# Presentation: 181167

## Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)

**Metro’s Countywide Signal Priority Program**
- T3 Webinar
- January 22, 2008

## Background

- In the late 90’s, Metro funded several transit signal priority demonstrations
- City of Los Angeles
- City of Glendale
- City of Lancaster
- City of Santa Monica
- Metro

## Metro’s Bus Signal Priority Pilot Project

- Initiated in January 1999
- Multijurisdictional effort aimed at
- minimizing delay experienced by buses and
- shortening round trip running times
- Develop a preferred signal priority solution for high-ridership corridors traversing multiple jurisdictions with different local traffic control equipment and software

## Program Context

- _Los Angeles County_
- 89 jurisdictions
- 43 public agencies providing fixed route bus service
- Metro alone operates 191 bus routes with over   1.3 million weekday boardings on average

## Program Context, cont’d

- _Los Angeles County_
- 1,433 square miles in Metro service area
- City of Los Angeles =        466 sq. miles
- 88 other jurisdictions =     967 sq. miles
- Over 10,000 traffic signals

## Program Funding

- Local
- Proposition C: 1⁄2-cent sales tax used to maintain, improve and expand public transit as well as reduce congestion and increase mobility in LA County
- Federal
- Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds through FTA

## Program Funding

- Bus Signal Priority Pilot Project: $4.3 million
- Metro Rapid Countywide Signal Priority Expansion
- Phase 1: $7.5 million
- Phase 2: $8.7 million (estimate)

## Study Tour

- Locations
- Portland Tri-Met
- KITSAP Transit
- King County Metro

## Study Tour Objectives

- Evaluate different signal priority technology solutions implemented by various transit properties
- Study the institutional, political, legal, and financial issues
- Assess systems integration complexities
- Review adopted signal priority implementation guidelines
- Discuss “lessons learned”

## King County Metro Transit Peer Review

- Multiple jurisdictions
- Several different traffic signal control hardware types
- Multiple firmware interfaces
- Decision to grant priority made at the local control level
- Headway intervals were similar to ours
- Local traffic engineering control

## Countywide Signal Priority Pilot Project

**Crenshaw Corridor**
- 10.5 miles
- Adams Blvd. to Redondo Beach Blvd.
- 54 Signalized Intersections
- 51 signal-priority- equipped
**Jurisdictional Partners**
- City of Los Angeles
- City of Inglewood
- County of Los Angeles
- Unincorporated County areas, City of Gardena and City of Hawthorne

## Average Bus Travel Time
Up to 8.8% reduction - northbound PM peak    
Up to 4.2% reduction - southbound AM peak

Average Delay Due to Red Signals 
Up to 22.5% reduction - northbound PM peak  
Up to 12.5% reduction - southbound AM peak

- Up to 8.8% reduction - northbound PM peak
- Up to 4.2% reduction - southbound AM peak
- Average Delay Due to Red Signals
- Up to 22.5% reduction - northbound PM peak
- Up to 12.5% reduction - southbound AM peak

- Countywide Signal Priority Evaluation Results

## Countywide Signal Priority Process

## Countywide Signal Priority WLAN Equipment

## Upper Left:  Bus priority unit installed on a 45’ 2004 composite NABI
Upper Right:  Bus priority unit installed on a 40’ 2001 NABI
Lower Left:  Tri-Band Antenna installation for WLAN and GPS

- Upper Right:  Bus priority unit installed on a 40’ 2001 NABI
- Lower Left:  Tri-Band Antenna installation for WLAN and GPS

- Countywide Signal Priority On-Bus Equipment

## On-Bus Equipment
Intersection Check-In Technologies
Intersection Controller Equipment

**Decision**
**to request**
**priority**

**Implement**
**priority**

**Decision**
**to grant**
**priority**

**Locate**
**Vehicle**

**On-Bus System**
**Functions**

**Traffic Signal Controller**
**Functions**

- On-Bus Equipment
- Intersection Check-In Technologies
- Intersection Controller Equipment

**Bus-to-Intersection**
**Communications**

## On-Bus Equipment
Intersection Check-In Technologies
Intersection Controller Equipment

- On-Bus Equipment
- Intersection Check-In Technologies
- Intersection Controller Equipment

