Environmental sustainability is a mounting concern for public agencies as the relationship between transportation and global climate change becomes clearer.
A recent report* by the Environmental Protection Agency states that the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from traffic account for about 28% of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. This clearly indicates that traffic is the largest contributor to the U.S. GHG emissions.
It is a little known fact that adaptive traffic management systems such as In|Sync have profound contributions to preserving our environment. By mitigating traffic congestion and reducing stops, delays, and travel time, adaptive signal systems can support urban environmental goals and recommended guideline levels for air quality.
In|Sync provides remarkable pollution reduction and energy savings. Independent validation studies show as much as 30% fewer emissions and 25% less fuel consumption in In|Sync’s deployments throughout the country. The In|Sync model solves for environmental sustainability by maximizing bi-directional progression while simultaneously minimizing delay on the side-streets. Traffic engineers can use Clean Air Grants to deploy systems such as In|Sync. Local agencies can contribute immensely to the reduction of carbon emissions through increasing efficiency in transportation services.
We’ve put together a useful resource for all traffic engineers who want to explore the benefits of the adaptive traffic signal control technology in relation to air quality improvement. We’ve also featured two Clean Air grant case studies from the City of Mountain View, CA and the City of Salinas, CA.
