Texas Transit Association

City staff believes alternatives need to be implemented in light of the fact that 70 street lane miles need to be built annually simply to maintain current mobility.

Relieving Traffic Congestion, KXAN-TV 1/30/04

Despite what many drivers think, synchronizing lights does not improve traffic congestion. At least that’s what a study here in the capital city shows.

It may not seem like it when you’re driving through downtown, but most of Austin’s signal lights are synchronized, meaning they turn green one after the other. That’s the case on Guadalupe, and many people think that synchronization fixes traffic congestion. That’s not true.

Thursday, Austan Librach, Director of Planning Environmental & Conservation Services Department, planning and sustainability told the council that even with synchronized lights, Austin is going to have traffic problems. He explained that there are not enough lanes in Austin. In fact, he says the city would have to build 70 street lane miles annually for traffic not to get any worse.

“It’s a difficult problem. It’s a real difficult problem. We need to look at the problem from a multi-dimensional perspective. We need to have HOV lanes, higher occupancy vehicle lanes, we need transit, we need rail, bus. We need mixed-use development,” Librach said.

The city operates 786 signal lights to be exact. Ninety percent of the lights on major roads like Congress and Guadalupe are synchronized.