Exploiting witness for traffic simulation

Traffic congestion in urban cities is an increasing problem. Not only does it lead to an increase in pollution, but the time spent waiting in traffic queues wastes valuable time in addition to causing frustration. A system that can control and manage traffic efficiently is one way that this issue can be reduced. A specific road traffic intersection in South Manchester, UK, was selected for investigation as it experiences high levels of traffic flow through it during the evening peak time. This has led to large queues and long waiting times due to the fixed timings of the traffic lights. This paper explores strategies to better control the traffic flow through it. A model of the selected traffic junction has been built using Witness simulation software. Data for this junction has been obtained partially from observations and mostly from traffic surveys enabling a simulation of the traffic flow. Analysing the results allowed two alternative scenarios to be developed and simulated. Results from one of the scenarios showed noticeable reductions in the average queue waiting times at the traffic junction.