Strategies for traffic signal control in Indian cities

Most Indian cities face oversaturated flow conditions during peak periods. In this paper we revisit the traffic signal control to improve urban network performance. Three novel strategies that address congested heterogeneous traffic flow are presented. The first two strategies - keeping intersection signal cycle times shorter and bottleneck metering - are derived from field observed data while the third - exclusive lanes and storage area near intersections for two wheelers - is supported based on a micro-simulation model. Potential improvements are presented based on the strategies. While most recent studies have focused on area wide / network signal control improvements our study shows potential for significant improvement even at the level of an isolated signal.