agencies, and 22

internal staff who are involved with the day-to-day activities of traffic signal operations and 23

planning. The third document is the 5-page Executive Summary which provides a summary of 24

the major policies covered in the "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document. 25

Its purpose is to provide senior management, elected officials and the public with a high-level 26

overview of the "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document. Both the “Traffic 27

Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" and Executive Summary documents are posted on the 28

City's Internet site. 29

30

Standard Operating Practices 31 Following the development of the "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document, 32

a consolidated document became available to guide traffic signal operations. The next step will 33

be the updating of existing Standard Operating Practices (SOPs) and the creation of new SOPs to 34

provide guidance for implementation of the policies enshrined in "Traffic Signal Operations 35

Policies and Strategies" document. 36

37

THE POLICY-MAKING PROCESS 38 Often, agencies do not have written policies for their signal timing operations. However, it is a 39

worthwhile undertaking to develop signal timing polices that follow regional and local 40

community transportation goals and objectives. As suggested by the United States Federal 41

Highway Administration (FHWA), agencies should use signal timing policies to guide the 42

development, operation, and maintenance of their signal system (3). In Toronto, we decided to 43

expand the scope to include all aspects of traffic signal operations, not just signal timings. Also, 44

our document included both policies and the associated strategies for implementation. This 45


approach addressed all levels of traffic signal operations from the local level to the corridor level 1

to the network level. 2

A context sensitive approach was used when developing the policies and strategies 3

document. This approach considers local, regional and provincial transportation policies and 4

strategies, particularly the Ontario Traffic Manual (OTM), the City's Official Plan and the 5

Transportation Division's Strategic Agenda. The policy-making process involved five steps 6

(Figure 3): 7

8

1. Purpose and Guiding Principles – Review of the visions, goals, and objectives of the 9

Official Plan and the Transportation Strategic Agenda to establish the purpose and 10

guiding principles of the "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document. 11

12

2. Literature Review – Review existing SOPs that historically guided the City's traffic 13

signal operations and conduct literature review on standards, legislation, and best 14

practices. This helps to establish existing policies and strategies and propose policies and 15

strategies to close any gaps. 16

17

3. Stakeholder Engagement – Engage stakeholders for comments and suggestions on the 18

draft Technical Report. 19

20

4. Committee Review – Seek direction on contentious items that arose during the 21

stakeholder meeting and seek approval of the policies and strategies from the Safety and 22

Mobility Committee (SMC) of Transportation Services. This Committee meets every 23

month to discuss traffic operations issues and to develop standard harmonized practices 24

for the City's transportation system. 25

26

5. Approval – Seek document approval from senior management. 27

28

Purpose and Guiding

Principles

Literature Review

Stakeholder Engagement

Committee Review

Senior Management

Review 29

30

FIGURE 3 The policy-making process for development of the "Traffic Signal Operations 31

Policies and Strategies" document. 32 33

Steps 1 to 4 were followed to create the Technical Report. After the Committee Review, the 34

"Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" and Executive Summary documents were 35

created and all three versions of the traffic signal operations policies and strategies were 36

submitted to senior management for review. 37

38

Purpose and Guiding Principles 39 The Working Group reviewed the visions, goals, and objectives of the Official Plan and the 40

Agenda to establish the purpose and the guiding principles of the proposed document. This helps 41

to provide guidance when developing new policies and strategies and reviewing existing ones for 42

different aspects of traffic signal operations. It was recognised that the proposed document could 43


not take precedence over the Official Plan or the Agenda but would be supportive of visions, 1

goals, and objectives of Official Plan and the Agenda. 2

3

Literature Review 4 Next, the Working Group reviewed the existing SOPs for consistency and relevancy to today's 5

transportation conditions. These SOPs detailed the existing practices and processes that were 6

used for different aspects of traffic signal operations, guiding the City’s operations. Though 7

some were inconsistent, incomplete and out-of-date, the existing SOPs provided an indication of 8

the policies and strategies that were in place. For example, a SOP on closely-spaced traffic 9

signals that dates back to 1995 was reviewed. Although the concepts are sound, some of the 10

results are no longer applicable to current conditions. A SOP on accessible pedestrian signals 11

