Journal of Engineering and Technology for Industrial Applications, 2020. Edition. 23.

Vol: 06
https://www.itegam-jetia.org
ISSN ONLINE: 2447-0228
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.5935/2447-0228.20200020

RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS

ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION AT

SINGLE INTERSECTION USING MATLAB AND ARENA
SIMULATION

Rakesh Roy1, Sourav Kumar Ghosh2, Naurin Zoha3 and Mohammad Arif-Ul-Islam4

1
Jashore University of Science and Technology (JUST). Jashore-7408, Bangladesh.
2
Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX). Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh.
3
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh.
4
Noakhali Science & Technology University (NSTU). Noakhali-3802, Bangladesh.

Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Received: Apr 22th, 2020 ABSTRACT

Accepted: Jun 18th, 2020 Traffic jam is one of the most widespread problems commonly seen all over the world that
Published: June 30th, 2020 causes loss of billions of dollars and useful hours per annum. Traffic lights are used at the
intersections to manage the traffic flow, but one problem of those traffic lights is that the color
Copyright ©2016 by authors changes at constant intervals irrespective of the traffic density or time of the day. As a result,
and Galileo Institute of the measure fails to keep the optimal traffic flow throughout the day at every convergence. This
Technology and Education of study describes a possible and effective method to systemize traffic lights by considering the
the Amazon (ITEGAM). traffic density for a specific time of the day. The range of idle time or waiting time within the
This work is licensed under the queue is identified as a function of cycle time, effective green time and traffic arrival rate. After
Creative Commons Attribution plotting the values within the graph, the trend is observed for idle time with reference to these
International License (CC BY variables. The lower and upper bound for these independent variables like cycle time, effective
4.0).
green time and traffic arrival rate are decided from observed data sets. As the idle time comes
https://creativecommons.org/licen
ses/by/4.0/
in the form of a range, an estimation of traffic congestion at a particular time is yielded from
the method. This traffic flow is analyzed using Arena. The result of idle time using Arena is
analogous with the previously analyzed model using MATLAB. Also, at the end of the study,
a simulation video is generated that gives practical visual experience.

Keywords: Traffic Congestion, MATLAB, ARENA Simulation, Traffic Flow.

I. INTRODUCTION uncontrolled numbers of vehicles, the productive time loss due to

congestion is counted in billions every year. There are many
With emerging economic development, vehicles maintain intersections in Dhaka, some of which are more important than
a substantial increase in quantity and as a result queuing others to control the overall jam in the city as those lie in the locus
phenomenon is so common in road traffic. The intersection is the of the town. Traffic everywhere in Dhaka is controlled by the
main concentrated area of a stream of people and vehicles. It is one traditional way where the time of signaling is constant. It may not
infrastructure construction of connecting the roads to make it work be the right approach as the traffic flow is not constant throughout
as an interconnected network. Generally, traffic congestion the day and timing of the day must be considered as a variable. For
corresponds to the intersection directly which makes it evident that example, usually, the entrance roads of educational institutes may
road intersections play a prime role in determining the traffic be busy at the early hours of the day whereas in the evening the
congestion situation depending on the road capacity and time of the exits of office roads may be busy. This study focuses on an
day. Traffic control in an optimal manner at these intersections can important intersection of Dhaka city to minimize the queue based
be an effective way to reduce traffic congestions. on a simulation result. Here traffic flow analysis is done using
Traffic congestion has nowadays become one of the main MATLAB and Arena. MATLAB is used to find out the range of
hindrances in the big cities like Dhaka and Chittagong in the waiting time and Arena, discrete event simulation and
Bangladesh. Mostly because of the high density of population and
 Roy et al., ITEGAM-JETIA. Vol. 06, Nº 23, pp 34-40. June, 2020.

