SUBDIVISION OF SIGNAL SYSTEMS INTO CONTROL AREAS

QUESTIONS THAT FACE TRAFFIC ENGINEERS ARE DISCUSSED. THEY ARE, NAMELY, WHETHER OR NOT TO COORDINATE THE TIMING AT TWO ADJACENT SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS, AND WHETHER OR NOT TO SUBDIVIDE A SIGNALIZED NETWORK INTO TWO OR MORE URBAN TRAFFIC CONTROL AREAS; HOW TO LOCATE CANDIDATE SUBDIVISION BOUNDARIES WHICH MIGHT PROVE BENEFICIAL; AND AND HOW TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT SUBDIVISION ALONG A PARTICULAR BOUNDARY IS BENEFICIAL. ANALYTICAL METHODOLOGY EMPLOYING COMPUTER ANALYSIS PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN USED TO RESOLVE THESE QUESTIONS. EXPERIMENTS HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT THE DISPERSION EXPERIENCED WITHIN A PLATOON OF TRAFFIC RELEASED FROM A SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION INCREASES WITH THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED. AS A RESULT, THE BENEFITS TO BE DERIVED FROM COORDINATING ADJACENT SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS TENDS TO DIMINISH AS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS IS INCREASED. A COUPLING INDEX IS DEFINED AND THE APPLICATION OF THE WINSTON-SALEM STUDY IS DESCRIBED. ONE OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE VARIATIONS IN THE DEFINITION OF CONTROL AREAS AS A FUNCTION OF TIME OF DAY SINCE THE VOLUME ON MANY OF THE LINKS VARIED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH TIME. AFTER SUBDIVISION OF THE NETWORK WAS ACCOMPLISHED AN ANALYSIS OF BENEFITS WAS CONDUCTED TO ESTABLISH THE VALIDITY OF THE DECOUPLING PROCESS. THE COUPLING INDEX ANALYSIS DESCRIBED HERE PROVIDES A SIMPLE STRAIGHTFORWARD TECHNIQUE BY WHICH TO IDENTIFY THE BOUNDARIES AT WHICH POTENTIALLY BENEFICIAL SUBDIVISION MAY BE ACCOMPLISHED.

• Authors:
  • Yagoda, H N
  • Principe, E H
  • Vick, C E
  • Leonard, B
• Publication Date: 1973-9

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 42-5
• Serial:
  • Traffic Engineering, Inst Traffic Engr
  • Volume: 43
  • Issue Number: 12

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Analysis; Coordination; Couplers; Indexes (Information management); Intersections; Signalization; Traffic control; Traffic engineering
• Uncontrolled Terms: Boundaries
• Old TRIS Terms: Dispersion; Indexes (Locators); Traffic control systems
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00226825
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 27 1974 12:00AM