L.A. to have synced traffic lights

 Los Angeles will soon be "Sync City."

Workers are finishing the final links in a network that will synchronize more than 4,000 traffic signals across the city to reduce drive time and pollution.

The citywide system, which also includes video cameras along major transit corridors, dates back nearly three decades to the 1984 Olympics, when signals near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum were synced to help with the traffic load.

"Because of the success of that system the City Council mandated that we expand it citywide," said Verej Janoyan, senior traffic engineer with the city's Department of Transportation.

Funding the $350 million undertaking resulted in the drawn-out construction timetable.

"The (city's) general fund is not paying for these improvements, so we had to rely on outside sources," Janoyan said.

The network, known as Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control system, won't eliminate congestion but might make it more bearable. One of its features includes the ability to make real-time adjustments to light timing. If, for example, traffic is heavier in one direction, it can extend the green lights for those cars.

"As best we can we try to keep everything in balance. If we have directional peak periods we try to accommodate that and give (green light) priority to one direction or another," Janoyan said.

The money included government grants and voter approved ballots measures, officials said.


/Dailynews.Com/