MAYOR BILL WHITE ANNOUNCES PLAN TO SYNCHRONIZE TRAFFIC SIGNALS Midtown area work to be first of over 1,500 intersections
January 7, 2004 -- Mayor Bill White and the City of Houston Public Works and Engineering Department (PWE) today announced a yearlong effort to re-time and synchronize over 1,500 intersections around the city. Beginning with the re-timing of intersections in the Midtown area, the work will move forward in the coming months to thirteen additional traffic corridors and then be expanded to other areas as they are identified and prioritized. The Midtown traffic signals are expected to be completed by January 15, 2004.
“Through a well-coordinated process, we will bring traffic relief to commuters traveling through Houston's Midtown areas,” said Mayor White. “Over the next twelve months, commuters can expect to see a positive change in traffic flow and travel times.”
Mayor White added, “From there, we will continue to address congestion problems by expanding the traffic signal re-timing program to additional areas throughout the city. This will be one part of an overall plan to reduce commuting times.”
Programs to install modern traffic signals and traffic controllers are enabling PWE to concentrate its efforts on optimizing the traffic signal timing along entire traffic corridors rather than on individual intersections. By focusing on the entire corridor, the traffic timing work seeks to provide a progression of green lights while still allowing for cross-street traffic flow.
The re-timing of the traffic signals in a given corridor will occur in four phases. First, candidate traffic corridors will be selected for re-timing based on traffic volumes and the availability of the new technology provided by the Regional Computerized Traffic Signal System (RCTSS) or updated traffic controllers. Currently being installed by the Metropolitan Transit Authority and PWE, the RCTSS communicates traffic conditions to Houston TranStar, the region's transportation management center.
During the second phase, traffic studies will be performed and the data entered into special software that produces an optimized traffic signal timing and sequencing. The new timing and sequencing is programmed into the traffic signal controllers in the third phase, and the new timing is evaluated for any required adjustments during the fourth and final phase of the project.
A detailed map and timeline of the traffic signal timing optimization plan can be found, in .pdf format, if you CLICK HERE. Citizens are asked to call 311 to report malfunctioning traffic signals.