(APS) was developed in 2009, but has not been updated to reflect new technology that was 12

implemented after 2009. Another SOP that described clearance intervals for left-turn signal 13

operations still described the use of a flashing green ball for protected left turns, even though the 14

City discontinued that practice three years ago when all flashing green balls were replaced with 15

left turn green arrows. Each SOP was thoroughly reviewed and inconsistencies were identified 16

for future studies. 17

Research was also conducted on standards, legislation, and best practices for signal 18

operations. As recommended by the FHWA, there should be implicit or explicit direction to use 19

the latest national and local standards available relating to signal timing and operations along 20

with good engineering judgement within all signal timing policies (3). The standards that were 21

reviewed and referenced include the Ontario Traffic Manual (OTM) Books 7, 12 and 15; Ontario 22

Traffic Council (OTC) Bicycle Traffic Signals Guide; and the Transportation Association of 23

Canada (TAC) Guidelines and Standards such as the Canadian Manual for Uniform Traffic 24

Control Devices (MUTCD) (14). 25

In Ontario, even though traffic signal operations and planning are not generally funded by 26

the provincial government, the province set the traffic signal operations guidelines that 27

municipalities should follow. OTM Book 7 addresses the application of control devices in 28

temporary construction, maintenance, and utility work zones (13). OTM Book 12 provides 29

standards, recommended practices, guidelines, and options for traffic signal operations (10). 30

OTM Book 15 provides practical guidance and application information on the planning, design, 31

and operation of pedestrian roadway crossings in Ontario (12). OTC Bicycle Traffic Signals 32

provides guidance on planning, designing, and operating bicycle signals in Ontario (11). 33

Canadian wide guidelines such as the Canadian Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices 34

(MUTCD) are developed by TAC. Similar to the US MUTCD, the Canadian MUTCD provides 35

guidelines and preferred methods in the design, dimensions and application of devices for the 36

control of traffic and the provision of information to drivers and other road users (14). If 37

municipalities decide to deviate from the OTM Guidelines or the MUTCD, they need to provide 38

good reasoning and context for any alternative approach. 39

Best practices were also drawn from other North American cities and from in-house 40

studies conducted by the City. Different transportation policy categories such as pedestrian-41

focused, bicycle-focused, transit-focused, emergency vehicle-focused, automobile-focused, and 42

at low-volume locations or periods were reviewed. Often, trade-offs are required between 43

various modes at an intersection because signal timing by its nature is the assignment of right-of-44

way to competing direction and travel modes. These categories can have competing ideas, such 45

as safe pedestrian crossing times versus maximizing automobile capacity. During the research 46


stage, stakeholders were informally consulted to address these focus areas and to discuss 1

potential trade-offs. 2

Though public engagement was not part of the policy-making process, comments from 3

the public were accounted for when the report was prepared. This was achieved through 4

reviewing a list of public concerns received by ITSO in the past five years. ITSO is involved in 5

the day-to-day operations of traffic signals and respond to daily public inquiries and concerns. 6

These concerns are documented and summarized in the list that identifies what the public is 7

commonly concerned about with regards to traffic signal operations. 8

All information collected from the research stage was synthesized into the draft Technical 9

Report. The purpose and guiding principles established in the previous step were considered 10

throughout the process. Since traffic signal operation is a public service, public safety was 11

considered to be of utmost importance when developing the document. Stakeholders were 12

subsequently engaged and involved in the review of the draft. 13

14

Stakeholder Engagement 15 Three weeks before a one-day workshop, the draft Technical Report was submitted to all 16

stakeholders for review. The stakeholders were the units within the City's Transportation 17

Services Division who are involved with the day-to-day traffic signal planning and operations: 18

19

Transportation Districts – District Traffic Operations (DTO), District Traffic Planning 20

