Perhaps we have been going about getting rid of our traffic problems in Atlanta the wrong way. Maybe we are thinking too big. From T-Splost, to mass transit to toll lanes and every big idea in between, our focus has been mainly on huge sweeping changes to eliminate our shared gridlock. It might be time to look at the problem from a different perspective.
It might be time to kill our traffics woes with a death of a thousand cuts.
Meaning of course, instead of one big blow, we chip away at our big backups with smaller, more focused solutions, instead of sweeping changes on a grand scale.
The first of these “thousand cuts” might be increased synchronization of the traffic lights in our region.
Long a common complaint of Georgia motorists, mistimed or poorly timed traffic signals certainly can add to our aggravating commutes.
The Georgia Department of Transportation has earmarked $8 million for a project to sync up traffic lights in the region. With newer technology now available, the hope is that better timed lights can save drivers time, gas and frustration.
GDOT thinks that the improvements in synchronization could save drivers up to 15 seconds per light.
I’ve seen how well, if implemented properly, traffic light synchronization can work. In New York City, you can often travel the length of Manhattan without once hitting a red light. The big advantage, The Big Apple has of course, is a gridded street system, that makes it easier for signals to be synced properly.
Los Angeles is in the final stages of a citywide traffic signal synchronization project that controls 4,400 signals in the city.
Senior Transportation Engineer for the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation Verej Janoyan says the long process is paying dividends.
“Generally after each system or sub-system we do a study and all of the studies have shown that speeds and travel times improve and delays are reduced anywhere from 10 to 15 percent on the average.”
Those numbers are in line with what is expected here in Metro Atlanta.
“By optimizing traffic signal operations, we can see improvements from 10 percent to a maximum of 40 percent in efficiency depending on how outdated the timing and equipment was at intersections,” said GDOT Chief Engineer Gerald Ross.
It sounds like Ross understands the death by a thousand cuts approach.
“What may seem like just a few minutes of time saved on a commute really adds up when you multiply it by the thousands of vehicles that drive through those areas every day. We will keep looking at more routes that can benefit from the RTOPS (regional traffic operations program initiative), and continue more low cost and innovative solutions to improve congestion in the metro area,” he said.
While the Atlanta project is much smaller in scope than the LA endeavor, Janoyan offers some advice for the Georgia Department of Transportation.
“I think they should really have a master plan,” Janoyan said. “They should define what exactly they want the system to do, because once you start laying out the infrastructure and communications it’s hard to go back and retrofit.”
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