Abstract
Gridlock along arterial systems in cold climates is often the result of adverse weather conditions, which can render the normal signal coordination plans unsuitable as a result of changes in the traffic flow parameters. The current study aims at understanding the impact of different factors on the magnitude of the operational benefits to be expected from implementing special timing plans for inclement weather. The factors investigated include (a) the characteristics of the signalized corridor, (b) the type of the simulation model used in the evaluation, (c) the level of traffic demand, and (d) the duration of the inclement weather event. To achieve the study's objective, two signalized arterial corridors are selected as case studies, and several simulation experiments are conducted. The results show that signal retiming during inclement weather can result in significant operational benefits (as high as a 20% reduction in control delay in some cases). The results also show that the benefits appear to be greatest when traffic loads are close to capacity and tend to decrease when the available capacity is exceeded. Finally, a significant increase in the benefits is realized with the increase in the duration of the inclement weather event. In one experiment, retiming the signals resulted in a 36% reduction in control delay for a 2-h snow event as opposed to only 18% for a 1-h event.
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