The attention today will be on traffic signals. A new study by the National Transportation Operations Coalition shows that improper traffic-signal timing accounts for 5 to 10 percent of all traffic delays. Some of the biggest problems cited are those that each of us experience on a regular basis, including: (1) signal sequences where drivers pass through a green light at one intersection only to find a red light at the next intersection. (2) making drivers stop at intersections where there are no vehicles and no pedestrians at the cross street. (3) intersections where drivers must sit through more than one green cycle of lights.
The coalition says time wasted because of the timing of traffic signals affects a broad range of issues. The summary of the coalition report, titled National Traffic Signal Report Card, states, “Congestion not only wastes fuel, time and money, but it is also a significant factor in shaping the quality of life for individuals and families”.
The report then rates with a grade what is being done on a national level. If this were the report card of a high school student, I don’t think that student would be going very far. The coalition says that management of traffic signals on a national level rates at “D-,” the operation of individual signals gets a “C” but the coordination among traffic signal systems gets a “D.” The worst grade of all goes to traffic monitoring and data collection, which gets an “F.”
Locally, we have some of the most complex and well-coordinated signal systems in the nation. I imagine that our grades will be a bit higher (“no traffic signal left behind”). Still, Ron Kirby, the transportation guru at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, will say today there is more to be done.
Across the river, the staff in Montgomery County is in the middle of a $2 million design program that could lead to a $36 million traffic signal control system allowing them to better coordinate the signals there.
The District’s Department of Transportation has deployed 50 SpeedInfo radar sensors to measure traffic speeds on major roads including the six designated evacuation routes. This information should allow for rapid changes in signal timing as needed.
All in all, I expect that today’s event will focus more attention on something that is far too often overlooked when transportation professionals talk about making improvements to the regional traffic mess. Investing in traffic signal systems and staffing operation centers with men and women who understand the need for these systems will help all of us and save time and fuel at the same time.
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