Different Approaches

While there are many ways to approach congestion, one thing that has been proven over recent decades is that you cannot build your way out of congestion. Adding additional lanes and new roads has only further complicated the issue of traffic congestion. The only way to effectively manage this problem is to investigate strategic and proactive ways to manage our roadways.

Most traffic management plans are, on average, updated every 3-5 years. Although this strategy may solve an immediate problem, it often doesn’t consider future congestion issues like new schools, businesses, and communities that are impacting traffic flow year after year. When we focus on these issues, we find that ITS can help in many ways.

Smart Intersections

Intersections play an important role in how traffic works and have come a long way since the days of unmanaged intersections with lights simply turning green, yellow, and red. Today, Adaptive technologies can be implemented, optimizing intersections and creating better traffic flow throughout the transportation network, making for safer and more efficient roadways.

Reduce Unnecessary Driving

Another way to approach congestion with ITS is to look at unnecessary driving and ways to reduce it. In downtown areas a lot of traffic is caused by cars driving around looking for available parking spots – drivers drive on average 3 miles before finding a parking spot. According to studies this number can be reduced by as much as 30% with proactive approaches such as Parking Guidance Systems (PGS) and Wayfinding solutions that guide drivers to available parking spaces quickly and efficiently.