Centralized traffic control allows agencies and municipalities
to manage a road corridor as a complete unit rather than
a series of independent intersections.
The City of Victoria, District of Saanich, Ministry of
Transportation and BC Transit have implemented centralized
traffic control at 22 traffic signals. The signal timing
plans provide priority to transit service and emergency
vehicles along Douglas Street. This central traffic control
system is expandable to serve the entire region.
For transit, signal priority allows buses to talk with
traffic signals. By keeping traffic signals green for a
few additional seconds, or shortening the red signal by
a few seconds, buses can shorten their journey along a corridor.
The few seconds for each trip add up to considerable savings
over the period of a month or year.
Transit signal priority equipment includes on-bus technology
as well as equipment at the traffic signals connected to
the signal controllers. BC Transit has installed the equipment
on 50 buses which will be assigned to the Langford and Sidney
corridors.
This phase will be completed in the spring of 2007 within
a budget of $3 million. The project is funded with $1 million
from BC Transit's capital fund and a $2 million federal
and provincial infrastructure grant obtained by the City
of Victoria.
