Traffic control systems have reached a high level of sophistication: they are general purpose machines that can, in principle, run any traffic control software. The firmware they are running turns them into special purpose machines able to operate only according to some pre-defined rules. The firmware usually allows limited customizations through parameters, but it does not support the introduction of new control schemes. As a result, implementing a new traffic control scheme requires the re-implementation of the firmware, a complex task given the low-level programming required. The...
In this paper, the authors report on research that shows that high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes do not reduce the capacity of general purpose (GP) lanes. Empirical evidence, complemented with simulations, enable the authors to describe how to estimate total bottneleck capacity and how deploy HOV lanes without hindering vehicle flow. The authors also offer a dynamic strategy that increases a bottleneck's total discharge rate.
This paper describes a modular compilation scheme for distributed synchronous programming. The approach is first described mathematically and then implemented as a library to distribute Simulink (59). Application of the scheme is illustrated by developing a control system to coordinate traffic signals.
For networks consisting of a single route the Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) can be predicted analytically; but when the networks consist of multiple overlapping routes the flows observed in congestion for a given density are less than those one would predict if the routes were homogeneously congested and did not overlap. These types of networks also tend to jam at densities that are only a fraction of their routes’ average jam density. This paper provides an explanation for this phenomena. It shows that, even for perfectly homogeneous networks with spatially uniform travel patterns...
New ideas are explored for managing multimodal traffic on isolated approaches to signalized intersections. Strategies are proposed that both: segregate distinct modes along the approach, and more effectively resolve the disruptive capacity-reducing conflicts that arise between through moving and turning traffic traveling in adjacent lanes. The proposed schemes produce capacities that consistently and significantly exceed those of conventional intersection treatments, and reduce travel delays for all modes. Observations at a real intersection support these claims.
This paper evaluates strategies for operating buses on signal-controlled arterials using special lanes that are made intermittently available to general traffic. The advantage of special bus lanes, intermittent or dedicated, is that they free buses from traffic interference; the disadvantage is that they disrupt traffic. We find that intermittent lanes, unlike dedicated ones, do not significantly reduce street capacity. Intermittence, however, increases the average traffic density at which the demand is served, and as a result increases traffic delay. These delays are more than offset by...
Simulations and field experiments in previous works suggest that a freeway’s general purpose lanes (those not dedicated to high occupancy vehicles) discharge vehicles from bottlenecks at an equal or higher average rate when one of the lanes is devoted to high occupancy vehicles than when it is not. This result was used in these previous works to develop formulae for the total discharge rate of bottlenecks, with and without dedicated lanes, as a function of the percentage of high occupancy vehicles in the traffic stream.This present paper extends these ideas by examining the effect of...
Traffic congestion is a growing problem in Nairobi, Kenya, resulting from rapidly increasing population and the crowding of motorized traffic onto a limited street network. This report includes analysis of the traffic conditions in Nairobi, the expected effects of further growth in demand, and a set of recommendations for how to improve the performance of the street network. Data describing motorized vehicle traffic was used to build a simulation model of Nairobi’s street network considering cars and matatus. This model was used to analyze traffic conditions at the city-scale under...
In recent years, the reduction of freight vehicle trips during peak hours has been a common policy goal. To this end, policies have been implemented to shift logistics operations to nighttime hours. The purpose of such policies has generally been to mitigate congestion and environmental impacts. However, the atmospheric boundary layer is generally more stable during the night than the day. Consequently, shifting logistics operations to the night may increase 24‐hour average concentrations of diesel exhaust pollutants in many locations. This paper presents realistic scenarios for two...
This paper shows that a macroscopic fundamental diagram (MFD) relating flow and average density must exist on any street with blocks of diverse widths and lengths, but no turns, even if all or some of the intersections are controlled by arbitrarily timed traffic signals. The timing patterns are assumed to be fixed in time. Exact expressions in terms of a shortest path recipe are given, both, for the street’s capacity and its MFD. Approximate formulas that require little data are also given.Conditions under which the results can be approximately extended to networks encompassing large city...
