 PHOENIX ‒ It
may not be surprising to hear that coordinating the timing of city traffic
signals and those at two busy Interstate 17 interchanges will save drivers
time.
But the
Arizona Department of Transportation and its partners, the city of Phoenix and
Maricopa Association of Governments, have taken it a step further by adding up
the time saved and its dollar value for a project involving Camelback and
Indian School roads.
The answer:
Motorists are expected to save 350,000 hours of travel time, worth $6.2
million, per year.
“Continuous
improvement is ADOT’s culture and is reflected in both large and small things
that the ADOT team does every day. Sometimes a seemingly small change that
makes better use of resources can mean big improvements,” ADOT Director John
Halikowski said. “Drivers are already seeing a time savings from this
coordination. Saving time means saving money and more time with family, friends
and things you enjoy doing.”
“The ADOT
team’s challenge is to keep improving time savings and promote efficiency for
Arizona’s taxpayers,” Halikowski added.
“When ADOT,
MAG and the city of Phoenix work together strategically, the public is the
beneficiary,” Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said. “Properly timing the traffic
signals at these busy intersections will ease congestion, which gets commuters
home sooner, saves fuel and keeps our air cleaner.”
A project
funded by Maricopa Association of Governments’ Traffic Signal Optimization
Program studied traffic signal timing at the Camelback and Indian School
interchanges and nearby city streets and recommended a number of improvements.
The project developed a common cycle length for all traffic signals near those
interchanges and the best timing for the morning and evening commutes.
ADOT and
Phoenix made these recommended changes, leading to significant improvements in
travel times at these locations. An independent study by ADOT staff identified
the benefits in time saved.
Besides
saving motorists time, these adjustments are expected to improve safety by
reducing the number of stops drivers must make and time spent waiting at
traffic lights. Shorter travel times and fewer stops also reduce fuel
consumption and air pollution.
ADOT and
Phoenix continue to evaluate other I-17 corridor interchanges to see if changes
in signal coordination can improve traffic flow elsewhere.
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