Broken Arrow looks for help with traffic jams

BY ZACK STOYCOFF World Staff Writer
Monday, December 10, 2012
12/10/12 at 7:07 AM

Read previous Broken Arrow stories and find contact information for local officials.

BROKEN ARROW - The city has turned to a traffic consultant to ease daily backups at two busy Broken Arrow Expressway interchanges.

An attempt to synchronize traffic signals on Elm Place (161st East Avenue) and Lynn Lane (177th East Avenue) last year failed to reduce rush-hour congestion around the highway and has lengthened evening lines on exit ramps, City Engineer Thomas Hendrix said.

Broken Arrow now seeks help from Tulsa-based Traffic Engineering Consultants, Inc., which is a month into a three-month, $37,000 contract to study traffic patterns and adjust the timing of up to 10 signal-controlled intersections around the expressway.

"We continue seeing just major traffic jams," Hendrix said. "We call it the nightmare on Elm Place."

The combined number of vehicles traveling on Elm Place and Lynn Lane near the highway reached 47,195 during the city's most recent 24-hour count in late 2011, while 20,063 were counted on the two exit ramps serving Tulsa commuters.

Although the roads can support those numbers, the number and spacing of traffic signals near the highway complicates managing the flow, Hendrix said.

Five signal-controlled intersections occupy less than a half-mile stretch of Elm Place south from 61st (Albany) Street, including two intersections for highway ramps.

The same number of signal-controlled intersections are in a similar stretch of Lynn Lane north from 71st (Kenosha) Street, including another two for ramps.

Before the synchronization, traffic on the north-south thoroughfares was subject to seemingly random red lights, Hendrix said. The synchronization has kept the lights green longer for those motorists, but at the expense of east-west motorists, such as those exiting the highway.

Highway motorists turning left onto Elm Place during rush hour often create a line extending into the highway. Lengthening their green lights might disrupt north-south traffic in unpredicatable ways, Hendrix said.

"It's a balancing act," he said. "You walk a tightrope on trying to adjust everything.

"You get one thing out of kilter and it messes everything up."

Continued congestion for north-south traffic might indicate that a controller cabinet - a device that coordinates the synchronization - is malfunctioning or mis-timed, Hendrix said.

City crews are awaiting advice from the consulting firm before attempting any fixes, he said.

"It seems easy. Why don't we just fix that signal?" he said. "Well, it's not that easy."

The firm began studying traffic on Elm Place and Lynn Lane between 61st and 71st streets on Nov. 7, documenting the number of vehicles using each signal-controlled intersection and when they do so.

The firm must use the data to recommend improvements to traffic signal timing and the devices themselves by Jan. 16 and oversee implementation by Feb. 20.

"The goal is to have a smooth traffic flow through all of the intersections ... rather than having traffic backed up half a mile," Hendrix said.

Elm Place and Lynn Lane near the Broken Arrow Expressway serve downtown and the city's largest shopping districts, which include Bass Pro Shops, Dick's Sporting Goods and Cinemark Broken Arrow.

On Elm Place north of Kenosha Street, 25,462 cars were counted in the last daily tally - the third-most among the city's surface streets. Lynn Lane had 21,733 north of Kenosha.

The highest count for a surface street - 29,788 - was on Aspen (145th East) Avenue north of Kenosha.

The counts are conducted annually during a random weekday, usually in November, Hendrix said. The 2012 counts are still being compiled.

Original Print Headline: Nightmare on Elm

Zack Stoycoff 918-581-8486
zack.stoycoff@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Vehicles idle in a traffic backup near Elm Place and the Broken Arrow Expressway in Broken Arrow. The city has turned to a traffic consultant to ease daily backups at two busy Broken Arrow Expressway interchanges. MATT BARNARD / Tulsa World