CONGESTION-BASED CONTROL SCHEME FOR CLOSELY SPACED, HIGH TRAFFIC DENSITY NETWORKS

The development and field testing of a traffic control policy designed for congested conditions in the high-density sectors of the Manhattan central business district (CBD) are described. Rather than providing progressive movement in the conventional sense, the primary objective of this control policy is to minimize the frequency and extent of intersection spillback. In the Manhattan CBD, queues develop along the cross streets; these queues often spill back into the upstream intersections, physically blocking the movement of traffic along the north-south arterials. The traffic control policy described yields signal timing for the one-way cross streets that exhibit a backward progression and flared green times that increase in the direction of traffic flow. The arterial traffic is serviced by a signal-timing pattern that exhibits zero relative offsets. The NETSIM traffic simulation model was used to test different concepts during the development phase of the effort. The new policy was then compared with the existing timing plan, by using NETSIM, and the results indicated that the number and duration of spillback blockage were markedly decreased, with a concomitant reduction in vehicle travel time and number of stops, coupled with an increase in vehicle trips serviced. A before-and-after field study yielded similar results, with the new policy providing a 20 percent reduction in overall travel time.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1986/1057/1057-007.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=CONGESTION-BASED+CONTROL+SCHEME+FOR+CLOSELY+SPACED%2C+HIGH+TRAFFIC+DENSITY+NETWORKS&author=E.+Lieberman&author=A.+Rathi&author=G.+King&author=S.+Schwartz&publication_year=1986
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309040515
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Traffic Signal Systems. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

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  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Lieberman, E B
  • Rathi, A K
  • King, G F
  • Schwartz, S I
• Publication Date: 1986

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 49-57
• Monograph Title: TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEMS
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1057
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Central business districts; Offsets (Traffic signal timing); Reduction (Chemistry); Traffic congestion; Traffic signal timing; Travel time
• Old TRIS Terms: Reduction
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00460096
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309040515
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Nov 30 1986 12:00AM