Reducing Traffic Congestion in Chicago

Traffic congestion is a huge source of inefficiency. In 2019, lost productivity as a result of congestion amounted to $87 billion in the US alone. Our project aims to reduce traffic congestion in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, the city’s premier commercial district. We focus on the intersection between Michigan Avenue and Ontario Street, modelling it as a Jackson network of 7 M/M/1 queues. The analysis is supported by hypothesis testing and plots learnt in Statistics. A change in the traffic light timings is ultimately proposed to reduce congestion in this intersection.