TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEMS: TECHNIQUES FOR OPTIMIZING OPERATION

THIS DISCUSSION CONCENTRATES ON THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF OPTIMIZATION OF EXISTING SIGNAL SYSTEMS. FIVE OF THE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO DEVELOP IMPROVED SIGNAL TIMING FOR EITHER A NETWORK OR A LINEAR SYSTEM ARE DESCRIBED. THE WEBSTER OPTIMIZATION OF CYCLES AND SPLITS MINIMIZES TOTAL DELAY, BASED ON A FORMULA DERIVED FOR CYCLE LENGTH AND SPLITS. LITTLE'S MAXIMAL BANDWIDTH MODEL IS A TECHNIQUE THAT STRATEGICALLY DETERMINES SIGNAL OFFSETS ALONG AN ARTERY, GIVEN CYCLE LENGTH, SPLITS, CERTAIN TRAFFIC CHARACTERISTICS AND SIGNAL SPACING. A THIRD TECHNIQUE, DEVELOPED AT THE BRITISH ROAD RESEARCH LABORATORY, OPTIMIZES OFFSETS IN A FIXED-TIME SIGNAL TIMING PLAN FOR AN ARTERY OR A CLOSED NETWORK. SIGOP, A FOURTH APPROACH, DETERMINES AN OPTIMUM PLAN OF CYCLE LENGTH, PHASE SPLITS, AND OFFSETS FOR THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS IN THE NETWORK. A FIFTH METHOD FOR NETWORK SIGNAL TIMING IS CALLED TRANSYT AND HAS CHARACTERISTICS SIMILAR TO THOSE OF SIGOP. THE ARTICLE LISTS IMPROVEMENTS AND GIVES A HYPOTHETICAL OPERATION BASED ON WORK IN LOS ANGELES, RELATING PROGRAM TO COST-EFFECTIVENESS.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • pp 51-53, 3 TAB
• Corporate Authors:

  Itte, University of California, Berkeley

  23rd California Transportation & Public Works Conference
  ,   United States 
• Authors:
  • Capelle, D G
• Publication Date: 1971-3

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Computer programs; Traffic control; Traffic flow theory; Traffic signal control systems; Traffic signal timing
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00226264
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 1 1972 12:00AM