Abstract: One-way traffic is usually used to relieve traffic congestion in many cities. As there are generally two lanes on one-way roads, the phenomenon often occurs at the intersection that a lane is free while the other is congested. Based on the situation of asymmetric traffic flow, the use of variable lanes was studied and the setting method of variable lanes was analyzed. With the signal control coordinated strategy, the calculation method of switching-on and-off of the variable sign board was presented. Besides, the efficiency of variable lanes was comprehensively evaluated using such indexes as queue length, capacity, delays etc. Moreover, taking the intersection between Shanghai Dongfang Road and Pusan Road as an example, the traffic demand and problems at morning rush hours were investigated and the feasibility of setting variable lanes at the south section of Pusan Road was proposed. The simulation results indicate that the variable lanes can increase the capacity at the intersection, and reduce secondary queuing, thus reducing average delay by approximately 30%.

Key words: one-way traffic organization, adjacent intersections, variable lane