The Orange County Transportation Authority recently completed six traffic signal synchronization projects along major corridors in the county to improve traffic flow and reduce vehicle emissions. Improvements over 38 miles of roadways enabled the agency to synchronize the signal timing at each intersection so that drivers on the connected streets can travel through multiple intersections with a succession of green lights, thereby reducing vehicle idling time.
The MSRC awarded OCTA $1.25 million in Clean Transportation Funding to upgrade intersection equipment for control and communications, and install miles of conduit and fiber-optic interconnect cable to help synchronize 132 traffic signals. The funding also helped OCTA purchase new or modified master control computer systems that communicate with the system intersections called Advanced Transportation Management Systems, which can be controlled in real time from OCTA’s Traffic Management Center.
The six signal synchronization projects were completed along these major arterials:
1) Adams Avenue, from Lake Street to Fairview Road (17 signals over 5 miles). The average daily traffic volume ranges from 19,600 to 37,600 vehicles. OCTA’s project partners included the Cities of Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa, and Caltrans.
2) Antonio Parkway, from Ortega Highway (SR-74) to Santa Margarita Parkway (27 signals over 10 miles). The average daily traffic volume ranges from 12,000 to 34,000 vehicles. Project partners included Orange County, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita, and Caltrans.
3) Jeronimo Road, from Lake Forest Drive to Olympiad Road (16 signals over 6 miles). The average daily traffic volume ranges from 10,000 to 21,000 vehicles. Project partners included the Cities of Lake Forest and Mission Viejo.
4) Newport Avenue/Boulevard (North), from Santiago Canyon Road to Sycamore Avenue (24 signals over 6 miles). The average daily traffic volume ranges from 3,000 to 32,000 vehicles. Project partners included Orange County, the Cities of Orange and Tustin, and Caltrans.
5) State College Boulevard/The City Drive, from Via Burton to Garden Grove Boulevard (35 signals over 5 miles). The average daily traffic volume ranges from 14,800 to 26,600 vehicles. Project partners included the Cities of Orange and Anaheim, and Caltrans.
6) Trabuco Road, from Paseo Sombra to Marguerite Parkway (14 signals over 4 miles). The average daily traffic volume ranges from 10,700 to 34,000 vehicles. Project partners included the Cities of Lake Forest and Mission Viejo.
Synchronizing traffic signals on timers in accordance with current traffic patterns alleviates congestion, reduces travel time and decreases stop-and-go driving, resulting in a reduction in fuel consumption and vehicle air pollution. Additionally, it saves drivers money – the public will realize an overall savings of $11.8 million from the projects’ first year of operation. The projected savings in fuel costs alone over the next three-years will be $9.2 million.
According to OCTA, these six corridors were chosen for a number of reasons. “All six are regionally important facilities that involved multiple city and state agencies,” said Emily Mason, Community Relations Specialist with OCTA. “All six projects had the support of the local agencies in implementing signal synchronization, and all included key intersection improvements including control equipment, communications conduit, and fiber-optic interconnect cable that were clearly identified and ready to move forward quickly.” OCTA served as the lead agency on these projects because local agencies often do not have individual or collective resources needed to administer or implement these types of multi-jurisdictional projects.
Mason noted that the feedback from the public has been unequivocally positive. “Drivers hate having to frequently stop at traffic signals and any effort that reduces those number of stops is seen as a major improvement to their lives,” she said. “The overall travel time for all six corridors was decreased by 13 percent and the number of stops per vehicle decreased by 27.5 percent.”
These projects have been so successful that OCTA hopes to expand its traffic signal synchronization program in the near future. “We are planning to pursue additional traffic signal synchronization projects throughout Orange County given the universally positive response we have heard from the public, local agencies, and our Board of Directors. OCTA will look to expand our range of improvements including signal synchronization, communications, and possibly integration with public transit,” Mason said.