Eur. Phys. J. B 70, 257-274 (2009)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2009-00213-5

Operation regimes and slower-is-faster effect in the control of traffic intersections

ETH Zurich, UNO D11, Universitätstr. 41, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland

Corresponding author: ^a dhelbing@ethz.ch

Received: 3 December 2008
Revised: 6 March 2009
Published online: 23 June 2009

Abstract

The efficiency of traffic flows in urban areas is known to crucially depend on signal operation. Here, elements of signal control are discussed, based on the minimization of overall travel times or vehicle queues. Interestingly, we find different operation regimes, some of which involve a “slower-is-faster effect”, where a delayed switching reduces the average travel times. These operation regimes characterize different ways of organizing traffic flows in urban road networks. Besides the optimize-one-phase approach, we discuss the procedure and advantages of optimizing multiple phases as well. To improve the service of vehicle platoons and support the self-organization of “green waves”, it is proposed to consider the price of stopping newly arriving vehicles.