Traffic signal changes on major Elk Grove roadways have helped ease congestion. Here’s how

Elk Grove motorists have experienced improved traffic flow on a pair of major roadways as a result of recent years’ changes to traffic signal protocols, according to city officials.

The Elk Grove Public Works Department first introduced signal synchronization in an initiative called “Green Wave” in February 2020, which focused on the simultaneous green lights for Laguna and Elk Grove boulevards between Bruceville and Elk Grove Florin roads.

A second phase introduced in 2021 extended the Green Wave, which now stretches from Bruceville Road to just east of Interstate 5.

According to Elk Grove Public Works, signal synchronization and coordination adjustments allow drivers traveling at or near the designated 45 mph speed limit to experience a higher probability of green lights. The adjustments to traffic signal timing have helped reduce congestion at and around some of Elk Grove’s busiest intersections, according to the city.

“Vehicles traveling eastbound on Elk Grove Boulevard during the peak of the evening commute should see a reduction in travel time of at least 10 percent,” the city’s then-public works director Bob Murdoch said in a 2020 news release.

Three years later, the city says it has topped that 10% goal. Since the installment, drivers have seen an average decrease in travel times of 12%, as well as a 47% decrease in the number of stops and a 51% decrease in delays along the two corridors’ 3.5-mile stretch, according to a report by Elk Grove public works with data through August of this year.

Signal synchronization is a traffic engineering technique that coordinates how long a traffic light stays green, regulating the maximum number of cars that are able to pass through an intersection. The objective is to reduce stop-and-go traffic, idling at red lights, vehicle emissions and travel time along high-volume roadways.

Drivers who utilize the less-busy north and south side roadways along the two boulevards, or make left turns from them, may experience longer than usual wait times at stoplights, the city advises.

The changes have been implemented in three different coordination plans depending on the time of day and traffic patterns. According to the city’s website, synchronization is in effect during weekday mornings and evenings, as well as weekends. Traffic signals default to operating via motion sensors outside those windows, during 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays.

The city plans to continually monitor the timing of traffic signals and says it will make necessary adjustments as needed.