Development and Testing of a Constrained Optimization Model for Traffic Signal Plan Transition

In advanced traffic signal control systems, plan transition is the process of switching from one timing plan to another to accommodate changes in traffic demand. In traditional coordinated system operation, whether plans are set by time of day or by traffic responsive plan selection, traffic flow can be severely disrupted by the sudden changes in traffic signal timing. Therefore, the quest for a signal plan transition method that minimizes flow disruption during the transition period is well motivated. Although various transition methods have been developed and refined, existing transition methods are not based on optimizing operational measures of effectiveness during plan transition periods. As the first step in remedying this situation, this paper presents a non-linear mathematical model that provides constrained delay minimization through incremental and simultaneous adjustments in offset and cycle length during plan transitions. A simulation study was performed to evaluate the delay performance of the proposed and existing transition methods. According to the simulation results, currently used transition methods tend to assign an excessive amount of green time to the main street, resulting in additional side street delay without performance improvement for the total transportation network. By contrast, the proposed transition method showed measurable improvement in delay performance under a broad range of traffic and geometric conditions.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Lee, Jisun
  • Williams, Billy M
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 88th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2009-1-11 to 2009-1-15
• Date: 2009

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 22p
• Monograph Title: TRB 88th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Green interval (Traffic signal cycle); Mathematical models; Operations; Traffic delays; Traffic flow; Traffic signal control systems; Traffic signal timing; Traffic simulation; Travel demand; Travel time
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01126642
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 09-3169
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 17 2009 9:56AM