Signal Timing Optimization for Improved Person Mobility and Air Quality

015944092016Final ReportPDFTech ReportUMAR24-14BDTRT12-G-UTC01 (Grant)Air qualityExhaust gasesIsolated intersectionsMobilityOptimizationTraffic delaysTraffic signal control systemsTraffic signal timingEnvironmentHighwaysOperations and Traffic ManagementUnited StatesMassachusettsNew England University Transportation CenterChristofa, EleniUniversity of Massachusetts at AmherstNew England University Transportation CenterUnited States. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Innovative Technology Administration. Office of the AdministratorUS Transportation CollectionContinuous transportation demand growth in recent years has led to many traffic issues in urban areas. Among the most challenging ones are traffic congestion and the associated vehicular emissions. Efficient design of traffic signal control systems can be a promising approach to address these problems. A thorough review of the literature suggests that although there are some developed modal emission estimation models, there is no real-time signal timing optimization algorithm to minimize emissions or a combination of emission and person delay that have been estimated based on these models. The initial objective was to develop a real-time signal control system that simultaneously minimizes person delay and emissions for both cars and buses in bi-modal transportation networks. However, after the initial literature review, it made more sense to start by developing a real-time signal control strategy to minimize emissions at an isolated intersection before combining the two objectives. Therefore, this research project first developed a real-time signal control system to minimize total car and bus emissions at an isolated intersection that operates in undersaturated traffic conditions while research efforts to combine the two objectives are still in progress. The developed signal control optimization can assist transportation agencies in utilizing traffic signals to minimize emissions in critically polluted areas.78