ALL 4,398 TRAFFIC SIGNALS IN THE CITY ARE SYNCHRONIZED:
One of Mayor Villaraigosa’s first campaign promises was to finish synchronizing all the city's traffic signals — making LA the first city in the world to do so — in an effort to make traffic run more smoothly. The LA Department of Transportation, which developed the software to do this (and is selling it to other cities), says synchronization has increased traffic speeds by 16%, decreased travel times by 12%, and reduced carbon emissions by 1 metric ton per year. And it raises, The New York Times speculated, “the almost fantastical prospect, in theory, of driving Western Avenue from the Hollywood Hills to the San Pedro waterfront without stopping once.” The system uses magnetic sensors in the road to detect the flow of vehicles, extending green lights, for example, for buses running behind schedule. It’s harder for the system to sense bikes and pedestrians, but it does allow, for example, extending walk lights near the Staples Center or on Saturdays in Jewish neighborhoods. The mayor negotiated with the state legislature to get $150 million from the Proposition 1B bond measure in 2006 to complete synchronization.
Mayor Villaraigosa’s Top 10 remarkable transportation achievements:
#10: The Transit Corridors Cabinet is reorienting the city around public transportation, repairing the urban fabric, and preserving single family neighborhoods. Read more.
One of Mayor Villaraigosa’s first campaign promises was to finish synchronizing all the city's traffic signals — making LA the first city in the world to do so — in an effort to make traffic run more smoothly. The LA Department of Transportation, which developed the software to do this (and is selling it to other cities), says synchronization has increased traffic speeds by 16%, decreased travel times by 12%, and reduced carbon emissions by 1 metric ton per year. And it raises, The New York Times speculated, “the almost fantastical prospect, in theory, of driving Western Avenue from the Hollywood Hills to the San Pedro waterfront without stopping once.” The system uses magnetic sensors in the road to detect the flow of vehicles, extending green lights, for example, for buses running behind schedule. It’s harder for the system to sense bikes and pedestrians, but it does allow, for example, extending walk lights near the Staples Center or on Saturdays in Jewish neighborhoods. The mayor negotiated with the state legislature to get $150 million from the Proposition 1B bond measure in 2006 to complete synchronization.
Mayor Villaraigosa’s Top 10 remarkable transportation achievements:
#10: The Transit Corridors Cabinet is reorienting the city around public transportation, repairing the urban fabric, and preserving single family neighborhoods. Read more.
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