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

  • Machine vision - cameras for intelligent traffic management
    January 25, 2012
    For some, machine vision is the coming technology. For others, it’s already here. Although it remains a relative newcomer to the ITS sector, its effects look set to be profound and far-reaching. Encapsulating in just a few short words the distinguishing features of complex technologies and their operating concepts can sometimes be difficult. Often, it is the most subtle of nuances which are both the most important and yet also the most easily lost. Happily, in the case of machine vision this isn’t the case:
  • Joined-up thinking for future ITS
    May 8, 2015
    David Crawford looks at a US model which, for modest federal funding, is producing substantive results. Outward and upward is the clear message emerging from the US$458,000, 2015 workplan of the US government’s ENTERPRISE (Evaluating New TEchnologies for Roads PRogram Initiatives in Safety and Efficiency) joint funding scheme for ITS research.
  • USDOT expands real-time travel information with US$2.6 million in grants
    February 25, 2015
    The US Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced $2.571 million in grants to expand the use of real-time travel information in 13 highly congested urban areas across ten states. Known as integrated corridor management, or ICM, the grants will help selected cities or regions combine numerous information technologies and real-time travel information from highway, rail and transit operations. Such tools can help engineers make better decisions about congestion managemen
  • Flir helps Indonesia start tackling congestion
    March 19, 2014
    Indonesia has started tackling acute traffic congestion in Jakarta and Surabaya. When talking about Jakarta, Indonesia’s economic, cultural and political centre, it is very easy to lapse into superlatives. With a population of over 10 million people it is the thirteenth most populated city in the world and the biggest in South East Asia. The official metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabek, is also the second largest in the world. Almost 98% of journeys in Jabodetabek are made by road and the tremendous