The late-night, low-volume arterial roadway presents a specific signal control problem. The control decision involves a trade-off between the motorists on the artery and those on the cross street. The motorists on the artery are irritated by frequent stops if signals are not co-ordinated, whereas those on the cross street are annoyed by long waiting time if signals are co-ordinated. The choice between co-ordination and free operation is often subjective, especially when semi actuated signals are involved. A method is described for facilitating the choice between co-ordination and free operation on arterial roadways controlled by semi actuated signals when traffic is light during off-peak hours. The decision is made on the basis of a disutility function that is a combination of the number of stops on the artery and the average cross-street waiting time. A case study was performed to demonstrate the application of this methodology under the closed-loop signal system in the city of Gainesville, Florida. The results indicated that this method provides a promising tool for arterial control with semi actuated signals during late-night hours.
Samenvatting