Framework for Quantitative Annual Evaluation of Traffic Signal Systems

The evaluation of traffic signal systems on an agency level can be of great importance for identifying problems, self-assessing, budgeting, creating a strategy for future steps, and so on. The most famous similar effort of this type is the National Traffic Signal Report Card, which is used as an evaluation methodology for agencies countrywide. The main difference in the proposed methodology is that it steps away from qualitative evaluation and grading and presents a new set of procedures for implementation of quantitative—and therefore more unbiased—evaluation methodology. The proposed methodology should enable self-evaluation and comparison between agencies in relation to agency management, traffic signal operations, signal timing practices, traffic monitoring, data collection, and maintenance. For two agencies, the numerical and logical values of the answers are used in the evaluation process to obtain preliminary results that are displayed with a confidence measure to explain that process. The proposed methodology shows potential, especially if the number of the available data types increases with the introduction of high-resolution data-logging controllers into regular operations. With those additional performance measures, the methodology could be used for tracking the results of operating traffic signals by government institutions or private companies.