01368409

Component

One way to reduce excessive fuel consumption and vehicular emissions on urban streets is to maintain optimal signal timings. Generally considered tools to reduce traffic delays and stops, Adaptive Traffic Control Systems continually adapt their signal timings to reflect changes in traffic demand and distribution. However, few Adaptive Traffic Control deployments have been evaluated for their environmental benefits. This study evaluates SCATS Adaptive Traffic Control System in a microsimulation environment and assesses environmental benefits that such a deployment brings. A high-fidelity VISSIM microsimulation model of a 14-intersection network in Park City, Utah, is developed, calibrated, and validated. Special attention is given to simulating various 5-day traffic flows observed in the field. SCATS and Time-Of-Day conventional traffic control are interfaced with VISSIM and their outputs are post-processed in CMEM. Findings show that SCATS outperforms Time-Of-Day traffic control by saving approximately 2% in terms of fuel consumption and other related vehicular emissions. These moderate benefits in environmental performance measures are accompanied by larger savings in traffic performance measures (delays and stops). An analytical formula commonly used to estimate fuel consumption by traffic simulation tools is utilized to reveal the major violator of reduced fuel consumption. The findings show that most of the savings come from a reduction in number of stops which are achieved by SCATS’ superior coordination of traffic on the main arterials. Further research is needed to perform similar evaluation studies in the field.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHB25 Traffic Signal Systems

01362476

12-0749

English

15p

2012

Transportation Research Board 91st Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Adaptive control; Arterial highways; Fuel consumption; Microsimulation; Traffic signal control systems

SCATS (Computer program); VISSIM (Computer model)

Environment; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I15: Environment; I73: Traffic Control

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2012 Paper #12-0749

TRIS, TRB

Feb 8 2012 4:57PM