Integrated Intersection Management for Connected, Automated Vehicles, and Bicyclists

In recent years, significant progress in the development of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) has been observed. In combination with new control strategies at intersection zones, CAVs have the potential to increase both safety and efficiency in urban traffic: Numerous studies that present and evaluate automated intersection management (AIM) show a significant reduction of vehicle delays. However, most of these studies assume a fully connected traffic environment and do not consider non-connected road users such as human-driven vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists. In this paper, novel strategies for integrating bicyclists into AIM are introduced and compared to two different fully actuated traffic signal controls. The presented strategies consist of a first-come, first-served strategy for vehicles in combination with traffic signals for bicyclists. Depending on the available information about approaching bicyclists, bicycle operations are included into the control in fixed cycles or on demand. A four-leg intersection is simulated using a microsimulation platform where all control strategies are implemented and tested. A set of scenarios considering different levels of vehicle and bicycle demand is evaluated. Results show that bicyclists can be included into AIM while guaranteeing a maximum bicyclist waiting time, and the level of service for vehicles can be significantly improved.