Newer traffic technology designed to cut back on wait time and accidents – KSFY

Sioux Falls, S.D. - Traffic in Sioux Falls is a concern for many drivers, but advancements in technology are here to help. About 30 thousand people travel down Minnesota every day. Newer adaptive traffic signals technology is designed to cut back on delays, wait times, and even accidents.

Its considering all those factors and trying to make the best decision on the fly for all of the intersections, Principle Traffic Engineer, Heath Hoftiezer said.

Adaptive traffic signals are relatively new to Sioux Falls. They look out for drivers, hoping to make their trips around town a bit faster and safer.

If it sees a big gap in traffic and it sees traffic on the side street it will do a quick determination on if it can serve the traffic on the side street to get them through, Hoftiezer said.

Starting next Wednesday, Minnesota Avenue drivers may notice a change on their daily commutes, thanks to the new technology known as "In-sync.

Pay attention to the traffic signals. You know make sure what its showing to you because it might not necessarily be what you are used to in the past, Hoftiezer said.

Back in 2014, the city of Sioux Falls installed this same system at 10 intersections along 26th street and saw a big impact on traffic flow.

We saw an 8 percent reduction on travel times in the corridor which corresponded to 164 hours of delay reduction on a daily basis for the corridor and weve seen a 24 percent decrease in the number of stops on the corridor, Hoftiezer said.

Businesses along 26th believe the adaptive traffic signals are definitely having an impact.

It seems like the traffic does get through the intersection faster. You dont see two cars waiting at one light and 20 at the other. Its a lot more balanced from both sides and usually you dont see that in other places in Sioux Falls, Lewis Employee, David Ferrier said.

Hoftiezer thinks the technology is here to stay.

It is something I would envision in the future. At least two thirds of the signals eventually will have this technology in them, Hoftiezer said.

Hoftiezer said there was a 21 percent decrease in the amount of crashes after the adaptive traffic signal technology was installed. He said the technology can cut down wait times during heavy traffic from 2 minutes to 90 seconds. The new signals are going up on Minnesota Avenue between 18th street and the I-229 interchange. The department of engineering will also install this technology on 41st street from Marion to Norton.

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Newer traffic technology designed to cut back on wait time and accidents - KSFY