Capacity of Multilane All-Way Stop-Controlled Intersections Based on the Conflict Technique

Abstract

This paper presents an improved model for assessing the capacities of vehicular movements at all-way stop-controlled (AWSC) intersections with multilane approaches. In contrast to the current approach-based model incorporated in the 2000 edition of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), the proposed model simplifies the process of estimating the capacities of AWSC intersections and could be applied at any multilane AWSC intersections. On the basis of the conflict technique, a model was developed for estimating the capacities of vehicular movements at multilane AWSC intersections under three traffic demand levels: under-saturated, partially saturated, and fully saturated. Model parameters were calibrated by field data collected from 41 AWSC intersections with various lane configurations throughout the United States. The effectiveness and reliability of the proposed model were verified in comparison with the methodology of HCM 2000 with various lane configurations and traffic demands. The proposed model addresses the major limitations of the current HCM 2000 methodology, which deals only with the conditions of two lanes on each approach at AWSC intersections.