The objective of this paper is to assess attributes such as accuracy, duration for a single intersection application, format, measures of effectiveness, cost, complexity, flexibility, and disk storage of signalized intersection capacity analysis software. All software tested have strengths and weaknesses, several of which were revealed during a series of FHWA/LTAP seminars. Spreadsheet applications are the most flexible, bound only by the user's traffic and spreadsheet expertise. TRANSYT-7F (T7F) outputs the most accurate delay estimates, but its user interface and output are antiquated. HCS's input and output are not much better than T7F's, but the inputs are closely in line with the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) requirements for capacity analysis and thus intuitive to the user. HCM/Cinema has the friendliest user interface, produces appealing output, and offers NETSIM-based on-screen animation. (A)
Abstract