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‘Smart’ tech makes life easier for Valley drivers

MCDOT plans Phase Two of Bell Road traffic signal pilot project

Posted 6/14/20

County planners are partnering with cities and agencies to improve safety and reduce commute times across the Valley.

Having completed an award-winning first phase of their Bell Road Adaptive …

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‘Smart’ tech makes life easier for Valley drivers

MCDOT plans Phase Two of Bell Road traffic signal pilot project

Posted

County planners are partnering with cities and agencies to improve safety and reduce commute times across the Valley.

Having completed an award-winning first phase of their Bell Road Adaptive Signal Technology Pilot Project in 2019, officials at the Maricopa County Department of Transportation are planning a second phase along Bell Road.

The innovative technology — called adaptive signal control technology or ASCT — reads road conditions minute-by-minute with sensors installed at intersections to adjust the timing of traffic signals, explained project leader April Wire, a professional engineer who serves as arterial operations program manager for intelligent transportations systems at MCDOT.

“Adaptive signals provide motorists a smoother commute without having to stop at as many traffic signals,” Ms. Wire stated. “When there are unexpected delays or other traffic events, the green times will adjust automatically. The green times give motorists more time in directions they really need and less time to directions that only have a few vehicles.”

The first phase of the project garnered an award for Ms. Wires and her team. They received the Innovative Transportation Solutions Award for 2020 from WTS, a national professional association, which promotes the advancement of women in the field of transportation engineering.

Ms. Wires said while the ASCT system autonomously optimizes traffic flow, it also makes wait times less predictable for drivers.

“A traffic engineer does not have to manually adjust the traffic signals. Drivers should always pay attention and follow traffic signals, do not assume you know the exact duration of a green light, since the duration of greens may not be the same,” she stated.

Zoe Richmond, communications branch manager for MCDOT, said the first phase of the project demonstrated the technology really works; instead of attempting to predict traffic patterns, it reads and adjusts to them continuously.

“These signals can help as you have those peaks and valleys of transportation along these corridors,” Ms. Richmond said. “It knows that it’s rush hour and it needs to change the left-turn green to last a little bit longer. But as opposed to scheduling it — saying here’s your rush hours at 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. — it continuously adapts itself. If you have a special event, it picks up on that increase in traffic flow and starts managing the signal cycle differently.”

New technologies become crucial in places like Maricopa County, where building new freeways and arterial roads may not be practical because communities are already fully constructed, she said.

“If you look at transportation moving forward, there’s only so much new infrastructure that you can build out,” Ms. Richmond said. “As traffic patterns change, as populations grow, how do you make the assets that you have work smarter? In terms of the question, is it working and are we going to see more of it, the answer is yes. It has been working and, ultimately, this is the way that transportation is moving.”

Phase one results

The $2.7 million Phase One project was comprised of four distinct project areas along Bell Road, including:

  • Area One: Cotton Lane to 114th Avenue in Surprise;
  • Area Two: 99th Avenue to 73rd Avenue in Peoria, Glendale and county areas;
  • Area Three: Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard from Scottsdale Road to Thompson Peak Parkway in Scottsdale; and
  • Area Four: 35th Avenue to 19th Avenue in Phoenix.

Each of the four project zones explored how ASCT can respond to various traffic challenges.

In Surprise, home to one of the Valley’s most popular Cactus League Spring Training stadiums, planners gathered data on how the system can respond to special event traffic.

Officials said the technology improved flow during special events and throughout the day generally, while exposing the challenge of ensuring flow along intersecting streets. Delays were reduced by up to 20% on weekdays and 43% on weekends.

A little further east, Area Two looked at both special event traffic, being in close proximity to the Peoria Sports Complex, along with holiday season congestion around the P83 and Arrowhead shopping districts.

While special events flow showed limited improvement in this area, traffic delays were reduced by 7% on weekends and a whopping 51% on weekdays, according to MCDOT officials.

In Area Three, engineers hoped to improve traffic and pedestrian flow during peak times and special events and they reported improvements in both, with weekend traffic delays reduced by 31% on weekends and nearly 24% during special events.

However, pedestrian flow was not significantly improved and weekday traffic delays actually increased during testing in that area.

In Area Four, the special challenge was to improve traffic progression across the busy Interstate 17 freeway interchange. While weekend delays were reduced by 16%, weekday traffic delays increased overall, officials stated.

According to Faisal Saleem, professional engineer and intelligent transportation systems branch manager for MCDOT, the pilot showed ASCT can make commuting easier for Valley drivers.

“Now, we have a real-world demonstration where using leading-edge technology can better manage traffic flow. When we are able to better predict traffic patterns, adjust to changing conditions and keep people moving on the roadway, drivers are the true winners,” he stated in an article about the project submitted to Daily Independent.

Ms. Richmond credited the success of Phase One on cooperation amongst MCDOT’s diverse project partners, including the cities of Surprise, Peoria, Glendale, Phoenix and Scottsdale, along with the Arizona Department of Transportation.

“I think the biggest thing about this project comes down to is how many different partners were at the table. Because that’s the other big component,” she said. “You can’t live in a bubble in transportation. The interstates connect to the surface roads, connect to the county roads, connect to the arterials. To have a handful of jurisdictions come together and all agree on this component is the thing that makes this really impressive.”

Next phase

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors at their May 20 formal meeting approved an intergovernmental agreement, which will launch a second phase of the pilot program on Bell Road from the Loop 303 to I-17.

The Phase Two installation will also add ASCT to 13 additional intersections in two additional areas.

Area Five will add the technology at the Del Webb Boulevard and Boswell Boulevard intersections in Sun City, connecting to the Bell Road corridor in Surprise. Area Six will add ASCT to 11 traffic signals between 69th and 39th avenues to expand the test corridor between Glendale and Phoenix.

“The goal of Phase 2 is to expand Phase 1 deployment and provide a system with the ability to adjust signal operations in real-time, reduce delays, reduce travel times, improve safety to multiple modes of vehicles, pedestrians, transit, and emergency services, reduce vehicle emissions by reducing stops and delays at arterial intersections and the interchanges, improve cross-jurisdictional traffic flow, making travel appear seamless to the driver,” the IGA document states.

Ms. Richmond said work on Phase Two will commence in about a year or more.

“For Phase 2 from Loop 303 to Interstate 17, work will actually commence in about 12 to 18 months,” she said.

The project is federally funded with local jurisdictions combing to contribute a little more than $67,000 to the project’s $1.2 million budget.