- Implement
- priority

- Decision
- to grant
- priority

- Decision
- to request
- priority

- Locate
- Vehicle

- On-Bus System
- Functions

- Traffic Signal Controller
- Functions

- Bus-to-Intersection Communications

## Countywide Signal Priority WLAN Equipment

- Upper Left:  Wireless Access point/bridge pole-mounted hardware
- Lower Left:  Full CSP WLAN cabinet mounted hardware at access point/bridge locations
- Lower Right:  Additional network equipment to provide power over Ethernet for pole mounted equipment

## Countywide Signal Priority WLAN Equipment

- Upper Left:  Typical WLAN antenna installed on traffic signal control cabinets at client intersection locations
- Lower Left:  Wireless device at client intersection providing serial connection to traffic signal controller
- Upper Right:  Pole-mounted client device installed at intersections where cabinet line of site is limited

## Countywide Signal Priority Traffic Signal Integration

- Upper Left:  Type 170 controller running CSP-modified LACO or BI-Trans 233 firmware
- Upper Right:  Type 2070 controller running CSP-modified LADOT firmware
- Lower Left:  ASC-2 NEMA controller running CSP-modified Econolite firmware

## Countywide Signal Priority Depot WLAN Equipment

- Upper Right:  WiMAX antenna provides wireless broadband connection to allow off-site monitoring of CSP-equipped buses
- Left:  WLAN equipment installed at Division 18 to monitor and provide wireless file updates to on-bus CSP units

## 4 Metro Rapid Corridors Equipped with CSP
Long Beach Blvd.
11.3 Miles / 59 Intersections 6 Jurisdictions

Florence Blvd.
7.6 Miles / 41 Intersections 
	5 Jurisdictions

Hawthorne Blvd.
7.7 Miles / 39 Intersections 
	5 Jurisdictions

Soto St.
6.6 Miles / 36 Intersections 
	5 Jurisdictions

**Long Beach Blvd.**
- 11.3 Miles / 59 Intersections 6 Jurisdictions
**Florence Blvd.**
- 7.6 Miles / 41 Intersections
- 	5 Jurisdictions
**Hawthorne Blvd.**
- 7.7 Miles / 39 Intersections
- 	5 Jurisdictions
**Soto St.**
- 6.6 Miles / 36 Intersections
- 	5 Jurisdictions

- Countywide Signal Priority Expansion Phase I

## Countywide Signal Priority Expansion Phase II

- Expansion
**Atlantic Ave.**
- 25 Miles
- 128 Intersections
- 14 Jurisdictions
**Garvey-Chavez St. **
- 10.7 Miles
- 52 Intersections
- 4 Jurisdictions
**Manchester Blvd.**
- 7.8 Miles
- 45 Intersections
- 3 Jurisdictions

## Countywide Signal Priority Expansion

## Multijurisdictional Project Implementation: 

- Challenges and Lessons Learned

- Project Oversight and Coordination
- Allocation of necessary staff resources
- Project schedule to accommodate jurisdictional coordination Issues
- Consensus Building
- Schedule/time management
- No “One size fits all” approach
- Management, administrative, and technical staff must all be included in the decision making process
- Work with your jurisdictional partners both collectively and individually to resolve implementation questions and concerns

## Multijurisdictional Project Implementation: Challenges and Lessons Learned

- Legal Agreements
- Respective legal counsels and technical staff must coordinate with one another to address legal concerns
- Project scope, roles and responsibilities, on-going operations and maintenance, cooperation, communications, and liability are key elements
- Legal impasse can become a showstopper
- Corridor Synchronization
- Signal timing update

## Multijurisdictional Project Implementation: 

- Challenges and Lessons Learned

- Technology Migration
- Work with participating jurisdictions to ensure system- upgrade compatibility
- Develop an operations and maintenance plan that accommodates potential hardware and software upgrades
- Continually evaluate the existing system and look for opportunities to improve performance

## Contact Information

**Steven Y. Gota**
- Transportation Planning Manager
- San Gabriel Valley Area Team
- LA Metro
- One Gateway Plaza
- Mail Stop: 99-22-8
- Los Angeles, CA  90012-2952
-  213-922-3043
- _[GOTAS@metro.net](mailto:GOTAS@metro.net)_

**Reinland Jones**
- Transportation Planner
- San Gabriel Valley Area Team
- Los Angeles County Metro
- One Gateway Plaza
- Mail Stop: 99-22-8
- Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952
- 213-922-2231
- JONESRE@metro.net