Evaluating InSync Performance
in Microsimulation
Aleksandar Stevanovic, PhD, PE
Florida Atlantic University
Transpo 2012
Bonita Springs, FL
October 29, 2012
Why Simulating InSync?
• Comprehensive evaluation of its
performance
• Controlled experiments
• Abundance of outputs
• Better understanding of pros & cons
• Repeatability and comparability
Originality of this Study
No comprehensive evaluation of InSync in
microsimulation
• Regular operations modeled with no attention
to special conditions/situations
• Evaluation of InSync for regular operations
(AM, MD, and PM) +
• Freeway Incident
• Rail Preemption
• Extra Demand
• Inclement Weather
•
About SR 421 - Dunlawton Ave
•
•
•
•
•
12 signalized
intersections
(11 analyzed)
Divided 4-6
lane facility
Left turns
RR crossing &
school zones
35-50 mph
speed limits
Why SR421 in Volusia County?
•
•
•
A common
(sub)urban
corridor
Difficult to
retime
Seasonal and
annual
variations in
traffic flows
Evacuation
route
40,000
35,000
30,000
Vehicles/day
•
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
Williamson to Clyde Morris Blvd.
Clyde Morris Blvd. to SR 5A/Nova Rd.
SR5A/Nova Rd. to Spruce Creek Rd.
Spruce Creek Rd. to US 1
Data Collection for VISSIM Model
• Turning movement counts
• Travel times along mainline
(GPS & video)
• Signal timing sheets & Synchro
files
• Other data – RR gate timings,
school zone hours, etc.
Google Map as Background
NEMA-like Ring-Barrier Controllers
Calibration
• Making sure that modeled and
simulated volumes are equal
• Volume balancing
• Sources and sinks
• Saturation flow rates
• Manual process
Calibration Details – Nova Rd
Calibration Results
Field vs Simulation AM Peak
Field vs Simulation MD Peak
25000
25000
R² = 0.9917
20000
15000
15000
Simulation TMC
20000
10000
5000
10000
5000
0
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
0
25000
0
5000
Field TMC
10000
15000
Field TMC
Field vs Simulation PM Peak
25000
R² = 0.9962
20000
Simulation TMC
Simulation TMC
R² = 0.9985
15000
10000
5000
0
0
5000
10000
15000
Field TMC
20000
25000
20000
25000
Validation
• Verifying that segment travel
times from model and field are
comparable
• Speed distributions
• Acceleration & deceleration
• Offsets & detectors
• Understand limitations
Validation Results
AM Peak
MD Peak
Eastbound
PM Peak
Eastbound
Eastbound
200.0
250.0
160.0
180.0
140.0
200.0
160.0
120.0
140.0
120.0
100.0
100.0
80.0
80.0
VISSIM
60.0
GPS
40.0
150.0
VISSIM
60.0
40.0
20.0
20.0
0.0
0.0
Westbound
100.0
GPS
50.0
0.0
Westbound
Westbound
160.0
180.0
180.0
140.0
160.0
160.0
120.0
140.0
140.0
120.0
120.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
80.0
80.0
80.0
60.0
40.0
VISSIM
GPS
60.0
VISSIM
GPS
VISSIM
60.0
GPS
40.0
40.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
VISSIM
GPS
TOD Signal Timings
AM Peak
MD Peak
Intersection
Field
Williamson
115
110
68
120
124
76
125
144
100
I-95 SB
115
110
68
120
124
76
125
144
100
I-95 NB
115
110
68
120
124
76
125
144
100
Taylor rd
115
110
68
120
124
76
125
144
100
Yorktowne
115
110
68
120
124
76
125
144
80
Clyde Morris
115
110
116
120
124
130
125
144
160
Victoria
115
110
116
120
124
130
125
144
160
Village
115
110
116
120
124
130
125
144
160
Nova
A
110
116
A
124
130
A
144
160
Spruce
A
110
90
A
124
74
A
144
88
140
110
90
140
124
74
145
144
88
US 1
SS Optimized MS Optimized
Field
PM Peak
SS Optimized MS Optimized
Field
SS Optimized MS Optimized
InSync – Controllers Run Free
1) Disable all coordination (set controller into “free/uncoordinated” mode)
2) Enable Detector Diagnostic Failure Mode
a. Set On failure to 250 minutes
b. Set Off failure to 5 minutes
i) Diagnostic failure mode on a 170 will allow itself to come out of failure.
