Explain the implications of increasing the number of phases at a signalized intersection on safety and delay.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The main objectives of signal timing at an intersection are to reduce the
average delay of all vehicles and the likelihood of crashes. These objectives
are achieved by minimizing the possible conflict points when assigning the
right of way to different traffic streams at different times. The objective of
reducing delay, however, sometimes conflicts with that of crash reduction.
This is because the number of distinct phases should be kept to a minimum to
reduce average delay whereas many more distinct phases may be required to
separate all traffic streams from each other.