This session will qualify for PDH credits for attendees.

Workshop Description

Standard practices for traffic signal operations in Canada were designed around a traffic system which only included general motor vehicle traffic lanes and sidewalks. However, in recent years with a rise in interest in sustainable transportation modes such as cycling and walking, and an increased emphasis on safety, Canadian streets increasingly include features such as separate bicycle paths and bus lanes. As a result, intersections are increasingly including additional features such as fully-protected phases for turning movements, bicycle phases, transit phases, and/or leading pedestrian/bicycle intervals.

In this training session, Narayan Donaldson of Mobycon will lead a training on traffic signal operations practices, sharing standard practices from the Netherlands that can be implemented within Canada’s current regulations to improve multimodal level of service.

The key topics that will be covered include:

• Principles of traffic signal operations for good multimodal level of service;
• How to introduce flexibility into signal coordination to reduce delay for non-coordinated movements (i.e. pedestrians, cyclists and transit), while still providing progression for motor vehicle traffic. Topics include permissive periods, peer-to-peer signal communication, and platoon detection;
• How to design motor vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian detection zones to maximize green
  utilization and minimize cycle lengths;
• How to implement fully-protected turning phases or Leading Pedestrian/Bicycle Intervals efficiently, leveraging phase order and intersection geometry to reduce lost time between phases; and
• How to design signal operations to maximize the effectiveness of Transit Signal Priority and minimize its impacts on other users.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the training, participants will be able to implement changes to operating procedures which can significantly improve multimodal level of service and/or safety at signalized intersections including:

• Implementing permissive periods in signal coordination plans;
• Implementing peer-to-peer communication and/or platoon detection for signal progression
  in variable-cycle-length networks;
• Optimally selecting motor vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian detector positions, dimensions,
  and settings;
• Selecting phase orders to minimize lost time and take advantage of geometric compatibility
  when using fully-protected turning phases or Leading Pedestrian/Bicycle Intervals;
• Identifying intersection geometry characteristics which can enable more efficient signal operations with fully-protected signal phases and/or Transit Signal Priority; and
• Determining Transit Signal Priority settings to achieve the desired balance between signal coordination, transit performance, and delay to other road users.

Target Audience

This training is intended for professionals who work directly with traffic signal operations, such as traffic signals engineers and technicians, as well as professionals who influence traffic signal operations such as signal operations managers, active transportation infrastructure planners/engineers, transit operations planners, and other traffic engineers.

Team Bios

Narayan Donaldson
Role: Lead Trainer

Narayan is a transportation planner with six years of experience in Canada and the Netherlands. He has a master’s in civil engineering from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where he specialized in traffic operations and wrote his thesis on transit signal priority in fully-actuated coordinated networks. He worked for three years for the City of Toronto and Toronto Transit Commission designing, testing and implementing traffic signal programs, and worked for two years at Movensis B.V. in the Netherlands, designing and programming new features for their signal controller software, including real-time clearance times for pedestrians, speed-based and/or platoon-based green extensions for bicycles, bicycle signal priority algorithms, and custom queue spillback mitigation systems.

Okka Maw
Role: Trainer

Okka is an integrated mobility consultant in Canada with experience from Australia in both the private and public sector. He previously worked within the New South Wales State Government as a senior transport planner for Transport for NSW as well as roles within transportation consultancies in New South Wales and Queensland. Okka has provided consulting services to a range of clients including private developers, construction contractors, retail operators, local government and state government agencies. His broad professional experience has allowed him to understand transportation and mobility in urban and rural environments through his work in traffic engineering, road safety, active travel planning, strategic transportation planning and design reviews. As a result of his work in Movement and Place in Sydney, Australia, Okka has also developed a pragmatic approach to placemaking and human-centered planning and reducing car dependency.

Emily Thomason
Role: Trainer

Emily is a Transportation Planner with seven years of experience in bicycle, pedestrian and transit planning. She has a master’s in urban and regional planning and has worked for clients across North America and in Europe. She specializes in designing bicycle infrastructure that considers the experience of the most safety-conscious user. She has participated in on-the-ground studies of bicycle facilities in Denmark and the Netherlands with particular focus on protected intersections and roundabouts. She is experienced in leading interactive workshops and presentations, such as a 2023 ThinkBike workshop. Her experience as a transit planner has also given her an expertise on ways to optimize interactions between transit and bike traffic. She has biked in many different cities and countries and enjoys getting around by walking, cycling and using transit.

Eric Post
Role: Trainer

Eric is an Integrated Mobility Consultant in Mobycon’s North American office in Ottawa. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and geography and is a graduate of the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program at Queen’s University. Eric supports project delivery and coordination on a variety of active transportation planning, design, and policy projects across North America. He has developed local cycling networks, created concept designs of cycling facilities, and conducted best practice research to support the development of active transportation plans and strategies. He also has experience in public engagement, facilitating workshops and consulting with stakeholders and the public. Eric is passionate about creating communities that are sustainable and provide a high quality of life, and believes a greater shift to active modes of transportation is crucial to achieve this.