It’s not often you read a news report that puts forward an idea and you think it really makes sense.
I saw a media release from GHD consultants today that says peak hour delays could be cut by more than a third simply by fine-tuning traffic lights.
Route optimisation trials carried out by GHD transport systems specialists Blair Monk and Tim Booth found that better coordination of traffic signals could reduce fuel consumption by at least 10 percent and cut travel time by more than 13 percent for city road users.
Mr Monk, who manages the GHD intelligent transport systems team in New Zealand, presented his work at the International Public Works Conference in Melbourne today.
The avoidable cost of congestion is estimated at almost $10 billion a year in Australia, and could rise to more than double that by 2020, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics.
“Route optimisation, which is essentially the more efficient coordination of a corridor of traffic signals, can significantly cut travel time, and reduce stop-starts and idling time,” Mr Monk said.
All of these factors have an effect on vehicle fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and safety.
“Our work shows that route optimisation can contribute positively to economic development, accessibility and mobility without major infrastructure works, and at a greatly reduced cost.”
One trial, on five adjacent intersections in Auckland, was estimated to have saved road users a total of 63,453 hours over one year and more than 214,660 litres of fuel. The trial showed potential savings of more than $1 million a year.
A second trial, on nine intersections, reduced peak hour delays by more than 50 percent in one direction, and by as much as a third in others.
GHD says route optimisation can also improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
For example, signals can be configured to reduce the amount of traffic through a town centre by encouraging an alternative route, or to give pedestrians priority over cars by making crossing times more frequent.
In one city, where a new cycle lane was disrupting traffic on a key arterial route, route optimisation helped improve safety and reduce traffic delays.
Route optimisation can also be used to give priority to public transport – without delaying other traffic.
An innovative solution gave priority to buses, but only when they were running late, improving travel times for all road users.
Mr Monk said governments were beginning to see to the economic and environmental benefits of investing in route optimisation, but he said ongoing funding for route optimisation needed to be identified to reduce traffic congestion and energy use in the transport sector.
He said more funds should be allocated to route optimisation programs.
“This is another way to meet ongoing demand and a realistic alternative to continuing to physically build capacity. Why not improve the performance of what we already have?” Mr Monk said.
Comment: It makes sense. I saw a report in the Melbourne media recently that Melbourne’s traffic snarl is as great today as it was 20 years ago, despite the massive investment in new roads.
Sometimes we think of the most expensive solution to a problem when simple practical steps can make a big difference.
