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The article presents the initial experience (spring-summer 2023) of using artificial neural networks (ANN) in improving traffic management in the large Russian city of Tyumen. Using the example of one of the intersections of the city's road network, it is shown how much transport delays are reduced when the duration of the traffic light cycle phases is quickly adjusted to the actual traffic intensity when compared with the usual previously used traffic light predictive mode. For the specific intersection of Odesskaya and Kotovskogo streets in Tyumen, considered in this article, the traffic light control mode using an ANN can significantly (by 20.6 ... 22.4%) reduce the average delay time of vehicles. It is also important that the reduction in traffic delays, which is possible with the regulation of traffic using ANN, helps to reduce stress for road users and improve road safety. The article presents historical data illustrating the dynamics of changes in the field of traffic management and road safety in Tyumen. This information well confirms the thesis about the dialectic of systemic development and the need for a gradual increase in the intellectual component in traffic management in large cities. The Applications (Appendix A and Appendix B) present the code of the auxiliary procedures and functions module and the code of the main data collection module used to optimize the traffic light control mode at the experimental intersection of the Tyumen road network. The main conclusion of the study is that use of an ANN allows taking into account a much larger number of factors and optimizing the control of the entire object, consisting of several intersections, which is not achievable using predictive modes and local adaptive control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fact that agent technologies have widely gained popularity in distributed systems, their potential for advanced management of vehicle traffic has not been sufficiently explored. This paper presents a traffic simulation framework based on agent technology and fuzzy logic. The objective of this framework is to act on the phase layouts represented by its sequences and length to maximize throughput and fluidize traffic at an isolated intersection and for the whole multi-intersection network, through both inter- and intra-intersection collaboration and coordination. The optimizing of signal layouts is done in real time, and it is not only based on local stream factors but also on traffic stream conditions in surrounding intersections. The system profits from agent communication and collaboration as well as coordination features, along with decentralized organization, to decompose the traffic control optimization into subproblems and enable the distributed resolution. Thus, the separate parts can be resolved rapidly by parallel tasking. It also uses fuzzy technology to handle the uncertainty of traffic conditions. An instance of the proposed framework was validated and designed in the ANYLOGIC simulator. Instantiation results and analysis denote that the designed system can significantly develop the efficiency at an individual intersection as well as in the multi-intersection network. It reduces the average travel delay and the time spent in the network compared to multi-agent-based adaptative signal control systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new method is proposed to detect traffic regulations at intersections using GPS traces. The knowledge of traffic rules for regulated locations can help various location-based applications in the context of Smart Cities, such as the accurate estimation of travel time and fuel consumption from a starting point to a destination. Traffic regulations as map features, however, are surprisingly still largely absent from maps, although they do affect traffic flow which, in turn, affects vehicle idling time at intersections, fuel consumption, CO 2 emissions, and arrival time. In addition, mapping them using surveying equipment is costly and any update process has severe time constraints. This fact is precisely the motivation for this study. Therefore, its objective is to propose an automatic, fast, scalable, and inexpensive way to identify the type of intersection control (e.g., traffic lights, stop signs). A new method based on summarizing the collective behavior of vehicle crossing intersections is proposed. A modification of a well-known clustering algorithm is used to detect stopping and deceleration episodes. These episodes are then used to categorize vehicle crossing of intersections into four possible traffic categories (p1: free flow, p2: deceleration without stopping events, p3: only one stopping event, p4: more than one stopping event). The percentages of crossings of each class per intersection arm, together with other speed/stop/deceleration features, extracted from trajectories, are then used as features to classify the intersection arms according to their traffic control type (dynamic model). The classification results of the dynamic model are compared with those of the static model, where the classification features are extracted from OpenStreetMap. Finally, a hybrid model is also tested, where a combination of dynamic and static features is used, which outperforms the other two models. For each of the three models, two variants of the feature vector are tested: one where only features associated with a single intersection arm are used (one-arm model) and another where features also from neighboring intersection arms of the same intersection are used to classify an arm (all-arm model). The methodology was tested on three datasets and the results show that all-arm models perform better than single-arm models with an accuracy of 95% to 97%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid development of the urbanization, how to improve the traffic lights efficiency has become an urgent issue. The traditional traffic light control is a method that calculates a series of corresponding timing parameters by optimizing the cycle length. However, fixing sequence and duration of traffic lights is inefficient for dynamic traffic flow regulation. In order to solve the above problem, this study proposes a traffic light timing optimization scheme based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL). In this scheme, the traffic lights can output an appropriate phase