The Application of Transport Micro-Simulation on Environmental Studies

Traffic signals are one of the major components of arterial traffic network. A well designed signal setting benefits on increasing network efficiency and safety, on the contrary a poor setting could cause various problems. Many signal operation and optimization modes have been developed to deal with different traffic conditions. However researches related with evaluation of traffic signal efficiency are rare and difficult because of the dynamic traffic environment, especially when considering the performance in a global viewpoint of a traffic network. This research tries to evaluate the impacts of traffic signal change based on a before-andafter case study of a 1.6 kilometre arterial corridor. A comprehensive comparison between Masterlink and Flexilink Modes of SCATS has been purposed based on a micro-simulation test bed which is developed according to the real data. The research result shows that Masterlink Mode improved the efficiency and capacity of major movements in both approach delay and travel time. Nevertheless Flexilink Mode provides better performances of minor movements and has less environmental impacts. According to the results, a new research trend could be considered for the development of green traffic signal, which balances efficiency and environment, especially for inner city environment.