Skip to main content

Adaptive signal control improves traffic flow, reduces travel time

McCain, US manufacturer and supplier of intelligent transportation systems, traffic control equipment and parking guidance solutions, has successfully completed the evaluation of its latest QuicTrac adaptive control project in the City of Woodland Park, Colorado. The project ran on eight intersections along a 3.65 mile stretch of United States Highway 24 (US 24), where average daily traffic ranges from 19,000–26,000 vehicles.
August 29, 2012 Read time: 1 min
772 McCain, US manufacturer and supplier of intelligent transportation systems, traffic control equipment and parking guidance solutions, has successfully completed the evaluation of its latest QuicTrac adaptive control project in the City of Woodland Park, Colorado. The project ran on eight intersections along a 3.65 mile stretch of United States Highway 24 (US 24), where average daily traffic ranges from 19,000–26,000 vehicles. McCain says the study, a comparison of two adaptive systems, proves their ability to improve traffic operations at a fraction of the cost, while generating more than double the benefit-to-cost ratio. The system improved travel times, reduced fuel consumption, and generated significant positive feedback from residents, underscoring its impact on the community as a whole.

QuicTrac collects real time data from detectors, loops or video, establishing traffic flow and demand. The software then runs a series of advanced algorithms to determine and coordinate optimum signal timing for the entire corridor to improve traffic flow.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Inrix informs FHWA’s data improvements
    December 19, 2017
    Refinements in the data available from the US Federal Highway Administration will improve road management across America. David Crawford reports. In August 2017, the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued the first results from an upgraded version of its National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS). Developed to identify the locations and times of high congestion affecting traffic flows along America’s 259,000km (161,000 mile) national highway system, this is a key resource for sta
  • Counting the environmental costs of ITS deployment
    October 29, 2015
    David Crawford looks at the latest thinking about calculating the benefits associated with the environmental side of ITS schemes. The penny is dropping that some environmental costs “are being shifted outside the traditional bounds of evaluation methods” for ITS-based road transport projects, according to researchers at the UK University of Leeds’ Institute for Transport Studies.
  • Upgrading New Yorks's traffic signal timings
    February 28, 2013
    The New York City Department of Transportation instituted the Midtown in Motion project to promote multimodal mobility in the Midtown Core of Manhattan, a 110 square block area or “zone” from Second to Sixth Avenue and 42nd to 57th Street. Control extended from 86th Street to 23rd Street, focused on the core zone. MiM provides signal timing changes on two levels: Level 1 control starts from a pre-stored library of timing plans. These are designed offline and are relevant to arterials inside the Midtown stud
  • A new beginning for travel information, based on users' needs
    February 3, 2012
    Despite its name, the EU's forthcoming SUNSET project could represent a new beginning for travel information services. Here, Susan Grant-Muller and Frances Hodgson from the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds detail a project which is intended to exert a greater influence on network users' travel habits