| By Lookout Staff
May 3 -- The City Council next week is expected
to greenlight some $4.5 million to move ahead with an ambitious
plan that uses cutting-edge technology to help alleviate traffic
congestion Downtown.
Using fiber optic communication and other equipment, the
Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) reduces delays by
synchronizing traffic signals to coordinate the flow of vehicles
on Downtown streets, according to a staff report prepared
for the May 8 council meeting.
The “real-time management” of Santa Monica’s
signal system is coordinated from a centralized traffic management
center that also controls devices, such as cameras and changeable
message signs. The system also will manage traffic during
special events, construction and traffic accidents.
The project -- which is the second phase of a plan that will
eventually cover the entire 8.3-square-mile city -- modifies
and upgrades 11 traffic signal locations in the Downtown area.
It also improves five intersections outside of Downtown and
complies with mitigation measures for the Public Safety Facility,
the Civic Center Parking Structure and the Main Library.
“The current Phase 2 project, scheduled to be completed
in fall of 2008, is critical to addressing downtown congestion
and will also implement the first of the transit priority
corridors within the City,” according to a staff report.
The first phase of the plan was completed in June 2006 and
focused on 4th Street. The third phase will cover Wilshire,
Santa Monica and Pico boulevards. The fourth phase will cover
most of the remainder of the city, except for a few outlying
areas covered in the final phase.
Once the entire system is in place, the Traffic Management
Center will communicate with all 170 traffic signals citywide
by primarily using underground fiber optic cable. Future phases
will include some wireless communication.
“Most of the signals will require only minor modifications
to be brought onto the ATMS,” staff wrote. “However,
twenty-six traffic signals will require major upgrades to
be brought onto the system.”
The council on Tuesday is expected to authorize the City
Manager to use $900,000 for the traffic signal upgrades and
award a construction contract of as much as $3,514,390 to
KDC Inc., dba Dynalectric.
The council also is expected to authorize the City Manager
to negotiate a contract for as much as $444,000 with PSOMAS
for construction management services for the project, as well
as modifying three existing professional services agreements
for design support and construction review.
The City is receiving a $4.7 million grant form the Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) to install
equipment to enable transit priority on the four current or
future Rapid Bus corridors.
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