3) Set all “Minimum Green” times to 5 sec., or as client feels comfortable
4) Leave “Maximum Green” times as before
5) Set “Passage Gap” or “Observed Gap” to 1 sec.
6) For protected/permitted left turns, omit the left turn call when the opposing thru
movement is green.
• Notes:
o This will prevent a yellow trap if the controller receives calls on
permitted left turn phases when the opposing thru is green, but may
not bring on the adjacent green thru movement to allow the left turn
a permitted movement.
7) Enable “Soft Recall” on the mainline phases
8) Disable “Yellow Lock” and “Red Lock” detector locking
9) Set all “Detector Delays” to 0 sec.
10) Disable all recalls: Max, Min, Hard, Vehicle, Phase, etc.
11) Remove “Extensions”
12) Disable “Anti-Backup” or “Left Turn Trap”
13) Enable “Max Recall Inhibit”
InSync Detectors in VISSIM
InSync-VISSIM Interface
Field-like InSync Dialog Box
If a picture is
used, use
this layout.
Pics are
much
preferred
over bullets
or other text.
Simulations
Four signal timing scenarios - Identical
traffic flows and geometric conditions
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Field TOD
Optimal TOD – single section
Optimal TOD – multiple sections
InSync Adaptive – no additional adjustments
10 random seeds
Three peak periods (AM, MD, and PM)
2.5 hours (15 min for warm up and 15
min for cool off) for each peak period
Operational Scenarios
Regular operations - 3 peak periods (AM,
MD, and PM)
• Special operations (only for PM peak)
• Freeway Incident - Traffic diversion due
to a freeway incident
• Rail Preemption - Impact of disruption
caused by freight train operations
• Extra demand – 20% traffic growth (flat)
• Inclement Weather - Reduction in speed
and sat. flows due to a heavy rain
•
Freeway Incident
• An 1-hour incident on I-95 freeway
between SR 421 and SR 400
• One lane closed – traffic diverts to
SR 421
• AADT ~ 50,000 veh/day; k factor ~
15%; d factor ~ 55%; 4 lanes
• 1,000 veh – diverted to SR 421 during
one hour
Diversion Routes
Incident
Rail Preemption
• 4 trains modeled in 2 PM peak hours
(every 30 mins)
• Anywhere between 20 – 100 cars in a
train (modeled 20, 30, 70, and 100)
• Train’s speed distributed around 45
mph
• Gates take about 7 seconds to go
up/down
SR 421 & FEC Railway
FEC
RR
Extra Demand
• Flat increase of 20% for all of the
traffic demand generators
• Turning movement proportions
remain the same
• Impact on intersections – almost all
intersections worsen LOS by one grade
• Oversaturated network (8 ints. at LOS
D or worse; 4 ints. at LOS E or worse)
Inclement Weather
• Inclement weather conditions (heavy
rain) in Florida
• PM Peak traffic demand unaltered
(worst-case scenario)
• Travelling speeds reduced by ~ 15%
(from - 20% to -10%)
• Saturation flows reduced by ~ 20% (~
~ 1500 vph)
What was Evaluated?
