Queue Length as Measure of Effectiveness for Evaluating Level of Service at Signalized Intersections under Non-Lane based Traffic Conditions

Several measures are available for evaluating the quality of service at signalized intersections such as delay, density, and the ratio of volume-to-capacity. In various literatures, queue length is reported as the most reliable measure to evaluate the operational performance of signalized intersections under uniformed and mixed traffic conditions. However, queue length estimated from the available methods as suggested in the literature is not directly applicable to the traffic conditions as prevailing on Indian roads and intersections. The present study attempts a new methodology for estimating queue length at the approaches of signalized intersection to evaluate the level of service under non-lane based traffic conditions. Field data was collected at various locations in the Warangal and Hyderabad cities and the queued vehicles as observed at the approaches of signalized intersections were analysed. Further, a queue length model was proposed by examining the sensitivity of various factors affecting it under mixed traffic conditions. The study recommended the development of a queue length model based on simulation instead of field queue length model.