Modeling and control of variable approach lanes on an arterial road: a case study of Dalian
Unbalanced directional traffic, which often exists at intersection approaches, is an important factor to induce traffic congestion on urban streets. Considering the settings of variable approach lanes, the presence of left-turn bays, and a variety of vehicle categories on an arterial road, an optimization model that minimizes the total delay is formulated and a control method that coordinates a variable sign and the corresponding signal group is put forward. To design the signal control scenarios with time of day, the procedure for using the proposed methodology is also presented in practice. To verify the given methodology, a case study is implemented using the field data and the four scenarios. The results reveal that the new methodology can better respond to the time-varying traffic flow at intersection approaches, and the provision of variable approach lanes and left-turn bays are helpful to reduce the average delay and enhance the average speed.