01126729

Component

Traffic signal timing optimization and control are one of the most cost-effective ways of improving urban arterial network congestions. Actuated traffic signal control system is designed to provide green times where they are needed and it uses pre-specified gap-out time to determine early termination of current phase green time. However, the effectiveness of its signal state decisions is limited by its dependence on aggregated vehicle information from fixed point sensors located near the stop bar or upstream at signalized intersections. With the emerging wireless location technology (WLT), individual vehicle information (e.g., speed, location, etc.) is expected to be utilized for traffic signal control applications. A recent study evaluated a dynamic gap-out feature that terminates existing green without elapsing gap-out time if no vehicles would arrive within the gap-out time. Even though the timing plan was not optimized under the dynamic gap-out feature, the study showed 20% delay savings over regular gap-out at a two one-way street intersection. This paper complements the previously presented dynamic gap-out study. In this study timing plans under dynamic gap-out feature are optimized using a Genetic Algorithm method and evaluated with VISSIM microscopic simulation model with a COM interface. The results based on the GA-based optimization at a hypothetical four-leg intersection indicated that the dynamic gap-out reduced vehicular delays by 12.5% when compared to existing regular gap-out.

01120148

09-2802

English

19p

2009

Transportation Research Board 88th Annual Meeting

DVD

Figures (4) ; References (23) ; Tables (3)

Arterial highways; Automatic vehicle location; Four leg intersections; Genetic algorithms; Operations; Optimization; Signalized intersections; Traffic signal control systems; Traffic signal timing; Wireless communication systems

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I73: Traffic Control

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2009 Paper #09-2802

TRIS, TRB

Jan 30 2009 7:09PM