Better Traffic Flow Across Edmonton
Have you ever been waiting at a red light with no cars coming in the other direction wishing that the light would change and let you through? What about if you've been walking through the community and you have to push the button to activate the traffic light to cross but it takes two minutes to change even though there's no traffic coming? My guess is almost all of us have been in that situation at one point or another.
You might remember that a few years ago, I made a motion about trying to install traffic signals that would be more responsive to traffic. Unfortunately, they didn't work as well as I would have hoped but I've been watching what other cities do and I think there is a better way to help traffic move.
To try and get traffic moving more efficiently, I made the following motion last week which was approved unanimously by council:
"That Administration complete a review of other jurisdictions to identify what is required to have real-time or close to real-time traffic volume measurement and to implement traffic dependent signals across Edmonton to improve traffic flow for all modes of transportation. This report is to include:
1) Cost differences for different types of traffic signals and traffic equipment;
2) Ways to incorporate this work with other transportation network projects;
3) The ability of reducing or eliminating pedestrian buttons as part of improving traffic movement for everyone; and adding audio signals; and
4) Identify changes to design practices that would be required to formally define signal prioritization to include all modes of transportation."
I'm going to share a link to a video that will give you a better idea of how this might work as I think it's a better way to describe what this motion is trying to accomplish versus a long post. That video link will be in the comments.
The short summary is that I would like to make sure that people don't have to wait at traffic lights as long as we do now, no matter what mode of transportation you choose to use. I think there are many other cities who have been doing this better than we have and I don't see why we cannot learn from those cities and help move traffic more efficiently.
One final flag is that related to keeping track of traffic volumes. Right now that process is very archaic. We typically have equipment that goes on the road and counts how many vehicles use a particular road. Those counts are usually only for a day and then we don't do any other counts on the same road for a few years. That lack of reliable data means we aren't able to make good decisions about where we need to invest.
There are cities that have close to real-time or real-time traffic volume counters so that they know how many drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists are using a road each day and that can help to inform changes so that people can move more efficiently to their destination.
The report for this motion is tentatively scheduled to come back at the end of August so I will be sure to provide an update when this information comes back. If you have any questions or feedback for me, please let me know.
