Traffic Flow Management of State Street-Bayfront Parkway Intersection: A Simulation Case Study

Traffic congestion at intersections is a common cause of wasted time, increased fuel consumption, environmental pollution, etc.It is a major challenge faced by almost all busy urban societies.Significant congestion at the State Street-Bayfront Parkway intersection is such an issue faced by the City of Erie in Pennsylvania.In order to mitigate this issue, this study aims to analyze and improve traffic flow at this intersection, which would assist with reducing travel time as well as congestion and with improving the overall traffic fluidity.A simulation model, replicating real-world traffic conditions at the State Street-Bayfront Parkway intersection, is developed under this study.The model incorporates several factors, including traffic control strategies, queue lengths, traffic volume, etc.As referenced by real-world data, the simulation model indicates moderate traffic congestion eastbound and heavy traffic congestion northbound at the intersection.It is revealed that adjusting traffic light times without increasing congestion on one street or the other is infeasible.Hence, a second left turn lane is recommended to be added for State Street.A second left turn lane at State Street would facilitate a reduction in traffic, which in turn would allow for the red times to be decreased by five to ten seconds for Bayfront Parkway.Thus, congestion would decrease at the State Street-Bayfront Parkway intersection.The recommendations from this study are expected to assist with achieving better traffic fluidity on both State Street and Bayfront Parkway.