2010 Annual Report - Maryland State Highway Administration

IV
Mobility and Congestion Relief
Changing Signal Timing to Minimize Delay at Intersections
SHA completed timing reviews of 386 signals, just 14 short of the annual goal of
400 signals. Timing modifications were made to 19 systems containing 195
signals. The benefits of SHA’s retiming program have exceeded those of
previous years. Timing changes are projected to have saved 1.1 million hours of
delay in FY 2010, far exceeding the 741,000 hours in FY 2009. The projected
delay reduction was 8.7 percent in FY 2010 compared to 7.0 percent in FY 2009.
Fuel consumption was reduced by 31.5 million gallons in FY 2010, compared to
27.0 million gallons in FY 2009. The estimated total annual savings from signal
optimization is $34 million. The greater benefits in FY 2010 are largely the result
of which signals were retimed. Many large systems were reviewed, including
US 301 in Waldorf, the Hagerstown Grid, MD 45 in Timonium, MD 26 in
Eldersburg and US 301 in Upper Marlboro. These systems carry heavy volumes,
providing opportunities for greater benefits.
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
Reduction in Congestion Delay
Due to Traffic Signal Retiming
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Fiscal Year
Park and Ride Facilities
SHA’s Park and Ride program helps to reduce congestion by encouraging car
pooling, which further supports our commitment to environmental stewardship.
In FY 2010, the reduction in VMT due to carpooling was 100 hours, slightly less
than the 102 hours in FY 2009.
Homeland Security and Emergency Management
SHA continued to improve capabilities to plan for, respond to, and recover from
both natural disasters and man-made incidents. SHA has been particularly
successful in securing homeland security grant funding for a number of
significant projects completed in FY 2010, including:
Operational-level traffic evacuation management plans for Maryland’s
National Capital Region and Northeast Maryland;
Funding to procure an emergency evacuation support trailer;
Supporting the integration of Montgomery County traffic camera video into
the CHART system;
Development of an interoperable emergency communications system for
Western Maryland;
Installation of CHART workstations in local jurisdiction emergency
operations centers on the Eastern Shore;
Evacuation modeling and the installation of traffic detection equipment
along evacuation routes in the National Capital Region.
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Park and Ride Usage
'06 '07 '08 '09 '10
Calendar Year
Number of Users
Number of Spaces
32
STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION | FY 2010 Annual Report