Experiments simulation and design to set traffic lights' operation rules

This empirical study aims to minimize the travel time of motor vehicles on one of the most important avenues in Celaya City, Guanajuato, Mexico, by means of the optimal synchronization of existing traffic lights. In the optimization process, the following three factors are considered with 3 evaluation levels each: traffic light cycle times; the synchrony defined as staggered, parallel and actual; and the speed limit. The response variables to consider were the average time in the system, the fuel consumption and the greenhouse effect gas (CO2) emissions. Different experiments were performed using the simulation model developed in the PTV-VISSIM software, which represents the vehicle traffic system. The obtained results for the different proposed scenarios allow proper levels to be determined for vehicle traffic system operation to improve mobility, reduce contamination rates and decrease fuel consumption for different motor vehicles using the avenue. As a result, it was possible to establish a methodology that combines microsimulation and design of experiments to program traffic lights and define the operating conditions of a complex vehicular flow system.