Poway signal software predicted to smooth out commutes

By Steve Dreyer

A city official is predicting that morning and afternoon commuter traffic along Poway Road should run smoother now that traffic lights have been synchronized.

This week’s activation of new computer software controlling the lights at nine intersections, plus two more nearby ones, should make driving down the city’s major street less time consuming, said Bob Manis, development services director.

All nine of Poway Road’s signalized intersections are included in the program, along with the intersections of Community Road and Civic Center Drive and Pomerado Road and Oak Knoll Road, Manis said.

Similar synchronizations later this month will improve traffic flows along Community Road, Twin Peaks Road and a portion of Espola Road, Manis said.

The computer software was developed by a consultant following city-conducted surveys of morning and evening traffic flows, Manis said. The project began last fall.

Each traffic light can be controlled from the traffic office at City Hall, Manis said. The synchronizations will be in effect Monday through Friday, between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m., between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. The system will not be used on weekends.

By the end of the month, the program will be expanded to include Community Road, Twin Peaks Road and Espola Road, between Del Poniente Road and Lake Poway, Manis said. The Espola Road portion will be programmed to reflect the impact on morning and afternoon traffic by Poway High School, he said.

“It will be great if you’re on (the affected roads) at peak hours,” Manis said.

That might not be the case for motorists on side streets waiting for the lights to change, he said. Rather than lights changing to accommodate the side street traffic, drivers will be forced to wait until the completion of the pre-programmed commuter cycle, he said. To do it any other way would negate the benefits of the program, he said.

Traffic lights along the city’s portion of Scripps Poway Parkway are already synchronized, Manis said. Those along Pomerado Road are adjusted, but not to accommodate commuter traffic, Manis said. Instead, those lights were programmed to deal with changing traffic conditions on Interstate 15, he said.

The “Traffic Synchronization Project” will end up costing the city between $14,000 and $15,000, Manis said. Officials initially projected a cost of $60,000, but money was saved by city workers doing much of the data collection work, he said.