•
•
•
•
Intersection performance
Main-corridor travel times
Main street vs. Side street
Network performance
Results Examples
Intersection Performance
AM Peak – Intersection Delay
40
35
Total 2 hr Intersection Delay (s)
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Intersection
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
MD Peak – Number of Stops
0.90
0.80
Number of Stops per Vehicle
0.70
0.60
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
Intersection
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
PM Peak – Average Queue
250
Average Queue (ft)
200
150
100
50
0
Intersection
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
ED – Level of Service
LOS
Intersection
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
Williamson
E
D
B
C
C
E
D
D
F
F
D
D
D
B
C
D
E
E
F
F
D
D
C
C
B
C
C
E
E
E
F
C
C
D
D
A
B
C
E
D
B
E
D
D
I-95 SB
I-95 NB
Taylor rd
Yorktowne
Clyde Morris
Victoria
Village
Nova
Spruce
US 1
Main-Corridor Travel Times
IW Travel Times EB
350
300
Travel Time (s)
250
200
150
100
50
0
Segments
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
IW Travel Times WB
150
Travel Time (s)
100
50
0
Segments
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
IW Travel Times All
900
800
700
Travel Time (s)
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Direction
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
IW Travel Times - Summary
WESTBOUND
EASTBOUND
Field
S
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
From
Williamson
I-95 SB
I-95 NB
Taylor
Yorktowne
Clyde Morris
Victoria/City
Swallowtail
Nova
Spruce
US 1
Spruce
Nova
Swallowtail
Victoria/City
Clyde Morris
Yorktowne
Taylor
I-95 NB
I-95 SB
Williamson
US 1
To
I-95 SB
I-95 NB
Taylor
Yorktowne
Clyde Morris
Victoria
Swallowtail
Nova
Spruce
US 1
Spruce
Nova
Swallowtail
Victoria
Clyde Morris
Yorktowne
Taylor
I-95 NB
I-95 SB
Williamson
US 1
Williamson
TT (s)
25.4
9.3
23.4
28.7
44.0
51.2
72.2
198.7
101.8
148.8
134.6
134.9
67.7
53.8
55.2
40.2
33.7
23.3
14.0
49.9
681.8
585.0
Speed (mph)
19.0
35.0
21.3
38.5
27.6
28.4
20.4
9.2
32.2
17.3
19.2
24.2
26.9
27.4
26.5
30.8
32.8
19.8
23.2
9.7
20.9
24.3
SS Optimized
LOS
D
A
D
A
C
B
D
F
B
D
D
C
C
C
C
B
B
D
C
F
D
C
TT (s)
26.3
9.2
22.2
31.1
68.7
48.9
57.7
300.9
108.7
98.0
78.2
141.3
53.7
57.0
61.3
59.7
32.8
20.8
14.8
32.2
763.5
548.0
Speed (mph)
18.3
35.2
22.5
35.5
17.7
29.7
25.6
6.1
30.2
26.2
33.0
23.1
33.9
25.9
23.9
20.7
33.7
22.2
21.8
15.0
18.6
25.9
MS Optimized
LOS
D
A
C
A
D
B
C
F
B
C
B
C
B
C
C
D
B
C
D
E
D
C
TT (s)
22.6
13.5
20.9
34.8
66.8
54.2
58.0
295.2
114.6
120.8
104.7
143.3
52.9
57.5
59.9
48.8
34.2
28.3
21.5
30.5
802.2
559.3
Speed (mph)
21.3
24.1
24.0
31.7
18.2
26.8
25.4
6.2
28.6
21.3
24.6
22.8
34.5
25.6
24.4
25.4
32.3
16.3
15.0
15.8
17.7
25.4
% Change
InSync Optimized
LOS
D
C
C
B
D
C
C
F
B
D
C
C
B
C
C
C
B
E
E
E
D
C
TT (s)
24.6
10.0
18.6
33.5
45.0
44.0
57.1
93.3
88.6
120.8
81.8
124.8
56.2
62.4
50.3
42.1
30.3
17.2
14.1
21.4
548.5
521.6
Speed (mph)
19.6
32.5
26.8
33.0
27.0
33.0
25.8
19.5
37.0
21.3
31.5
26.1
32.5
23.6
29.1
29.4
36.4
26.8
23.0
22.6
25.9
27.2
LOS
D
B
C
B
C
B
C
D
A
D
B
C
B
C
B
B
A
C
C
C
C
C
InSync vs Field
InSync vs SS Synchro
InSync vs MS Synchro
-3.36
7.60
-20.53
16.61
2.21
-13.92
-20.91