automation software, which is used to develop the optimized result widely used approximate delay formula is developed by Webster
and simulation of the traffic flow. [3] from a combination of theoretical and numerical simulation
For accurate analysis of our data, it is important to know approaches:
the distribution of the data set as the outcome of simulation highly
depends on the nature of the distribution. In this study, after 𝑔 2 1
𝑐 (1 − 𝑐 ) 𝑥2 𝑐 3 2+5(𝑔)
analysis, it is observed that the relevant data follow the Poisson 𝑑= 𝑔 + − 0.65 ( ) 𝑥 𝑐 (1)
distribution and the process utilizes Poisson Experiment that helps 2[1 − ( ) 𝑥] 2𝑞(1 − 𝑥) 𝑞2
𝑐
in getting outcomes occurring with this data set during a given time
interval or in a specified region.
where,
II. LITERATURE REVIEW d = average delay per vehicle (sec)
c = cycle length (sec)
Level of service (LOS) can be measure by traffic delays g = effective green time (sec)
𝑞
and queues. [1] Signal timings can be derived by considering either x = degree of saturation (flow to capacity ratio) = 𝑐
a single or a set of intersections. These methods are called isolated S = departure (saturation) flow rate from queue during effective
methods and coordinated methods, respectively [2]. Delay green (veh/sec)
minimization and capacity maximization are the most common C = capacity rate (veh/sec, or veh/cycle, or veh/h)
objective functions used by pre-existing methods. Delay may be q = arrival rate (veh/sec)
directly measured, leading to a data-driven approach, or estimated For this equation and from obtained data at different
(model-based approach). The first approximate expression for the segments of the daily minimum and maximum waiting time at that
delay at an intersection was given by Webster [3], this expression segment is obtained. MATLAB is used to find the maximum and
is still widely used. Other expressions include those of Newell [4] minimum waiting time for the range of arrival rate, effective green
Miller [5] and McNeil [6]. Viti [7] provides a review of delay time and cycle length. Departure rate is assumed to be constant
models. Dion [8] compares the performance of different delay from different observations as all vehicles depart at the same rate
models. Arena simulation is used to suggest several optimal when a green signal is on. Afterward, simulation is done to find the
solutions to manage the traffic queue in the most densely traffic consistency of this result with the arena.
intersection in the Malang city, Indonesia [9]. Existing traffic was The probability distribution of the Poisson random
estimated and a preassigned speed was proposed to synchronize the variable X, representing the number of outcomes occurring in a
traffic signal [10]. Fuzzy logic was developed to solve a linear given time interval or specified region denoted by t, is:
programming traffic model to efficiently control the intelligent
traffic lights [11]. Deep reinforcement learning is used to analyze
𝑒 −𝜆𝑡 (𝜆𝑡)𝑥
the traffic flow. Three different methodologies are developed for 𝑝(𝑥; 𝜆𝑡) = (2)
comparative analysis [12]. A fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm 𝑥!
was applied to classify the traffic flow pattern which eventually
For x =0,1, 2…
ameliorated the signal control and traffic capacity [13]. Vehicle to
where λ is the average number of outcomes per unit time, distance,
vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) was integrated
area, or volume, and e = 2.71828…
into three simulation models to compare the system efficiency,
The mean values of arrival rates are calculated using the
total time, waiting time and WIP [14].
weighted mean method and its distribution is determined with the
help of the Chi-square formula.
III. METHODOLOGY
The mean arrival rate:
Here Webster equation is used to find out the range of
∑𝑘𝑛 = 1𝑓𝑛 ∗ 𝑥𝑛
waiting time as a function of cycle time, effective green time and 𝜆= (3)
arrival rate. These independent variables are found by observation ∑𝑘𝑛 = 1𝑓𝑛
in six different distinct times in the day. Their lower and upper
bound is used as a limit and using MATLAB maximum and The test statistic follows the chi-square distribution, designated as
minimum of waiting time is determined. χ2 Chi-square test statistic:
This new way to control traffic lights takes into
consideration the arrival rates of vehicles at an intersection from (𝑓0 − 𝑓𝑒 )2
𝑥 2 = ∑[ ] (4)
different directions at different times. For this purpose, an area is 𝑓𝑒
chosen where the traffic flow needs to be optimized, all the mean
arrivals rates at the intersections in that area are calculated and the With k-1 degrees of freedom, where:
nature of the distribution of the arrival rates is found out using the k is the number of categories
help of Chi-square formula. Then the Arena program is created f0 is an observed frequency in a particular category
showing the network, using the values as input and necessary logics fe is an expected frequency in a particular category
so that the traffic flow is optimal and cars don’t get piled up at any
intersection and the resulting animation visually proves that. The 𝑓𝑒 = 45𝑝 (5)
way (duration of red and green lights) the traffic lights change in
the animation is the proposed optimal way of controlling the traffic Now, it's needed to find the critical value corresponding
lights without the help of traffic police for that area for that to the chosen level of significance and degrees of freedom.
particular time and it corresponds to the waiting time obtained from If the value of chi-square is less than the critical value, the
the simulation result. For the data collection, a fairly busy area null hypothesis is accepted, otherwise, its rejected. Here, the null
(center at Latitude- 23.73688613, Longitude- 90.38740754) is hypothesis is that there is no difference between the observed and
chosen where a traffic jam is a common occurrence. At first, the expected value.

