Traffic flow on Sioux Falls two busiest streets should be a whole lot better by the summer of 2017.

KDLT TV is reporting that the city of Sioux Falls plans to add the use of adaptive traffic signal technology to Minnesota Avenue and West 41st Street starting in 2017.

Adaptive traffic signal technology has already been in use since 2014 on East 26th Street and has made a positive impact on traffic flow in this well-traveled corridor of the city. In addition to improving traffic flow efficiency, the new technology has helped cut down on the number of crashes and shown a marked decrease in fuel consumption for our residents and visitors.

Ten different intersections of East 26th Street from Van Eps Avenue to Highline Avenue were equipped with adaptive traffic signal technology starting in 2014. The technology detects current traffic counts and adjusts traffic signals in real time, as opposed to preset patterns.

According to the city, in the first 1,000 days after the technology was implemented, drivers on this corridor experienced an 8 percent reduction in delay because of shorter intersection queue lengths and fewer stops and a more than 20 percent reduction in crashes.

Sioux Falls Police Chief Matt Burns says, “When vehicles need to stop less often, the likelihood for crashes also decreases. More smoothly flowing traffic makes for safer commutes and a healthier community.”

The city of Sioux Falls is allocating a sizable amount of money to improve traffic flow on Minnesota Avenue in the coming year. $332,754.00 has been set aside to improve traffic patterns on Minnesota Avenue, while the South Dakota Department of Transportation is investing another $528,056.50 to reduce crashes on West 41st Street.

As of now, the adaptive technology will be added to eight signals on Minnesota Avenue from 18th Street to I-229 and to 13 signals on West 41st Street from Minnesota Avenue to Marion Road.

Work to install this new technology on Minnesota Avenue and West 41st Street is slated to begin this winter.

Source: KDLT TV


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