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Marc Giauque and Sarah Dallof reporting
Is getting from point A to point B in downtown Salt Lake about to get easier? City leaders and the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) are attempting to synchronize traffic lights on two busy streets.
This isn't the first time something like this has been tried. It's successful on one-way streets like 500 and 600 South, but not so much on two-way roads. So this time around, UDOT will treat 300 West and 400 West like one-way roads, synchronizing the lights to go with southbound traffic on one road, northbound on the other.
Red light, green light, it's a game downtown drivers have long since tired of. Kathy McKee told us, "You'll go through the first light then hit every light thereafter. Seems like they're all red."
Brad Chapman said, "He's sitting there stopped. It's doing what? Just sitting there burning gas."
So, at the request of Salt Lake and state leaders, UDOT and the city are reinventing the rules. Traffic Management Engineer David Kinnecom said, "It's a little experiment in timing the signals."
In about two weeks, the lights headed northbound on 300 West and southbound on 400 West will synchronize. "The green light will move down the street with the traffic," Kinnecom said.
UDOT believes it will save people time and money. With less idling and stop-and-go driving, it should cut down on fuel consumption. As McKee said, "I think it would be awesome, hopefully save me some gas."
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker says light-rail adds another wrinkle. Officials are looking for ways to keep the rails running with fewer delays for drivers.
Drivers going the opposite way will notice more red lights. UDOT hopes they'll simply move to the street with lights synchronized to their direction and go with the flow.
An official start date hasn't been named yet; the details are still being worked out. It's also unsure how long the lights will stay synchronized. UDOT and the city leaders want to see how the new plan works out before making any long-term decisions.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
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