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Red rage: Lack of signal synchronization irks motorists
One thing arguably more frustrating to a driver than heavy traffic is to constantly stop at traffic lights on a street lined with out-of-sync traffic signals.
By By: Jennifer Simonson and Susan Dage-Ruby
One thing arguably more frustrating to a driver than heavy traffic is to constantly stop at traffic lights on a street lined with out-of-sync traffic signals.
Drivers might experience this more often in Parker than in other parts of Denver. Unlike many municipalities, Parker does not have a centralized traffic signal control system to coordinate the light changes, but it will soon.
For now, Parker public works officials set timers inside traffic signals to synchronize the light changes with surrounding traffic signals, but many times the timing of the clocks will speed ahead or lag behind, causing them to be off, said Chris Hudson, Parker's project manager.
Coordination between traffic signals is key to keeping traffic flowing smoothly, said Dave Aden, Parker's traffic engineer.
It is for that reason Hudson requested money from the Denver Regional Council of Governments to construct a centralized computer program.
The $150,000 program will synchronize the timing of 18 of Parker's 28 traffic signals, and it will inform the public works department if a traffic signal is not working correctly.
"Now if a signal is not working correctly, we have no way of knowing it, unless we get a call from the police or a citizen," Hudson said.
Traffic signals can work incorrectly for hours, even days, before public works is notified.
The new system will use either fiber optic lines or radio links installed in the signals to communicate between the traffic lights.
Some major streets expected to run smoother with the new system are Lincoln Avenue from Jordan Road to Parker Road, Mainstreet from Motsenbocker Road to Stage Run Drive and East Mainstreet from Pine Drive to Riva Ridge Street.
Parker Road will not be linked to the new system, even though Hudson said he receives many complaints about the intersections along it, because it is the responsibility of the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Every new traffic signal built in the town will be linked to the system, and in coming years the 10 signals that are not immediately connected to the system will be.
With the growth of Parker's population, which filled the streets with traffic, the computer system is overdue, Hudson said.
When he started working for the town in 1999, there were five traffic signals.
"We are going to have more and more signals go up in the town. I know people don't like them, but they are a necessary tool to move traffic safely," he said. "This program is just one more tool for us to keep up with the increasing traffic."
In Castle Rock, motorists can be frustrated by the apparent lack of synchronization of traffic lights, too, but getting them coordinated is equally frustrating, said Bob Watts, Castle Rock public works director.
"If traffic signal timing was absolutely possible, someone would have figured it out by now," Watts said. "It's easy to synchronize lights going one way. But when you add the opposite direction is gets more complicated."
Traffic light timing can be based on traffic volume and time of day, Watts said.
Castle Rock has two types of traffic signals: independent signals and those tied in with other signals.
Independent signals have a traffic detector to notify the signal when a car is at the light, he said.
The detector can be a camera, a wire in the pavement that detects cars as they drive over it or radio signals through antennas such as the signal at Perry and Fifth streets.
Drivers along U.S. 85 might have noticed the cameras atop the signals at Meadows Parkway. They are not to photograph drivers who run red lights, Watts said, but are detectors.
"Problems are encountered when the detector fails," Watts said. "It can cost between $1,000 and $1,500 to repair a broken wire."
The lack of synchronized cycles can be frustrating to drivers.
"Cycles are checked periodically, but lights can slip out of sync," Watts said.
Castle Rock and Parker are improving their traffic signal functions through the Traffic Signal System Improvement Program grant from the federal government.
Administered by the Denver Regional Council of Governments, Parker and Castle Rock will receive $150,000 each to improve their traffic signal systems.
"DRCOG hired a consultant last summer to do a feasibility study for both Parker and Castle Rock," said Steve Rudy, DRCOG transportation operations manager. "Castle Rock's study was completed in March and identified ways system software should be configured."
Once completed, sometime by the end of the year, Castle Rock's traffic signals will be tied into a network much like a set of office computers are tied into a single server, Rudy said.
The key elements to getting signals synchronized are software and communications, Rudy said.
Using the traffic light at Perry and Fifth streets as an example, Rudy said the antenna at the top of the signal doesn't do anything right now because there is no software to run it.
However, once the signal monitoring system is activated, the light can be changed at the network when traffic begins to back up.
The main monitoring station will likely be housed at the Castle Rock Service Center, 4175 N. Castleton Court, Watts said.
