Mayor Claims Average Red Light Wait Down 8 Seconds
LA Traffic: 'Operation Bottleneck Relief' Takes It Up A Notch
Updated 1:53 PM PST, Mon, Jan 26, 2009
LOS ANGELES -- Engineers with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation will study 60 congested intersections this fiscal year and determine whether longer green lights would cut down on traffic, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Monday.
This is the fourth phase of "Operation Bottleneck Relief."
Since 2005, LADOT has looked at 217 intersections and retimed the lights at 103 of them for the morning and afternoon rush hours. By retiming the lights, commuters' wait times at red lights has been reduced by eight seconds, according to the mayor's office.
"We all know every second counts when you're stuck in traffic. While we won't fix the traffic problem with a single initiative, it's important that we push the envelope -- constantly work to find new and innovative ways to use our resources to alleviate traffic," Villaraigosa said during a news conference in the city's basement traffic control bunker.
Traffic engineers use the Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control system to collect real-time data on traffic conditions. Based on that information, engineers can change the timing of traffic signals.
"ATSAC can do a lot of things automatically, but you still need engineers," Villaraigosa said. "What they're doing is taking the technology and adding to it."
Transportation officials will review five intersections per month through June 2009, including:
First Published: Sep 22, 2008 11:58 AM PST
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