A New Traffic Signal Control Method Based on Hybrid Colored Petri Net in Isolated Intersections

To optimize the traffic signal control of isolated intersections, a hybrid colored Petri net is proposed to model the urban signalized intersection, which consists of a traffic signal control module and a traffic flow module. Furthermore, a new feedback-based signal control method based on the Petri net model is presented. The method performs an online optimization and synchronization of traffic signals. After finishing the minimum green time of current phase, whether extending the current phase’s green time is determined by comparing a performance index of the current phase with the candidate phases. The performance index is based on the number of queued vehicles and the red time of candidate phases. Finally, experiments on field data are carried out against the fixed time-of-day control strategy to compare their performances on average vehicle delay. Results verified the feasibility of the Petri net model and the effectiveness of the proposed method.