Combined Model for Signal Control and Route Choice in Urban Traffic Networks

Traffic signals have a significant effect on the choice of routes by motorists in urban areas. They are of primary importance in the development of advanced traffic management strategies that involve dynamic rerouting of traffic flows through signal-controlled street networks. A combined network model that simultaneously accounts for both the route choices made by motorists and the desired signal controls to match these choices is presented. Given origin-destination travel demand information, the model generates signal controls to optimize network performance and calculates the resulting traffic volumes in the network. This optimization model inherently reflects the mutual consistency between traffic flows and signal controls. The model is applicable to both fixed-time and demand-responsive signals. Computational procedures and sample network solutions are presented.