Traffic signal problems

The intersection traffic signal control problem (ITSCP) has become even more important as traffic congestion has been more intractable. The ITSCP seeks an efficient schedule for traffic signal settings at intersections with the goal of maximizing traffic flow while considering various factors such as real-time strategies, signal timing constraints, rapid developments in traffic systems, and practical implementation. Since the factors constituting the ITSCP exhibit stochastically complicated interactions, it is essential to identify these factors to propose solution methods that can address this complexity and still be practically implemented.

Objective

The objective of this review is to provide a survey of problems, methods, and practices in the evaluation of the ITSCP. In this paper, a unified terminology for the ITSCP and a citation network of the current body of relevant research are accordingly presented, and various assumptions, constraints, and solution approaches are summarized. A review across the entire body of knowledge throughout the history of the ITSCP is therefore provided. This review also highlights open issues and challenges that remain to be addressed by future research.

Introduction

In this paper, we review research on the intersection traffic signal control problem.Research on the ITSCP has grown much more important with increasing traffic congestion. Traffic congestion has always been a crucial aspect of urban planning but has become a serious issue that must be addressed due to the rapid increase in the number of vehicles and transportation demand.Traffic signal control is an important tool in traffic flow management as it is considered as one of the most effective ways to reduce traffic congestion at intersections

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the ITSCP background and defines the terms to be used throughout the paper. Section 3 describes the details and issues of the ITSCP. The next two sections classify the ITSCP according to several perspectives: Section 4 describes the classification schemes and Section 5 classifies the traffic flow models and methods used to solve the ITSCP. Finally, Section 6 summarizes the current state of research and suggests directions for future research.