SYNCHRO and SimTraffic for Traffic Studies

This two-session online course (4 hours per session) provides beginning-to-intermediate training in Synchro and SimTraffic software in reviewing traffic impact studies.

Using a combination of interactive lecture, question and answer, and virtual computer lab, you will become proficient in the Synchro Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) Module, including defining a project (residential, office, industrial or mixed-use) trip generation, trip distribution, and trip assignment using a real-world multi-modal project. Students will use Synchro to review TIA Reports and Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) 7th Edition: A Guide for Multimodal Mobility Analysis (TRB 2022 and HCS7) for analysis of vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists level of service for signalized and unsignalized intersections, and roundabouts. Students will learn how to review Synchro traffic study parameters, including geometrics, multi-modal volumes, and signal timing inputs. The seamless integration of Synchro with SimTraffic, a microsimulation software, will be used to evaluate intersection operations and compare the differences between "isolated - macro-level" Synchro analysis and "network-wide - micro-level" SimTraffic analysis that is recommended for multi-modal, closely spaced intersections and congested corridors. Lastly, this course will teach you how to review and understand the potential differences in delay, level of service, and queuing analysis when using the empirical (Synchro) analysis or the micro-simulation (SimTraffic) analysis.