Week 1: First Steps

In the first week, though I didn’t do much on Synchro, I’ve been figuring out where to start. Before beginning my work on Seven Corners, I decided to work on an upcoming traffic signal right outside of BASIS McLean first.

It’s a good learning project because it’s less complex than Seven Corners, but it still lets me test out different signal configurations and see how small design choices affect traffic flow. For example, should left turns get their own dedicated arrow, or should drivers yield and find gaps in traffic? Though these decisions seem minor, they have big impacts on the grade and flow of the intersection.

I’m also reading through a signal warrant analysis study from an engineering firm that previously worked on the BASIS traffic signal. Signal warrants are the criteria engineers use to determine whether an intersection needs a traffic signal, considering factors such as traffic volume, crash history, and pedestrian activity. Understanding this methodology is helping me see how professionals approach these decisions.

Testing concepts on the BASIS signal is helping me learn the fundamentals before tackling Seven Corners and all its complexity. Next week, I’ll start building my first Synchro model. For now, I’m focused on learning the principles that will guide my design work later on.