Research on Signal Timing Optimization Model Considering Stopping Emissions Based on VISSIM Simulation

An unreasonable signal timing scheme is the leading cause of traffic jams, reducing capacity and increasing vehicle emissions. This paper proposed a multi-objective signal timing optimization method to improve traffic operation efficiency and environmental benefits at intersections. It built a nonlinear model with the effective green time as the decision variable, considering average delay, capacity, and stopping emissions. Experiments using an intersection in Guangzhou University Town demonstrate that the proposed method with the genetic algorithm is better than the Webster model, which can effectively solve the current signal timing problem. Specifically, the average delay and stopping emissions, in this case, were reduced by 15% and 11.4%, respectively, and the capacity was increased by 17.4%. In the optimization effect of intersections, the VISSIM simulation results are consistent with the model theoretical calculation results. The proposed signal timing optimization method could alleviate congestion and pollutant emissions at intersections.