The City of Victoria is looking at spending $40,000 to study traffic signal timings in the downtown core.
New developments, an aging demographic, increased densification and new bike lanes in downtown Victoria are among the changes seen since the CityB次元官网网址檚 signals systemB次元官网网址檚 last update in 2009.
Those changes impact traffic and pedestrian movements and are among the reasons City staff are asking council to approve hiring a consultant in 2018 to review the entire network of downtown traffic. Among other things, a consultant would be asked to look at pedestrian walking times, do counts for vehicles at intersections and update the traffic simulation model.
Brad Delleburr, the CityB次元官网网址檚 assistant director of transportation, said his department investigates complaints and makes tweaks to signal timings as issues crop up, but he said itB次元官网网址檚 time for a review. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just due diligence to look at traffic signals on a regular basis and make sure the signals are operating as efficiently as possible,B次元官网网址� he said.
Cycling corridors are another area the consultant would examine. The length of green lights could be shortened for cyclists in low-volume periods of the day, or there could be streets where right or left turns are not permitted.
B次元官网网址淎ny time you put in a new facility [such as bike lanes] you have to assign time to that,B次元官网网址� Delleburr said. Those additions impact other modes of transportation, he added. B次元官网网址淓ven six months in on Pandora [bike lanes], weB次元官网网址檝e noticed some things we could tweak there to make it a little bit better.B次元官网网址�
If the hiring of a consultant is approved, the work would include analyzing the CityB次元官网网址檚 current traffic monitoring system, collecting new data and doing observations on site.
Do you get stuck at every right light on your morning commute? Victoria is considering spending $40,000 to study traffic light timings. MORE:
B次元官网网址� Victoria B次元官网网址 (@VictoriaB次元官网网址)
The intersection of Johnson and Blanshard streets, for example, is one place the consultant may study. Depending on the time of day, if a driver turns onto Johnson from Blanshard from either direction, they may make it through the next signal at Quadra Street, but have to stop at Vancouver Street.
B次元官网网址淭he thing weB次元官网网址檝e been hearing from people is the progression, the signal-to-signal movements, probably arenB次元官网网址檛 as smooth as they could be,B次元官网网址� Delleburr said. B次元官网网址淯nder the signal timing study, the progression may slightly change in how many lights you make it through before you have to come to a stop.B次元官网网址�
