Posted on February 25, 2019 at 10:55 AM by Ryne Dittmer
How is Town traffic signal timing determined?
The Engineering Department’s Traffic Services Division is responsible for monitoring signal timing in the Town of Parker and coordinating traffic plans. In all, this group maintains nearly 90 traffic signals — a majority of which are Town-owned and 13 owned by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and maintained by the Town via contract.
Traffic signals are timed based on traffic data such as daily through counts and peak hour turning movement counts. These counts are fed into analysis software to recommend the best signal timing for a corridor or group of signals. This would include how long a cycle is, how long each green phase is displayed and how each signal operates in coordination with neighboring signals. The goal is to minimize delay for the greatest number of users. The outputs of the analysis and simulation are reviewed by human eyes and further adjusted based on known field conditions that the computers may not be able to correct for.
The Town routinely monitors traffic conditions and makes adjustments to timing based on changes in measured traffic flow. In the future, the Traffic Services Division hopes to implement “traffic responsive” flow for a number of Parker signals. This is an operational strategy where signal parameters are chosen based on automated real-time data collection, rather than historic measures and expected daily patterns.
To report a traffic signal not working, damaged traffic signs or other traffic-related issue, please contact the Department of Engineering at 303.840.9546 during regular hours. To report an emergency concern after hours please call the Parker Police Department at 303.841.9800.
Additional Resources:
Town of Parker Traffic Operations
Traffic Counts and Projections Data