Portable traffic signal timing starts with one measurement: the distance between the stop lines at the two signals. From that, NSW's TS 05492 Appendix A gives a starting all-red and maximum green, and then asks the crew to watch three cycles and adjust. This calculator does both steps, adds the cycle time, capacity and queue for your traffic, and prints a settings card for the controller box.
If you're still deciding between signals and a controller with a bat, read portable traffic lights vs stop/slow bats first.
The four times you set
Every portable signal controller has the same handful of times:
- Yellow. Appendix A sets 4 s for speeds of 70 km/h or less. Its worked example at an 80 km/h approach uses 5 s. Check the maker's instructions above 70 km/h.
- All-red. The time both sides show red so the last released vehicle clears the single lane before the other side moves. This is the one that matters most for safety.
- Minimum green. Fixed at 15 s in every mode (Table 89).
- Maximum green. The longest one side holds green. The table gives a starting value; in fixed time you then size it from the queue, and 20 s is the lowest setting.
Portable traffic signal timing tables
The all-red and maximum green come from the distance between the stop lines and the minimum clearance speed: how fast the last vehicle gets through the work area. Table 90 is for sites where traffic clears at about 20 km/h, Table 91 for about 40 km/h. The approach speed doesn't pick the table: the Appendix A example has an 80 km/h approach but uses the 20 km/h table, because that is the clearance speed it states.
| All-red (s) | Max green (s) | Table 90, about 20 km/h (m) | Table 91, about 40 km/h (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 30 | 0–30 | 0–50 |
| 5 | 35 | 30–45 | 50–90 |
| 10 | 35 | 45–75 | 90–150 |
| 15 | 40 | 75–105 | 150–210 |
| 20 | 40 | 105–135 | 210–270 |
| 25 | 45 | 135–165 | 270–330 |
| 30 | 45 | 165–195 | 330–390 |
| 40 | 50 | 195–250 | 390–500 |
| 50 | 50 | 250–310 | 500–620 |
| 60 | 60 | 310–365 | 620–730 |
| 70 | 70 | 365–415 | 730–830 |
| 80 | 80 | 415–465 | 830–930 |
| 90 | 90 | 465–525 | 930–1050 |
| 100 | 100 | 525–575 | 1050–1150 |
We read both tables from the June 2026 PDF. If your distance is past the end of the table, the designer sets the times.
Choosing the mode
Table 89 lists four modes and who sets each time:
| Mode | What it does | All-red | Max green |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAN/1 | Manual shuttle: a traffic controller passes green from side to side | Set each cycle | Set each cycle |
| MAN/2 | Manual, two-way | Set each cycle | Set each cycle |
| FT | Fixed time: each side gets green in turn, traffic or not | Pre-set for the site | Pre-set for the site |
| VA | Vehicle actuated: detectors call green; rests on all-red with no demand | Pre-set for the site | Pre-set for the site |
Fixed time suits steady traffic. Vehicle actuated suits uneven traffic because a green gaps off once its queue has gone and only runs to the maximum if the other side is waiting. Manual modes need a qualified traffic controller with a radio. In Queensland, run Type 1 or Type 2 signals in paired mode from a single remote for manual shuttle flow where possible, and don't use them where an uncontrolled side road joins the site.
Observe three cycles, then adjust
Appendix A.4 asks you to switch on and watch at least three full cycles before you trust the settings. The log in the tool follows the same steps:
- Clearance. Time how long the last vehicle takes to clear the single lane after its green ends. If any cycle takes longer than the all-red, extend the all-red. The tool rounds the new value up to the next 5 s.
- Fixed time. Count the vehicles still queued at the end of the all-red on each side. Take the highest count over the three cycles and allow 3 s per vehicle for that side's maximum green, but never less than 20 s.
- Vehicle actuated. Time each green with a stopwatch. If one side keeps running to its maximum, add 5 to 10 s to that side's maximum green, watch again and repeat if needed.
Keep checking through the shift. Traffic changes, and the times that worked at 9 am may not suit 3 pm. The queue counter tracks the real queue against your PREPARE TO STOP sign while you work.
A worked example
This is the TS 05492 Appendix A example: a rural highway with a 100 m work area, an 80 km/h approach, 160 m between the stop lines and a minimum clearance speed of 20 km/h.
- Table 90, 135–165 m row: all-red 25 s, max green 45 s. Yellow 5 s at an 80 km/h approach.
- With both sides running to 45 s, the cycle is 45 + 45 + 2 × (5 + 25) = 150 s, or 24 cycles an hour.
- At 250 vehicles an hour one way and 200 the other, 10% heavy, and a discharge rate of 1,500 vehicles an hour of green, each side can carry about 450 vehicles an hour. Loads are 56% and 44%, so queues clear every cycle.
- Each side is stopped for 105 s. Using the NSW queue method (8.5 m per car, 22 m per heavy vehicle, plus 30%), the queue is about 110 m and 100 m.
Now the crew logs three cycles in fixed time. The most vehicles queued at the end of the all-red are 15 on phase 1 and 6 on phase 2. Phase 1's max green stays at 15 × 3 = 45 s; phase 2 drops to 6 × 3 = 18 s, raised to the 20 s minimum. The settings card is updated and goes in the controller box.
How the cycle and queue are worked out
The tool uses the same shuttle arithmetic as the stop/slow planner on our tools page, with the Appendix A times:
- Cycle = max green 1 + max green 2 + 2 × (yellow + all-red). This is the longest cycle, with both sides running to maximum.
- Capacity each way = discharge rate × that side's green ÷ cycle. The discharge rate is a placeholder: count the vehicles released in one green on site.
- Stopped time each way = cycle − that side's green.
- Queue = NSW TS 05492 s11.8.3 method on the stopped time, rounded up to the next 10 m.
- At 90% of capacity or more, queues start carrying over from cycle to cycle.
For the background on clearance time, read working out stop/slow cycle times.
Speed, sight distance and other states
Portable signals are remotely controlled devices, so TS 05492 Table 44 allows them at every permanent speed on TfNSW sites. Drivers must still see the signals from at least 1.5 × D. Queensland requires 60 km/h or less on the approach to any portable traffic control device. On a multi-lane road, manually controlled signals can hold two lanes only with duplicated, synchronised lanterns on the shoulder and median (Table 48).
Queensland times come from TMR's Guideline: Traffic Management at Works on Roads and the maker's instructions, so the tool shows the NSW tables there as a reference only. Other states aren't loaded yet. Whatever the state, the approved TGS and the signal maker's instructions come first. For rural sites with long single-lane sections, see rural road works traffic control and the traffic controllers needed calculator.