Signal Timing Changes Around the Smart Train Downtown

Your drive across the railroad tracks downtown should be a little less maddening, after the Traffic
Engineering division made some changes to the traffic signal timing in the vicinity of the train tracks downtown. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has very strict rules about traffic signal timing around active railroad tracks, and for good reason: public safety. When the train was approaching downtown, or leaving the downtown station, the signals would only stay green for the direction of traffic they were trying to clear the railroad tracks. This resulted in frustration for drivers in all the other directions. With the help of our consultant team, we dove deeper into the signal timing to see if there was any time we could put into moving cars in every direction that does not conflict with the train. To our delight, we found out it is possible to make some changes to improve the flow! As soon as cars are flushed away from the train, the parallel streets (Lincoln Avenue and Hetherton Street) get green lights.