Burlington, VT -
Drivers should find smoother traffic flows along Burlington's North Avenue and sections of Route 127 in Colchester late this fall as the Chittenden Country Metropolitan Planning Organization (CCMPO) begins to implement a county-wide signal optimization plan.
Susan Smichenko, senior transportation planner at CCMPO, said the transportation planning agency has hired a transportation consulting firm, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. (VHB) of Bedford, NH to implement the signal optimization.
She explains, "As populations grow and traffic patterns change, signal timing become increasingly outdated. By measuring current patterns and using the data to optimize signals, we can improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and travel delays and enhance air quality."
Eleven intersections in Burlington's North End and along Route 127 in Colchester are included in the program. The North End signals are at Institute Road (Burlington High School),
Route 127, Ethan Allen Parkway, Ethan Allen Shopping Center, Woodbury Road (Hunt Middle School), Shore Road, Plattsburgh Avenue, Plattsburgh Avenue at Sunset Drive and Plattsburgh Avenue at Vermont 127. The Route 127 intersections in Colchester are at Bayside/Lakeshore Drive and Prim Porters Road.
The project, managed jointly by CCMPO and the Vermont Agency of Transportation, calls for additional traffic studies and signal evaluation this summer, with completion by November.
Chris Bobay, project manager for VHB, said traffic studies will begin after school starts and lead to micro-simulations of traffic flow to calibrate the street situation now and lead to a plan for signal optimization to improve conditions. It will be fine-tuned and implemented by November.
VHB is an engineering firm founded in 1979 specializing in transportation, land development and conservation. It is an East Coast based firm having 815 employees and 17 offices from Florida to Northern New England.
Smichenko said, "Compared to highway or transit improvement projects, signal optimization is relatively simple and inexpensive, but traffic data must be collected, analyzed and updated about every four years."
The CCMPO was established in 1982. It is a federally funded but locally controlled agency that plans, prioritizes and coordinates the use of federal, state and local transportation funds in Chittenden County and its 18 municipalities.
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