Let There Be (Synchronized) Light : * Traffic Signals Working in Concert Can Ease the Congestion and Cool Tempers

One doesn’t commute for long on the freeways of Orange County before developing a mind set for alternative routes.

Most everyone has a Plan A for getting from one point to another. And then there are these secret routes along local streets. The new emphasis by local governments on coordinating synchronization of lights on these arteries is a welcome acknowledgment of the need for many Orange County commuters to have a handy Plan B.

In case anybody didn’t already know that waiting at traffic signals on local streets can be every bit as frustrating as waiting on a stalled freeway, a recent UC Irvine survey offered telling statistics. Sixty-two percent of those polled consider synchronization to be a high priority for transportation funds--second only to the 69% favoring a commuter rail system.

Interestingly, the figure was almost double those who thought the answer was more freeway pavement.

There are other reasons besides alleviating freeway congestion for getting traffic moving on local streets. Caltrans estimates that 43% of lost fuel used on surface streets comes from stop-and-go driving and sitting at traffic signals. Happily, state, local and federal agencies recently have been paying more attention to synchronization projects where cities work together.

And there’s the rub. The overall flow of traffic in Orange County depends heavily on cooperation among different jurisdictions. It does no good if one city moves traffic along on a main artery, only to have another tie down commuters in stop-and-go traffic. Fortunately, cities are beginning to see the light, so to speak.

The availability of money is changing the equation. The most important is Measure M, the half-cent county sales tax increase for transportation that was approved in 1990.

Provided that Measure M overcomes legal challenges, it promises to provide $120 million in the next 20 years for the vaunted “super street” project, which was designed to improve 220 miles of roads, and synchronization is a big part of the plan. Also, $50 million in Measure M is set aside for signal improvements and coordination.

If people have confidence that things will improve, as recently happened with the pioneering synchronization project along a 12-mile section of Katella Avenue, people will gain confidence in alternatives.

One good way to cool tempers in the daily Orange Crush is to synchronize traffic lights on local streets.