(DTP) 21

Traffic Management Centre (TMC) – ITSO 22

Public Realm (PR) – Pedestrian Projects 23

Traffic Infrastructure Management Section (TIMS) – Pedestrian & Cycling Infrastructure 24

25

Policies and expectations may vary based on the users, roadway facilities, and mode split. 26

The purpose of the workshop was to gather all stakeholders around the table to discuss their 27

competing interests and develop policies and strategies that take the Complete Streets approach 28

and are context-sensitive. Stakeholders would review the report ahead of time and discuss their 29

concerns and advise whether policies and strategies should be added or omitted during the 30

workshop. To facilitate the discussions, each policy was presented during the workshop and the 31

stakeholders were asked to comment if they agree with the policy or strategy put forth. If none of 32

the stakeholders have issues with the policy, the discussion would progress to the next item. If 33

concerns were raised, an open debate would occur for that item for an allotted time. If no 34

agreement could be reached within the time limit, the item would be deferred for review by the 35

traffic operations managers at the Safety and Mobility Committee (SMC) meeting of 36

Transportation Services. All comments and discussions were documented and subsequently 37

circulated to stakeholders to ensure there was common understanding on which policies and 38

strategies were agreed to and which ones still needed discussion. 39

An area of competing interest was the walk speed used in Toronto. Public Realm 40

advocates for pedestrian safety and lobbied for lowering the universal pedestrian walking speed 41

to less than the current 1.0 m/s. However, the DTOs were concerned with such an initiative, due 42

to higher overall wait times for pedestrians, higher cycle lengths at major intersections, capacity 43

related issues for local traffic and delays to transit. The compromise was that the standard walk 44

speed would remain at 1.0 m/s but there would be flexibility to reduce to 0.9 m/s or 0.8 m/s 45

based on demographics, in compliance with TAC Guidelines (15). 46


Committee Review 1 Any contentious items that the workshop could not agree on collectively due to institutional 2

differences were flagged and raised at the Safety and Mobility Committee (SMC) of 3

Transportation Services. The SMC consists of traffic operations managers from Transportation 4

Services and representatives from TTC, Toronto Parking Authority and Toronto Police Service. 5

SMC reports to the Transportation Services Senior Management Team (SMT) on a quarterly 6

basis. Only the City's traffic operations managers had voting rights on the Technical Report, 7

because they directly manage the day-to-day traffic operation activities. 8

There were five contentious issues that were escalated to the SMC for direction (Table 1). 9

Two of the five issues could not be resolved at the SMC level, and were further escalated to 10

senior management. 11

12

TABLE 1 Summary of contentious issues escalated to the Safety and Mobility Committee 13

of Transportation Services or Senior Management for direction. 14 15 # Request Concern Resolution

1 Further lowering

pedestrian walking speeds

to better accommodate the

general population.

The current standard of 1.0m/s

was established in 2009 and was

approved by SMC's predecessor.

Further lowering walking speed

leads to higher cycle lengths that

would result in higher overall wait

times for pedestrians and local

traffic such as transit and

automobile vehicles.

Resolved at the SMC level.

The pedestrian walking speeds

should only be lowered on a case-

by-case basis as per TAC

Guidelines. For example, lower

walking speeds are reasonable in

areas with high concentrations of

seniors or people with mobility

disabilities.

2 Expand the coordination

studies design strategy

proposed for the

downtown core to other

areas that have similar

characteristics to the

downtown core.

Currently, there are no quantitative

criteria in place to identify what

are areas that encourage walking.

This approach would be subjective

and too vague practitioners to

interpret.

Escalated and resolved at the

Senior Management level.

Since there are other policies in

development that will address how

"areas that should encourage walk"

is identified, it was temporarily

omitted.

3 Use projected pedestrian

volume and delays when

conducting warrant

analysis for future

conditions

Since this is a slight deviation

from OTM Book 12, direction

from SMC is needed.


The decision was to include this

step to make the warrant analysis

more conservative.

4 Limit the variation of

cycle length of adaptive

traffic control systems

(ATCS) because it can

result in longer cycle

lengths that put non-auto

traffic at a disadvantage.

