KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
An opinion poll conducted by the City of Santa Clarita shows a decline in traffic concerns, officials said Wednesday.
Residents saw a marked improvement in Santa Clarita traffic congestion according to the City’s 2020 Public Opinion Poll.
While the same poll in 2018 saw traffic congestion as the number one concern as reported by residents with 37 percent placing it in the top spot, in 2020, only 16 percent of residents reported that traffic congestion was the number one concern.
“At the same time, the City of Santa Clarita continues to implement traffic circulation enhancements to reduce congestion on City streets and increase driver and pedestrian safety,” City officials said.
Since 2018, the City has installed electronic blank-out signs at high volume intersections to alert approaching drivers of pedestrians and cyclists in crosswalks, coinciding with a more than 16 percent decrease in collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists over that time period.
The City received an award for its integration of electronic blank-out signs from the Southern California chapter of the American Public Works Association in 2018.
Taking a data-driven approach after analyzing metrics that include vehicle volume, average speeds and total collisions, the City’s traffic engineers identify intersections most in need of physical improvements and signal modifications.
To enhance student safety in 2019, the City implemented a “pedestrian scramble” phase at Seco Canyon Road and Decoro Drive during school hours, modifying the traffic signal to allow for all pedestrians to cross at once.
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In addition to improving safety, the scramble enhanced traffic circulation by increasing the number of vehicles able to go through the intersection without waiting for a high volume of pedestrians to clear the crosswalk during a green light.
Most recently, the City adjusted the traffic signal at the intersection of Lyons Avenue and Apple Street in Newhall to provide protected left-turn lanes in the eastbound and westbound directions. Over the last several years, the intersection had averaged four broadside collisions per year.
As space limitations prevented the existing left-turn pockets from accommodating protected left-turn traffic, City staff modified the signal phasing with a creative timing sequence that gives protected left-turn traffic two green lights in the same sequence as needed, depending on traffic volume.
“This allows for more vehicles to be flushed out of the left-turn lane, reducing traffic queues and spillover into through lanes that cause congestion and safety risks,” said City officials.
To learn more about the City of Santa Clarita’s traffic circulation projects to reduce congestion and to share any particular concerns about traffic congestion, contact the Traffic Signal System Administrator Cesar Romo at (661) 286-4002 or [email protected].
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Notice that there is no byline author of this piece.
Just the city getting a paid advertisement of the “good job” they are doing.
No mention of the virus, and the complete emptiness of the roads.
That leads to NO TRAFFIC.
People are starting to go back to work. I predict that the traffic will get very bad.
I am still waiting, more than 20 years, for traffic synchronization on the major roads. We really need to drive without getting a red light at every intersection.
Theres no excuse for not having the traffic lights synchronized here! Isn’t that the point-to get the traffic moving quickly and efficiently? Also, I can’t believe that there is a decline in traffic concerns, especially considering people are now more careless, clueless, and distracted, and more rude and inconsiderate than ever! So many accidents here are avoidable, but what are you gonna do with the Ignorance Pandemic we have here? And you can’t cure stupid, either! So other than LE stepping it up, it would be nice to have all the lights in sync so we all can get from point A to point B safer and faster! It ain’t Brain Surgery, man!
Stupid article. Less cars are on the road, so of course there is less traffic concern.
Even when there were less cars on the road, those that were there were driving more recklessly than usual! Gotta SLOW DOWN and just pay attention to your driving, and nothing else! Or be stuck with expensive tickets! You can learn the easy way or the hard way. Your choice.