Amazing! Los Angeles, CA has synchronized it’s traffic signals. With an estimated 7,000,000 commuters on the roads during rush hour, Los Angeles has developed it’s own software to synchronize the city’s nearly 4500 traffic signals across 469 sq. miles. According to city officials, LA is the world’s first major metropolis to accomplish such a feat.
The theory is simple, reduce the amount of time we sit at
traffic signals and keep traffic moving at as steady a pace as possible. Let’s not forget, less time on the road
equals less pollution as well. Something
LA could definitely benefit from. Over
30 years in the making, and $400 million in funds, the system utilizes magnetic
sensors in the roads to measure the flow of traffic, hundreds of cameras and of
course a central computer system, which is managed by a man named Mr. Edward Yu
in a bunker beneath the city. Sound
Oz-like?
With real-time updates about the traffic flow, the system is
able to make second-by-second
adjustments, while adapting to changing conditions. According to David Schrank, co-author of
Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s annual urban mobility report from 2012, the traffic
light synchronization saves $1.3 billion in fuel per year. There’s nothing better than saving time and
money. So, how much time is this system
saving? Ian Lovett's NY Time’s Article states, prior to synchronization, it would take an average of 20
minutes to drive five miles on Los Angeles streets. Now, with synchronization, it has dropped to
17.2 minutes. So, if I am saving 2.8
minutes a day, that’s 14 minutes a week and 728 minutes (12.13 hours) a year. And let’s face it, you don’t ever spend just 20
minutes on a commute in LA. If you
commute 40 minutes you’re going to save over 24 hours a year…Sounds good to me
and I don’t even live in LA.
Hats off to Mayor Villaraigosa, who pledged to complete the system in his
2005 campaign and did what he said he was going to do. Hopefully, if all goes well, this system will
be adopted by other major cities across the globe. Gilroy and Long Beach, CA have jumped on the
bandwagon with Washington considering it.
I’ll be following the progress of this system…I believe it’s a
great move in the right direction.
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