Recognizing that there are issues

in installing ATCS in dense urban

settings, ATSC is being removed

in certain sections of the

downtown core. ATCS is more

applicable in suburban areas and in

close proximity to event venues

where traffic is highly variable.

ATCS's flexibility to vary cycle

lengths is needed to allow for

effective response to variability in

demand.


Agreed to restrict of use of ATCS

in the downtown except in close

proximity to major traffic

generators. Agreed to restrict

cycle length to max 144 in peak

periods, max 128 in off-peak

periods and max 160 for special

traffic diversion plans.


5 Conduct coordination

studies for bicycles when

30% of the traffic volume

is bicycle.

There needs to be a balance of

needs for all users. A 30%

threshold is too low to justify for

conducting coordination studies

for bicycles.

Escalated and resolved at the

Senior Management level.

The decision was to increase the

threshold to 50%.

1

After SMC review, the revised Technical Report was prepared, incorporating all comments, 2

suggestions, and directions received. The outstanding items were highlighted for senior 3

management to review and provide guidance. 4

5

Senior Management Review 6 If institutional differences still could not be resolved at the SMC, it would be escalated to senior 7

management to provide direction. There were two outstanding items (Table 1) that required 8

senior management's attention first before the Technical Report could be finalized. Details can be 9

found in Table 1. Once the Technical Report was finalized, an Executive Summary document 10

and a "Policies and Strategies" document were created and submitted to senior management for 11

final review and approval. Final approval allowed dissemination of the document to the public 12

via the City's website. 13

The Technical Report and Policies and Strategies documents are living documents. Since 14

traffic signal technology changes at a rapid pace, it is important that ITSO updates the document 15

on a yearly basis to reflect current conditions. In addition to the yearly updates, a comprehensive 16

review is planned after five years to ensure all policies and strategies are still in line with the 17

visions, goals, and objectives of the Official Plan and the Agenda. 18

19

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK 20 Though the City’s traffic signal operations were guided by SOPs, these SOPs were sometimes 21

inconsistent, incomplete, or out-of-date. The development of the "Traffic Signal Operations 22

Policies and Strategies" document addressed this gap, by providing written policies to guide the 23

City’s traffic signal operations. The document was developed by the practitioners of traffic signal 24

operations in consultation with stakeholders. The document addresses the challenge for 25

practitioners when policies are created by policy makers who have limited appreciation for the 26

technical complexity of implementing the strategy to address a specific policy. It also addresses 27

the challenge of policy development where the agency’s established policies are not fully 28

understood by the implementing staff, or the implementing staff may not recognize that the 29

policy was established. 30

The "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document was developed 31

following a policy developmental framework that complies with the visions, goals, and 32

objectives of the Toronto Official Plan and Transportation Services Strategic Agenda. The five-33

step policy-making process used to develop the document allowed for input from stakeholders 34

and Transportation Services senior management. 35

Though policy-based traffic control can be better understood by a hierarchy of priorities 36

(16), it often raises sensitivity to public concern on how different road users are prioritized at a 37

signalized intersection and how corridors are prioritized when conducting signal coordination 38

studies. Thus, a context sensitive approach that considers the environment of the traffic signal 39

was used to create the policies and strategies. In the third step of the process, stakeholders, who 40

have their own goals, focuses, and ideas that are typically competing with each other, were 41

engaged. This was the most challenging step of the process because trade-offs are inevitable 42


when balancing the needs and concerns of each stakeholder. Signal operation policies and 1

expectations can vary based on the users, roadway facilities, and mode split. Therefore, 2

stakeholders were engaged to ensure that signal operations policies were developed within the 3

correct context. Though this step attempts to address the sensitivities of how different road users 4

are prioritized at a signalized intersection, it cannot eliminate it. 5

Signal operation policies should be clearly documented and thoroughly communicated 6

within an agency to those who operate and maintain the signal system (3). The document will be 7

used by all City units and external agencies who are involved with day-to-day traffic signal 8

planning and operations. The current policy-making approach encourages input and involvement 9

of those involved with traffic signal operations and planning. The "Traffic Signal Operations 10

