TRAFFIC FLOW OPTIMIZATION OF AN URBAN ARTERIAL

Abstract

Pakistan has encountered a fast growth of the vehicle population in most recent one decade. In this span the vehicle population raised up to 12 million and one of the real reasons is rapid Urbanization, since individuals are relocating from towns to urban areas, and the increase in car ownership. Due to the above mentioned facts there is an increase in the need for solutions of controlling the traffic to increase road safety and protect the environment. The coordination of a signal controlled intersections in a corridor can have a significant effect on the travel time, fuel consumption and emissions. Signal controlled intersections in a corridor can be synchronized by several techniques. We used the offset method of optimization. Offset optimization of a signal is based on the average travel time between the intersection and the average traffic volume at each intersection. The same can also be done for individual signal controlled intersection by coordinating the signal timing according to the traffic flow on each leg of the intersection. By using the above techniques, we observed a considerable decrease in travel time delay, fuel consumption and emissions.