What We Love About California: Tackling Traffic with Technology
Scotty Reiss
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Here’s a plan so smart that it actually makes sense: The city of Los Angeles just flipped the switch on a synchronized traffic light system designed to keep traffic flowing on the city’s streets. The idea was hatched to reduce gridlock, but if it’s successful, it could be far more powerful: the city could see reduced emissions without all the stopping, idling and starting of car and truck engines, and of course, the plan would reduce fuel consumption. Residents will spend less on gas and less time on the road.
The news was reported by today’s New York Times, and it highlights how Southern Californians are making all our lives better: they engineered and enforced tighter emissions standards, and widely recognize the need to find solutions to fuel waste and emissions pollution. While yes, driving less is a solution, technology may be the key. In fact, this new traffic synchronization system, which was built by the city of Los Angeles, is so intriguing that several cities are looking at the system to try to tame their own traffic issues.