A couple minutes is an eternity when you're late for work. City of Richmond traffic engineers gave commuters a little less to sweat about when, in April 2009, they wrapped up a project to re-time signals at more than 250 intersections.
Studies in the subsequent months found that travel times were reduced by 42 percent along some corridors, while the number of stops dropped 65 percent on some routes.
City transportation engineer Tom Flynn says this confers a number of benefits for everyone: better gas mileage, lower wear and tear on cars, and slightly cleaner air.
Next, the city is planning for a major upgrade of the city's traffic control center. With about $5 million in state and federal funding, the project should begin next spring.