Policies and Strategies" document has long-term impact on the City's traffic signal planning 11

operations, ensuring consistency across all agencies throughout the City, avoiding duplication of 12

resources and promoting transparency by providing the public with information on how the City 13

operates its traffic signals. 14

Following the release of the "Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies" document 15

on the Internet, ITSO will hold four half-day workshops across the City to familiarise staff with 16

the new document and to gather input for any future revisions. ITSO will be updating the City’s 17

current signal operations SOPs to reflect the policies and strategies established in the document. 18

ITSO will also be updating the document on a yearly basis to maintain consistency, 19

completeness and relevance to current transportation conditions. As traffic signal technology 20

changes at a rapid pace, ITSO will undertake a comprehensive review of the document in 2020. 21

22


REFERENCES 1 1. City of Toronto. The History of Toronto: An 11,000-Year Journey – The Modern 2

Metropolis, From 1951. 3

http://www.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=24f42118b7412410VgnVCM104

000071d60f89RCRD. Accessed July 12, 2015. 5

2. National Association of City Transportation Officials. Urban Street Design Guide. Island 6

Press, Washington, D.C., 2013. 7

3. Koonce, P., L. Rodegerdts, S. Quayle, S. Beaird, C. Braud, J. Bonneson, P. Tarnoff, and T. 8

Urbanik. Traffic Signal Timing Manual. Publication FHWA-HOP-08-024. FHWA, U.S. 9

Department of Transportation, 2008. 10

4. Wright, G. Toronto Official Plan. City Planning, City of Toronto, 2010. 11

5. City of Toronto. Transportation Services Strategic Agenda 2014-2018. Transportation 12

Services, City of Toronto, 2014. 13

6. City of Toronto. Accessing City Hall – Administrative Structure. 14

http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=2e8732d0b6d1e310VgnVCM115

0000071d60f89RCRD. Accessed July 12, 2015. 16

7. Merriam-WebsterTM

. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition. Merriam-17

Webster, Inc., United States, 2007. 18

8. Farang, M. A Guide to Policy Development. Office of the Auditor General Manitoba, 2003. 19

9. Bissessar, R., L.L. Cheung, and H. Le. Traffic Signal Operations Policies and Strategies. 20

Transportation Services, City of Toronto, 2015. 21

10. Smallwood, G., S. Schijns, M. Tedesco, and M. Oliviera. Ontario Traffic Manual (OTM) 22

Book 12: Traffic Signals. Ministry of Transportation Ontario, 2012. 23

11. D’Angelo, M., H. Solomon, A. Hadayeghi, B. Malone, and B. Applebee. Ontario Traffic 24

Council (OTC) Bicycle Traffic Signals Guide. Ministry of Transportation Ontario, 2012. 25

12. Bacquie, R., H. Lo, M. Mascarenhas, B. Yano, J. Gowrie, M. Parkhill, M. Masliah, and C. 26

Philp. Ontario Traffic Manual (OTM) Book 15: Pedestrian Crossing Facilities. Ministry of 27

Transportation Ontario, 2010. 28

13. Berg, S., R. De Gannes, T. Difede, and J. Worron. Ontario Traffic Manual (OTM) Book 7: 29

Temporary Conditions. Ministry of Transportation Ontario, 2014. 30

14. Federal Highway Administration. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) 31

for Streets and Highways: 2009 Edition. FHWA, U.S. Department of Transportation, 2009. 32

15. Montufar, J, G. Rempel, and S. Klassen. Pedestrian Walking Speed for Traffic Operations 33

and Safety in Canada – TAC Technical Report. Transportation Association of Canada, 34

2013. 35

16. Urbanik, T. Policy Based Traffic Signal Control. In The 2000 Annual Meeting 36

Compendium of Papers, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Washington, D.C, 2000. 37

development of an updated traffic signal operations ...docs.trb.org/prp/16-5451.pdf · 1...

Documents