Operational impacts of dynamic lane management on event-induced traffic congestion: evidence from Greater Manchester, UK

Yuxiang Feng, Jingshuo Qiu, Léah Camarcat, Weixuan Zhou, Laura Barnett, Paraskevi Michalaki, Sukhvinder Ubhi, Muhammad Hamzah Sajid, Hannah Tune, David Watts, Mohammed Quddus

Planned Special Events (PSEs), including sports fixtures, concerts, and festivals, can impose substantial additional demand on already constrained road networks, often resulting in severe congestion and reduced network reliability. However, evidence on effective traffic management strategies for mitigating these impacts in highly congested urban regions remains limited. This study investigates the transport impacts of PSEs, with a focus on sports events in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, and evaluates intervention strategies to enhance traffic performance and network resilience across both England’s Strategic Road Network (SRN) and the Greater Manchester local road network. A systematic review of 31 studies was first undertaken to identify interventions to managing event-related travel demand, leading to the classification of six categories of intervention. Historical traffic data, including speed, flow, and occupancy, were then analysed to identify recurrent bottlenecks and critical capacity constraints of event-related congestion. Building on these insights, Dynamic Lane Management (DLM) strategies, specifically reversible lanes and dedicated lanes, were modelled and assessed using the open-source Simulation of Urban MObility (SUMO) platform. The results indicate that reversible lane operation can deliver substantial improvements in network performance, reducing delays by up to 47.43% and increasing average speeds by up to 51.09% along the most affected corridors. By contrast, dedicated lane interventions produced only marginal benefits under the tested conditions. The findings demonstrate the potential of DLM, particularly reversible lane schemes, as an adaptive traffic management strategy for improving operational efficiency and mitigating disruption during planned events. This study contributes empirical evidence to support transport authorities in the design of more resilient and responsive traffic management strategies for PSEs.