according to the traffic flow state of each direction at the intersection and dynamically adjust the phase length. Specifically, we first adopt Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) to improve the convergence speed of the model. Then, we elaborate the design of state, action, and reward, with the vehicle state defined by Discrete Traffic State Encoding (DTSE) method. Finally, we conduct experiments on real traffic data via the traffic simulation platform SUMO. The results show that, compared to the traditional timing control, the proposed scheme can effectively reduce the waiting time of vehicles and queue length in various traffic flow modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we focus on trajectories at intersections regulated by various regulation types such as traffic lights, priority/yield signs, and right-of-way rules. We test some methods to detect and recognize movement patterns from GPS trajectories, in terms of their geometrical and spatio-temporal components. In particular, we first find out the main paths that vehicles follow at such locations. We then investigate the way that vehicles follow these geometric paths (how do they move along them). For these scopes, machine learning methods are used and the performance of some known methods for trajectory similarity measurement (DTW, Hausdorff, and Fréchet distance) and clustering (Affinity propagation and Agglomerative clustering) are compared based on clustering accuracy. Afterward, the movement behavior observed at six different intersections is analyzed by identifying certain movement patterns in the speed- and time-profiles of trajectories. We show that depending on the regulation type, different movement patterns are observed at intersections. This finding can be useful for intersection categorization according to traffic regulations. The practicality of automatically identifying traffic rules from GPS tracks is the enrichment of modern maps with additional navigation-related information (traffic signs, traffic lights, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detailed analysis of traffic conditions at the intersection allows us to obtain information about the efficiency of its operation. This type of analysis usually involves assessing the capacity and scale of the intersection and applying classical measures to assess its quality. In Poland, for this purpose, methods developed by the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways are used to estimate the capacity of intersections without traffic lights, intersections with traffic lights, and roundabouts. The paper presents the results of the analysis of traffic conditions at the intersection of Brzezinska and Nowochrzanowska Streets, located in Myslowice (Silesian Province, Poland). The paper also examines the findings on traffic safety at this intersection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robust road-boundary extraction/tracking is one of the main problems in autonomous roadway navigation. Although the road boundary can be defined by various means including lane markings, curbs, and borders of vegetation, this paper focuses on road-boundary tracking using curbs. A vehicle-mounted (downward tilted) 2-D laser-measurement system is utilized to detect the curbs. The tracking problem is difficult because both the vehicle is moving and the target is disappearing, reappearing, and maneuvering in clutter. The interacting-multiple-model probabilistic-data-association filter (IMMPDAF) is proposed to solve the problems after detailed analysis. Track initiation, confirmation, and deletion are performed using the sequential-probability-ratio test. Extensive simulations followed by experiments in a campus environment show that the road-boundary tracking utilizing curbs is possible and robust through IMMPDAF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an iterative learning approach for the freeway density control under ramp metering and speed regulation is developed in a macroscopic level traffic environment. Rigorous analyses show that the proposed learning control schemes guarantee the asymptotic convergence of the traffic density to the desired one. The two major features of the learning-based density control are 1) less prior modeling knowledge required in the control system design and 2) the ability to reject exogenous traffic perturbations. The control schemes are applied to a freeway model, and simulation results confirm the efficacy of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The addition of interchanges, traffic signals, or unsignalized driveways to an arterial corridor increases crash risk and decreases travel speeds. As adjacent vacant land is developed, however, private landowners often desire direct access to the arterial route. Because the Virginia Department of Transportation has the authority to allow direct access provided no immediate adverse impact would occur, arterials in high-growth areas tend to have an increasing number of intersections as demands for direct access grow. This study investigated the feasibility of using the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to limit corridor access (e.g., grade-separated interchanges or at-grade intersections) through four administrative mechanisms: (1) including the limited access requirement as a condition in the record of decision; (2) effecting a contract (the Federal-Aid Project Agreement) that stipulates limiting access as a requirement; (3) implementing a supplemental agreement between interested parties that indicates how the character of the corridor shall be maintained; and (4) documenting the corridor-preservation conditions that remove the requirement of an Environmental Impact Statement. Factors that limit the effectiveness of these mechanisms include (1) the source of funds for the project; (2) the extent to which environmental concerns remain constant after the NEPA process is concluded; (3) the willingness of agencies to exercise the authority they are accorded through NEPA-related agreements; and (4) the passage of congressional legislation that enhances or restricts the scope of NEPA. Case studies of projects in Virginia where the NEPA process has helped preserve the characteristics of corridors show that the process may serve to raise barriers to adding access points but does not guarantee that access points may never be added. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]