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Wireless hookup will let
county adjust traffic signals
March 15, 2006, By Alison Shackelford
Hewitt
Copley News Service
County officials soon will be able to monitor and adjust traffic
signals to speed the flow of traffic at 51 street intersections in
unincorporated areas near the Century (105) and San Diego (405)
freeways, thanks to a $465,000 wireless connection approved Tuesday
by the Board of Supervisors.
The signals -- near Del Aire, Hawthorne, El Segundo, Athens and
Gardena -- are the first to be connected to the county's new traffic
management center. Signals in other unincorporated areas with heavy
traffic, including Marina del Rey, will eventually follow, said Ken
Pellman, a spokesman for the county Department of Public Works.
"These signals right now are timed, and most of them are
synchronized ... and the only variation (in how long they stay red
or green) is caused by detectors in the pavement, which are
triggered by the cars passing over them," Pellman said.
"We're going to equip these signals so that they can be controlled
and monitored," he continued. "We can change the timing to alleviate
some problems, and we can respond to malfunctions faster because
we'll be able to see what's going on from the traffic management
center."
Travel time in the area will be reduced by 13 percent, fuel
consumption will decrease 12.5 percent and air emissions will
decline 10 percent as a result, county officials predicted.
Among the intersections are the junction of Aviation and El Segundo
boulevards, the north and south entrances to the 405 from El Segundo
Boulevard, and the junction of Rosecrans and Inglewood avenues.
Others are along Aviation, Century, El Segundo and La Cienega
boulevards, Inglewood, Rosecrans, Normandie and Western avenues, and
Imperial Highway.
The traffic management center in Alhambra will give technicians a
real-time video of each intersection, and allow them to instantly
change lights from red to green or vice versa, depending on how
traffic is flowing.
"If there's an accident, and one intersection is blocked, we'll want
to change the timing on nearby intersections to clear up traffic. Or
if we need traffic to go straight through for an extended period of
time -- maybe for a presidential motorcade -- we can put the cross
streets on red for a longer period of time," Pellman explained.
The signals are scheduled to be hooked up by July. |