Validating the Warrants for Installing or Removing Traffic Signals at Selected Intersections in Hawassa City

Abstract

Signalized and non-signalized intersections are checked for their traffic flow for both vehicular as well as pedestrian volume for assurance of the installation or removal of traffic signal. This would ensure a smoother traffic flow specifically in the intersection site and on the road network and reduces delay and accident rates thereby helping the users. The major objective of this study is evaluating the warrants for traffic signalization or removal for both non-signalized and signalized intersection respectively. If a warrant exists to use traffic signal control in signalized and non-signalized intersection, an update for traffic signal timing is suggested as the old traffic count is different from the contemporary one. Highway Capacity Manual 2000 and Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is used for procedures and analysis. As MUTCD states, Warrants 1 through 9 is checked for both signalized (Near Daetie) and non-signalized (near Aroge Gebeya) intersections. To check the warrants, a 12-hour traffic data is collected from both intersections for vehicular as well as pedestrian for a weekday and a weekend. All vehicular and pedestrian volume count and geometric data required for the analysis of signal warrants and signal time design are recorded using video recorder and manually counted on sheets at desk in the office. The vehicular traffic data is collected on February 06, 2024 on Tuesday. 18,160 and 25,242 vehicular traffic are collected for Gebeya and Daetie intersections respectively. Both intersections are warranted for signalizations since the 8 hour, 4 hours, peak hour warrants and pedestrian volume warrants are satisfied for both cases. After the warrants are checked, the signal time update was conducted for Daetie intersection and the optimum cycle time found was 72 seconds.