Retiming saves gas, study saysBy David Slade (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Sunday, November 9, 2008
A study has concluded that a retiming of 189 Charleston traffic signals completed early this year, at a cost of $555,782, will save motorists hundreds of thousands of gallons of gas each year. The study used drivers, whose speed and locations were tracked with global positioning satellite devices, to repeatedly travel each route before and after the retiming at different times of day. They found that delays were reduced on every main traffic corridor downtown, on James Island and in West Ashley. Some of the improvements were significant, such as a 75 percent reduction in the number of times a car had to stop on the Crosstown Expressway. Others were small, such as cutting the time to drive the length of Broad Street in the evening rush by one second. And in a few cases, travel time slightly increased, mostly on north-south downtown streets and on Maybank Highway between 7 and 9 a.m. Those streets saw improvements during the evening rush that outweighed the morning delays, the study found. Add it up, and the city's study by Jacobs Engineering and Kimley-Horn Associates concluded the annual benefit of the retiming amounts to 569,659 hours of time saved, 341,795 gallons of gas and 203.5 tons of emissions reduction. The savings were calculated for two-hour morning, noon and afternoon peak travel periods that were studied. Presumably, more time and gas would be saved during the other 18 hours in the day. Hernan Pena, director of the city's Department of Traffic and Transportation, said the greatest improvements from the retiming were seen on Calhoun Street and the Crosstown, but all major traffic corridors were improved. "We spent over 2,000 hours in the field checking these intersections," he said. The study assumes that the benefits from the retiming will last about five years. It involved 115 traffic signals downtown and 74 in West Ashley and on James Island. Reach David Slade at 937-5552 or dslade@postand courier.com. |
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Comments
This article has 9 comment(s)
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Posted by lightengineer on November 9, 2008 at 7:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have traveled the same route from Mt Pleasant to Charleston every day for the last 4 years. If you think Charleston is bad with their timing of their lights, Mt Pleasant is worse. While driving between 5-6am on Hwy 17, if a car approaches from a perpendicular road, the light on Hwy 17 changes red in 3 seconds or less. More than half the time the driver is turning right on red. Let them sit for at least 15 seconds and help us traveling on 17 save gas.
Posted by twocents on November 9, 2008 at 8:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'll tell you what can save you gas. Tell all these people who think they have to leave one or more car lengths between them and the car in front of them at a red light. This is causing one or more cars behind them to sit through another light. Where did this idea come from? Is this a yankee thing or is it politically correct to do? It is absurd to do that. I pull in front of people who do it just to fill the gap when I can.
Posted by skyguy51 on November 9, 2008 at 10:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Gee timing the lights to allow smooth traffic flow and save gas. Lawton Oklahoma had that in 1974. Glad we are making progress here locally.
Posted by rollo on November 9, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Retiming traffic lights can save time and fuel? WOW! Who'd a' thunk it!!!
As for AM/PM traffic, would it not be possible to switch the direction of optimal timing at lights (during lower traffic hours) so as to reduce time and fuel consumption commuters in both directions?
Just thinking for those who can't think for themselves.
Posted by zoomru on November 9, 2008 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
LOL ....LOL !!!
DAVID .."SLAYER" SLADE !!!!
You could do what with this ISSUE ....ALONE ??
Donna Darlin'....is ???
Bill Walsh .....is ??
Fred Story ...is??
DAVID ...you need to get busy and be the Counties "SMOOTH Traffic ENFORCER" !!!!!
All you need is a STOPWATCH and a telephone ...bucko !!!
You could be like MARK FRENCH at Scott and Stringfellow !!!
Wake UP David and smell the wasted fuel !!!! Get your backside down to an intersection and BLAST DHEC and SCDOT...every freakin' MORNING !!!
You Sir ...need to find an issue to grind your teeth ON !!!!
Get ..BUSY...."SPARKY" !!!
I know you can do it !!!! I'm sure Richard Todd would love the ......WHAT ???!
Posted by zoomru on November 9, 2008 at 1:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
DAVID .......
"..amounts to 569,659 hours of time saved, 341,795 gallons of gas and 203.5 tons of emissions reduction."
How many TONS of emmissions would be spewed if ALL 341795 gallons of gas from Hugo Chavez or Nigeria were in actually 341795 gallons of Algae-Biofuel diesel that was grown right here in OUR State of South Carolina by SC FARMERS ???!
ANSWER .... Can you report THIS ANSWER ???!!
Wake up Citizens of S Carolina !!!!!!!!!
Posted by zoomru on November 9, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
DAVID..........
This 500K that was spent on this study could have been better SPENT on ...WHAT ???
Hmm.... on Down Payment on Greenhouses for farmers to start production of BioDIESEL ???
Watch THIS......
http://cc.pubco.net/www.valcent.net/i/mi...
Hmm....on a down payment for a PLASMA Machine for Bees Ferry Landfill ??
Watch THIS........
http://startech.net/vp/index.html
David...go get'em ..TIGER !!!!
Posted by MyOpinion on November 9, 2008 at 1:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I drive on Coleman Blvd. every morning and evening during rush hour and the timing of the lights is horrible. It is set up for those who are driving on the side streets. Here is how the drive goes: Get to the bottom of the Ravenel Bridge, stop at red light, light turns green, speed up to the posted speed limit, next light turns red, repeat this gas wasting procedure all the way down Coleman. I would love to know how much gas I could save if the town would get a clue and change the lights.
Posted by GermanyXO on November 10, 2008 at 9:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Traffic lights throughout Charleston are programmed to handle a population that has been surpassed by our explosive population growth. Side streets aren't merely pathways to small neighborhoods; they now lead to massive housing developments. Soon there will be no differentiation betweeen what's considered a main road or side street. Until that time comes, Charleston's opportunisitic drivers will continue to cut through businesses, neighborhoods and parking lots to get to side streets in order to bypass main road traffic.
And I proudly admit to leaving more than enough space in front of me when stopped at a red light. Why? I've had enough jalopies ahead of me, in my 30 years of driving various luxury cars, to brake unpredictably in what I perceived as a veiled attempt to cause a rear end collision. Like I said earlier--opportunistic--not only for time, but for money, too.