Heterogeneous Traffic Flow Model For A Two-Lane Roundabout And Controlled Intersection

Modern urban traffic management depends heavily on the efficiency of road features, such as controlled intersections and multi-lane roundabouts. Vehicle throughput at any such configuration is modified by traffic mix, by rules governing manoeuvrability and by driver observance, as well as by traffic density. Here, we studyheterogeneoustraffic flow ontwo-laneroads through a cellular automata model for a binary mix of long and short vehicles. Throughput is investigated for a range of arrival rates and for fixed turning rate at an intersection: manoeuvres, while described in terms of left-lane driving, are completely generalisable. For a given heterogeneous distribution of vehicle type, there is a significant impact on queue length, delay times experienced and throughput at a fixed-cycle traffic light controlled two-way intersection and two-lane roundabout, when compared to the homogeneous case. As the proportion of long vehicles increases, average throughput for both configurations declines for increasing arrival rate, with average queue length and waiting time correspondingly increased. The effect is less-marked for the two-lane roundabout, due to absence of cross-traffic delays. Nevertheless, average waiting times and queue lengths remain uniformly high for arrival rates>0.25vehicle per second (900 vph) on entry roads and for long vehicle proportion above 0.30–0.35.