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Flow study says it works

New 550/160intersection shows efficiency
Among the redesign changes of the U.S. Highway 550 corridor along Camino del Rio were a continuous-flow intersection, the second in Colorado and the first by the Colorado Department of Transportation. “This does not mean we won’t have periods of traffic congestion in Durango, but it does mean that the green time is optimized at every intersection to best manage the traffic demands at that given time,” said Region 5 traffic engineer Mike McVaugh.

Disgruntled drivers still are complaining about the changes made to the area between Ninth Street and Santa Rita Drive this summer, but a study says the route is more efficient for drivers.

The redesign of the U.S. Highway 550 corridor along Camino del Rio included intersections at College Drive and U.S. Highway 160. Among the changes were a continuous-flow intersection, the second in Colorado and the first by the Colorado Department of Transportation; new pedestrian medians; and green bike lanes, bike boxes and bicycle-signal detection.

“When signal-timing changes are implemented to improve the flow of traffic through Durango, the Colorado Department of Transportation contracts with an independent traffic engineering firm to perform several ‘drive-throughs’ to determine if the changes are successful,” CDOT spokeswoman Nancy Shanks said.

The drives were made over a two-day period midweek multiple times during the day, including morning and evening rush hours and midday, Region 5 traffic engineer Mike McVaugh said. There were two people in the vehicle, and GPS was used to measure travel time, stops made, the amount of time stopped and so on.

The results were compared with a similar drive-through test done in 2012.

“With the roadway and signal-timing improvements we made, we can move the same amount of traffic more effectively to reduce the number of times a motorist gets stopped; and when a motorist does get stopped, we have shortened the amount of time he or she has to wait,” McVaugh said. “This does not mean we won’t have periods of traffic congestion in Durango, but it does mean that the green time is optimized at every intersection to best manage the traffic demands at that given time.”

What do the numbers say?

Here’s what the engineers found:

The new configuration and signal-timing reduced the number of stops per vehicle by up to 9 percent during an average day and up to 31 percent during the afternoon peak traffic hours from 4 to 6 p.m.

Delays, or time stopped, per vehicle were reduced by up to 19 percent during an average day and up to 31 percent during afternoon peak hours.

Emissions were reduced by up to 0.7 percent during an average day and up to 0.5 percent during peak hours.

Fuel consumption also was reduced, by up to 0.8 percent on an average day and up to 0.5 percent during peak hours.

The engineers noted that because they were measuring travel over such a short distance, the fuel consumption and emission reduction measurements are difficult to fully recognize.

The synchronization of signals takes place between 6:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. In off hours, lights change to green for side-street traffic only when a vehicle is detected.

“They made some more qualitative judgments that the area is safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, too,” Shanks said. “The green lanes and boxes calls more attention for the cyclist and for the motorist to the cyclist. But it’s up to the user to determine if he or she feels safer.”

Shanks admits there are a lot of adjustments for everyone using the roads.

“Some of these are new to Durango, many have already been implemented across the nation,” she said. “As cars, bicycles, pedestrians and transit are increasingly sharing the road and need to be accommodated, you’ll see more and more changes like this.”

She also understands that many drivers may find it daunting to have so many features where so much is going on.

“Cyclists have just as much legal right to be on the road as motorists do, which some people don’t understand,” Shanks said. “But having cyclists is a good thing. We’re the Department of Transportation now, not the Department of Highways like we used to be. We’re not only required by the Federal Highway Administration to do this, we’re embracing it because more than that, it’s the right thing to do.”

How many times will a driver have to go through the intersection with the new efficiencies to make up for all the time lost during the construction?

“That’s just mean,” Shanks said with a laugh. “People were groaning about that intersection before, and they’ll be groaning about other things afterward. We can never possibly stay ahead.”

abutler@durangoherald.com

Mar 13, 2015
Smoother traffic?


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