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 Roy et al., ITEGAM-JETIA. Vol. 06, Nº 23, pp 34-40. June, 2020.

After knowing the input data distribution and its mean All the vans/trucks have an equal uniform velocity of 25
value, the input is given to the Arena module and according to that, km/h.
the output is achieved. The data follows the Poisson distribution as Vehicle switching to each of the three routes is given by
per the calculations mentioned above. The following assumptions assumption.
are made in the intended model: The full Arena model (Figure 1) is developed for
Only two kinds of vehicles are available on the roads, simulation. Here four individual networks denote four routes that
vans, and trucks having an equal length. meet at an intersection.

Figure 1: Full Arena Model.

Source: Authors, (2020).

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 Roy et al., ITEGAM-JETIA. Vol. 06, Nº 23, pp 34-40. June, 2020.

The Poisson Mean of arrivals (interarrival time) is. So, the For calculating route time (the time is taken for an entity
interarrival time of the vehicle comes from the science lab to move from one station to another), Given:
intersection is 1/2 sec = 0.00833 min. The velocity of an entity = 25 km per hour.
The Poisson Mean of other arrivals is as follows. Distance between New Market East Intersection to
Nilkhet West Intersection = 0.2 km.
Table 1: Poisson Mean of arrivals. So, route time from New Market intersection to Nilkhet
Location New New New New Market intersection = 0.2/25*60 = 0.48 min.
Market Market Market West Traffic The parameters of the create modules of the top part are
North East South as follows (As the model considers two types of vehicles in the road
Traffic Traffic Traffic so here two types of the entities are exhibited).

Poisson mean 0.01425 0.0111 0.00833 0.01030

of interarrival
(min)

Source: Authors, (2020).

Table 2: The parameters of the create modules.

Time between arrivals
Name Entity Type
Type Expression Units Entities per arrival Max Arrival First creation

New Market
Entity 1 Expression POIS (0.0111) Minutes Infinite 0
East Traffic

New Market
Entity 2 Expression POIS (0.00833) Minutes 1 Infinite 0
South Traffic

Source: Authors, (2020).

The parameters of the route modules of the top part are as Here percentage indicates the priority of respective routes
follows. while switching from the intersection. Other decide module is
made in the same fashion. All other modules are made in the same
Table 3: The parameters of the decide modules. fashion.
Route
Name Units Station name
time

New market west New market west

0.48 Minutes
origin intersection

New market north Science lab south

0.4 Minutes
intersection intersection

New market east Nilkhet west

0.48 Minutes
intersection intersection

New market south New market

0.15 Minutes
intersection south exit

Source: Authors, (2020).

Table 4: The parameters of the route module.

Name Type Percentage Destination

Nilkhet west
60
intersection
Figure 2: Route diagram of Arena simulation.
New Market N-way by 30 Science Lab South Source: Authors, (2020).
West Decide chance Intersection
To represent this module combination or Arena flow chart
10 New market south in a practical scenario for visual representation a route is drawn
exit (Figure 2) based on the concept of the module diagram. The
program is allowed to run with an animation speed factor (Time
Source: Authors, (2020). Units Per Frame) of 0.00066736.

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 Roy et al., ITEGAM-JETIA. Vol. 06, Nº 23, pp 34-40. June, 2020.

IV. RESULTS
Waiting Time vs Cycle Time Graph
From this data, a graph (Figure 3) for identifying how idle 20
time varies at different periods of the day is plotted. The graph
shows the upward trend which indicates as the time proceeds
towards the evening, vehicles wait longer and it becomes evident
that vehicles are more likely to stack at a traffic jam at this hour. 18
From this data, it can be estimated how much time one should keep
in hand to reach a destination on time.
Another graph (Figure 4) for waiting times against arrival
rates was plotted. From the data and graph, it is evident that waiting 16
times increase with the arrival rates. Another graph (Figure 5) was
also plotted for waiting time against cycle length. From the data
and graph, it is evident that waiting time increases as cycle length
14
increases.

Waiting Time VS Period Graph 12

Waiting Time(sec)
10
14
12
10 8
Waiting Time

8
6
6
4
2
0 4
0 2 4 6 8
Period (Different Time of The Day)
Figure 3: Waiting time at different period of the day. 2
Source: Authors, (2020).

Waiting Time vs Arrival Rate Graph 0

0 20 40 60 80 100
7,7
Cycle Time(sec)
7,68
Figure 5: Variation of waiting time with a cycle length.
7,66
Source: Authors, (2020).
7,64
Waiting Time(sec)

In another graph(Figure-06) for change of waiting time

7,62 against effective green time, it is evident that waiting for time
7,6 decrease as an effective green time increase. Next, the analysis of
traffic flow and waiting time using Arena was done (Figure-07) and
7,58 it was found that for a particular arrival rate, waiting time is quite
7,56 analogous for both the cases.
For entity 1, the Poisson Mean of arrivals (interarrival
7,54 time) is 1/λ. So the interarrival time of vehicle comes from New
Market East Traffic (From Nilkhet west intersection)is 1/1.5 sec =
7,52 0.0111 min. For entity 1 from Arena simulation, we have found
7,5 that it has minimum tends to zero min per vehicle and a maximum
0 2 4 6 of 0.06998177 min per vehicle. This means it has to wait time
minimum tends to zero sec per vehicle and maximum 4.1989062
Arrival Rate (Vehicles per sec) sec per vehicle. This value has quite a similarity with.

Figure 4: Variation of waiting time with arrival rate.

Source: Authors, (2020).

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 Roy et al., ITEGAM-JETIA. Vol. 06, Nº 23, pp 34-40. June, 2020.

Waiting Time vs Effective Green Time

Graph
20
18
16
14
Waiting Time(sec)

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 20 40 60 80
Effective Green Time (sec)

Figure 6: Variation of waiting time with a cycle length.

Source: Authors, (2020).

