Analysis of methods for forming traffic signal coordinated timing plans

Abstract

Nowadays, many works have been published worldwide in the field of coordinating traffic lights in cities, reflecting the significant interest of transport researchers in this topic and describing the results of a massive amount of work done in this direction. It has led to creation several software tools for fixed-time and actuated coordination, which is used around the world in the practical activities of governments responsible for traffic management in cities. But the significant and inconsistent intensity of publications in this area also demonstrates that the interest of researchers in the issues of traffic flows coordination has been observed up to the present time.

The paper deals the results of the analysis of methods for forming traffic signal coordinated timing plans on arterials or its arteries. Almost all of the analysed methods of coordination are characterised by the lack of attention of their developers to the issues of uniform motion of the platoon progression along the coordinated segments of the road network. The mention of the uniform motion of the vehicle under the conditions of coordinated traffic signals operation is found only in isolated cases that have not ended in practically usable recommendations. In general, this indicates that researchers are not entirely focused on the topic of coordination due to the fact that its primary and main issues have not been fully solved yet – the determination of rational parameters of traffic light control cycles and effective offsets of their start, taking into account additional vehicles queued at the stop-line at the downstream intersections. The results of the conducted research should become the main basis for forming new traffic signal coordinated timing plan methods.

Key words: traffic management, efficiency, progression, coordinated timing plan, traffic flow.