-53.05
-12.94
-18.83
-39.19
-7.49
-17.06
16.12
-8.89
4.75
-9.99
-26.13
0.88
-57.17
-19.55
-10.83
-6.54
8.35
-16.15
7.67
-34.44
-9.92
-1.10
-69.00
-18.46
23.33
4.63
-11.65
4.49
9.41
-17.93
-29.51
-7.59
-16.98
-5.04
-33.74
-28.16
-4.81
8.57
-25.97
-10.69
-3.86
-32.59
-18.72
-1.64
-68.40
-22.70
-0.04
-21.82
-12.89
6.15
8.52
-16.08
-13.79
-11.41
-39.16
-34.55
-30.10
-31.62
-6.74
Percent improvement
-19.55
-10.83
-28.16
-4.81
-31.62
-6.74
Main Street vs. Side Street
RP Main vs. Side Street T & L
70.0
60.0
Aggregate Delay per Vehicle (s)
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Street / Movement
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
RP Main vs. Side Street
60.0
Aggregate Delay per Vehicle (s)
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Street
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
Network Performance
FI Total Network Delay
900
800
Total Network Delay (h)
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Signal Timings
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
FI Total Number of Stops
57000
56000
55000
Total Number of Stops
54000
53000
52000
51000
50000
49000
48000
47000
Signal Timings
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
FI Total Travel Time
1750
Total Travel Time (h)
1700
1650
1600
1550
1500
1450
Signal Timings
Field
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
InSync Optimized
FI Network Summary
% change
Parameter
Average delay time per vehicle [s]
Field
90.0
SS Optimized
93.8
MS Optimized
88.4
InSync
74.0
Average number of stops per vehicles
1.77
1.80
1.79
1.64
Average speed [mph]
20.5
20.1
20.7
22.3
Average stopped delay per vehicle [s]
61.7
63.0
57.7
48.2
Total delay time [h]
771.3
804.4
756.9
633.4
34419.8
34384.4
34360.2
34380.3
Latent delay time [h]
2.3
2.4
2.2
2.2
Latent demand
14.0
14.3
11.6
12.7
54737.7
55652.4
55293.7
50461.7
627
629
598
593
30218
Number of vehicles that have left the network
30845
Total number of vehicles (network throughput)
30244
30231
30216
30873
30830
30809
Total stopped delay [h]
528.4
540.6
494.1
412.8
Total travel time [h]
1678.1
1710.3
1661.8
1539.0
Total Distance Traveled [mi]
Number of Stops
Number of vehicles in the network
InSync vs Field InSync vs SS Opt InSync vs MS Opt
-17.8
-7.7
8.9
-21.8
-17.9
-0.1
-6.9
-9.3
-7.8
-5.5
0.0
-0.1
-21.9
-8.3
-21.1
-9.1
11.1
-23.5
-21.3
0.0
-9.2
-11.2
-9.3
-5.8
-0.1
-0.2
-23.6
-10.0
-16.3
-8.7
8.0
-16.4
-16.3
0.1
-3.5
9.5
-8.7
-1.0
0.0
-0.1
-16.5
-7.4
Summary of Results
Reduction [%] of Delays & Stops
Field TOD
SS Optimized
MS Optimized
Regular
Operations
Total Delay
-17.9
-21.3
-16.3
Stops
-7.8
-9.3
-8.7
Freeway
Incident
Total Delay
-24
-30.5
-32.4
-25.8
-26.1
-32.6
Rail
Total Delay
Preemption Stops
-18.2
-21.3
-16.6
-9.4
-10.7
-10.5
Extra
Demand
Total Delay
-25.5
-30.3
-27.5
Stops
-14.7
-20.5
-19.1
Inclement
Weather
Total Delay
-23.5
-18.1
-15.4
Stops
-11.6
-7.4
-8.7
Stops
Average improvements: Delay ~ 22%; Stops ~ 15 %
Summary – All Scenarios
Field TOD
PM Peak
Intersections
Travel times
Main vs.
Side
Network
SS
Optimized
MS
Optimized
InSync better
than a
respective TOD
signal timing
Results are not
definite or TOD
is better
Questions, feedback, comments?
astevano@fau.edu