Comparative Assessment of Traffic Control Parameters within an UTC-Distributed System

Abstract

Modern urban traffic control (UTC) systems are a key element of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). They represent the answer to the need of increased road network capacity and provide important benefits by reducing delays, stops, and travel times. Traffic parameters, measured or computed in the field, enable an UTC system to operate in a fully adaptive mode. This way, local decision units are able to follow variations in the traffic behavior and produce optimal signaling plans. Therefore, it is highly important to have this information within a distributed approach, where neighboring junctions cooperate to produce optimal control strategies. This paper aims to demonstrate the importance of different traffic parameters and how their absence affects the signaling plans and the accuracy of traffic analyses. The present study uses a local adaptation simulation option embedded in the Synchro 7 modeling tool to assess and classify these parameters according to their impact on performing efficient traffic control; the results can be deployed in any real UTC distributed system to ensure that critical information is successfully exchanged between its local decision units to maintain a fully adaptive operation.