Comparison of Flow- and Bandwidth-Based Methods of Traffic Signal Offset Optimization
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 149, Issue 5
Abstract
Methods of optimizing offsets in coordinated traffic signal systems can be grouped into two categories: bandwidth based and flow based (e.g., minimizing delay). To our knowledge, no studies have directly compared methods from both categories. This study fills this gap with quantitative comparison between flow- and bandwidth-based methods. This paper evaluates the performance of 11 methods of offset optimization, including several different objectives that make use of arrival profiles (e.g., maximizing arrivals on green, minimizing delay, minimizing the number of stops) and several different methods of bandwidth maximization. These are compared against a default scenario with all offsets set to zero, and a manual method for determining offsets. An eight-intersection simulation network is used for comparison. The outcomes are compared in terms of the effective bandwidth, delay and stops, arrivals on green, and travel time. The results show that flow-based methods that incorporate models of delay and/or stops tend to yield more directionally balanced travel delays as well as lower total arterial delay and stops. Bandwidth-based methods achieved higher bandwidth and arrivals on green. Some additional comparisons are made among the 11 tested methods.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 149 • Issue 5 • May 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 3, 2022
Accepted: Dec 9, 2022
Published online: Mar 15, 2023
Published in print: May 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Aug 15, 2023
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