Webster’s equation as it is found for an arrival rate of

between 1 and 2 vehicles per second waiting time is min 1.016464
and max 7.69274625. The arrival rate of between 1 and 2 vehicles
per second means an interarrival time of two vehicles is 1/1.5 sec
= 0.0111 min which is similar to the mean of Poison distribution
for entity 1. For Arena simulation, all other parameters are kept as
usual as in simulating Webster’s equation in MATLAB. The ratio
of effective green time to cycle length is given as 35/55 = 0.6363
in the arena simulation module. Here 35 is mean of effective green
time range [30,40] and 55 is mean of cycle length range [50,60].
For entity 2, the Poisson Mean of arrivals (interarrival Figure 7: Arena output.
time) is 1/λ. So the interarrival time of vehicle from New Market Source: Authors, (2020).
South Traffic (From Azimpur north intersection) is 1/2 sec =
0.00833min. For Arena simulation, all other parameters are kept as
For entity 2 from Arena simulation, it is found that it has usual as in simulating Webster’s equation in MATLAB. The ratio
a minimum 0.0111667 min per vehicle and a maximum of 0.112 of effective green time to cycle length is given as 50/75 = 0.6666
min per vehicle. Which means has a waiting time minimum of 0.67 in the arena simulation module. Here 50 is mean of effective green
sec per vehicle and a maximum of 6.672 sec per vehicle. time range [45,55] and 75 is mean of cycle length range [70,80].
This value has quite a similarity with Webster’s equation For Arena simulation, the video link is given below
as it was observed for an arrival rate of between 1 and 3 vehicles “https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LCHi1Vcju0xrqlk8ECcuZA4hL
per second waiting time is min 1.62549051 and max 7.82147255. NbG6Tht/view?usp=sharing”.

Table 5: Comparison of MATLAB and Arena output.

Arena Output MATLAB MATLAB Output
Interarriv
Input Minimum Maximum
Entity al Time Minimum Maximum
Arena Input (Range of waiting time per waiting time per
Type (1/λ) waiting time waiting time
vehicle arrival vehicle vehicle
(min) per vehicle per vehicle
rate) (Sec) (Sec)
Tends to zero 0.0699817min
Entity-1 0.011 POIS(0.0111) [1,2] 1.016464 7.6927462
Tends to zero 4.1989062 sec
0.011166 min 0.112 min
Entity-2 0.00833 POIS(0.0083) [1,3] 1.625490 7.821472
0.67 sec 6.672 sec

Source: Authors, (2020).

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 Roy et al., ITEGAM-JETIA. Vol. 06, Nº 23, pp 34-40. June, 2020.

V. CONCLUSION [10] Goliya, H. S., and Nitin Kumar Jain. "Synchronization of

traffic signals:“A case study—eastern ring road, Indore”."
This study shows how waiting time varies as a function of International Journal of Advanced Technology in Civil
arrival rate, effective green time and cycle length. Webster’s Engineering 1.2 (2012): 1-7.
equation is used to illustrate this analysis and Arena simulation
finds the consistency of the analysis and finds the optimal way to [11] de Queiróz Lamas, Wendell, Giorgio Eugenio Oscare
control traffic. But this model is not flawless, there are some Giacaglia, and Eliana Campos de Oliveira. "Intelligent Urban
limitations: Traffic Flow Control: A Case Study on Fuzzy Logic Application."
• Here, the student version of Arena was used, which International Journal of Transportation Engineering and
didn’t allow adding many modules in the model which could make Technology 3.3 (2017): 25.
the simulation more realistic and descriptive. It can only
accommodate 150 entities. [12] Tewari, Ujwal Padam, et al. "Intelligent Coordination among
• This model is not a generic one irrespective of the area Multiple Traffic Intersections Using Multi-Agent Reinforcement
analyzed. For other areas, different traffic networks and arrival Learning." arXiv preprint arXiv:1912.03851 (2019).
rates would have to be used.
• Again, in Webster’s equation, to find the effect of arrival [13] Zhu, Yun, et al. "Study on traffic flow patterns identification
rate, effective green time and cycle length with waiting time one of single intersection intelligent signal control." Procedia
parameter is taken as variable and the rest are kept constant for engineering 137 (2016): 452-460.
every case for simplicity of analysis.
Although there are some drawbacks, this model gives a [14] Benzaman, Ben, and Deepak Sharma. "Discrete event
good scenario of traffic congestion and provides a method to simulation of a road intersection integrating V2V and V2I features
optimize it. Further study can be done by taking larger areas into to improve traffic flow." 2017 Winter Simulation Conference
consideration, giving priority to the roads in a more realistic (WSC). IEEE, 2017.
manner and, of course, considering a range of values for the
different variables instead of its crisp mean value.

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