Some Aspects of a Switching Policy for Commuter Flow

A wide range of signal switching policies may be adopted for control of traffic flow between a pair of intersections. One of the most important traffic situations is that in which rush-hour commuter traffic travels towards or away from a city center along radial roads. Under these circumstances opposing and tangential flow may be light. Earlier papers have shown that a modified form of the Dunne-Potts switching policy might be applied to pairs of intersections carrying commuter flow. Efficient and flexible operation of the system under a wide variety of flow conditions, and with the minimum of computer surveillance, was demonstrated. The present paper reports the results of further simulation experiments and discussed tentative solutions of some of the practical problems associated with the proposed scheme.