Green Wave Analysis in a Tandem of Traffic-Light Intersections

Green waves in urban settings are seen to be beneficial both for the drivers and the environment because they lower delays and reduce pollution. To obtain these benefits, it is important to determine the optimal network parameters, e.g., green splits and offsets, that yield the desired traffic behaviour. We consider two possibilities for network optimization. The first one is minimising the average lost time per vehicle; the second one is maximizing the green wave efficiency. We compare the results with the MAXBAND algorithm, which is used at the design stage of arterial traffic light settings to facilitate green waves. Using our optimisation method, the average delay per vehicle can be reduced by up to 10% and more vehicles can encounter a green wave compared to the MAXBAND approach. The reduction of the average delay for the main stream reaches 20%.