"Once there's a system, it doesn't mean the problems disappear," Rudy said. "But the system can increase coordination of the lights and keep them better in sync. It also can tell the town when there's a problem with a signal."
Drivers might experience this more often in Parker than in other parts of Denver. Unlike many municipalities, Parker does not have a centralized traffic signal control system to coordinate the light changes, but it will soon.
For now, Parker public works officials set timers inside traffic signals to synchronize the light changes with surrounding traffic signals, but many times the timing of the clocks will speed ahead or lag behind, causing them to be off, said Chris Hudson, Parker's project manager.
Coordination between traffic signals is key to keeping traffic flowing smoothly, said Dave Aden, Parker's traffic engineer.
It is for that reason Hudson requested money from the Denver Regional Council of Governments to construct a centralized computer program.
The $150,000 program will synchronize the timing of 18 of Parker's 28 traffic signals, and it will inform the public works department if a traffic signal is not working correctly.
"Now if a signal is not working correctly, we have no way of knowing it, unless we get a call from the police or a citizen," Hudson said.
Traffic signals can work incorrectly for hours, even days, before public works is notified.
The new system will use either fiber optic lines or radio links installed in the signals to communicate between the traffic lights.
Some major streets expected to run smoother with the new system are Lincoln Avenue from Jordan Road to Parker Road, Mainstreet from Motsenbocker Road to Stage Run Drive and East Mainstreet from Pine Drive to Riva Ridge Street.
Parker Road will not be linked to the new system, even though Hudson said he receives many complaints about the intersections along it, because it is the responsibility of the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Every new traffic signal built in the town will be linked to the system, and in coming years the 10 signals that are not immediately connected to the system will be.
With the growth of Parker's population, which filled the streets with traffic, the computer system is overdue, Hudson said.
When he started working for the town in 1999, there were five traffic signals.
"We are going to have more and more signals go up in the town. I know people don't like them, but they are a necessary tool to move traffic safely," he said. "This program is just one more tool for us to keep up with the increasing traffic."
In Castle Rock, motorists can be frustrated by the apparent lack of synchronization of traffic lights, too, but getting them coordinated is equally frustrating, said Bob Watts, Castle Rock public works director.
"If traffic signal timing was absolutely possible, someone would have figured it out by now," Watts said. "It's easy to synchronize lights going one way. But when you add the opposite direction is gets more complicated."
Traffic light timing can be based on traffic volume and time of day, Watts said.
Castle Rock has two types of traffic signals: independent signals and those tied in with other signals.
Independent signals have a traffic detector to notify the signal when a car is at the light, he said.
The detector can be a camera, a wire in the pavement that detects cars as they drive over it or radio signals through antennas such as the signal at Perry and Fifth streets.
Drivers along U.S. 85 might have noticed the cameras atop the signals at Meadows Parkway. They are not to photograph drivers who run red lights, Watts said, but are detectors.
"Problems are encountered when the detector fails," Watts said. "It can cost between $1,000 and $1,500 to repair a broken wire."
The lack of synchronized cycles can be frustrating to drivers.
"Cycles are checked periodically, but lights can slip out of sync," Watts said.
Castle Rock and Parker are improving their traffic signal functions through the Traffic Signal System Improvement Program grant from the federal government.
Administered by the Denver Regional Council of Governments, Parker and Castle Rock will receive $150,000 each to improve their traffic signal systems.
"DRCOG hired a consultant last summer to do a feasibility study for both Parker and Castle Rock," said Steve Rudy, DRCOG transportation operations manager. "Castle Rock's study was completed in March and identified ways system software should be configured."
Once completed, sometime by the end of the year, Castle Rock's traffic signals will be tied into a network much like a set of office computers are tied into a single server, Rudy said.
The key elements to getting signals synchronized are software and communications, Rudy said.
Using the traffic light at Perry and Fifth streets as an example, Rudy said the antenna at the top of the signal doesn't do anything right now because there is no software to run it.
However, once the signal monitoring system is activated, the light can be changed at the network when traffic begins to back up.
The main monitoring station will likely be housed at the Castle Rock Service Center, 4175 N. Castleton Court, Watts said.
"Once there's a system, it doesn't mean the problems disappear," Rudy said. "But the system can increase coordination of the lights and keep them better in sync. It also can tell the town when there's a problem with a signal."
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