Simulation of traffic control strategies

Computer model SCOT (Simulation of COrridor Traffic) is a traffic engineering tool which simulates traffic flow through an urban freeway corridor network. It contains equations which describe the way vehicles are driven on freeways and streets and takes into consideration the field site geometry, traffic demand and control system. In this study, the capabilities of the model to simulate ramp control and to route traffic through the network along time minimal paths were investigated. Numerical values for standard traffic performance measures showed the improvement to freeway traffic flow caused by ramp metering as well as the resulting ramp congestion. The computed optimal traffic assignment showed that significant changes in the distribution of traffic could occur if drivers were given timely information.