New ‘adaptive’ street signals will adjust based on traffic volume
NORWALK — West and Belden avenues will soon become more pedestrian-friendly, with the approval of seven “adaptive signal controllers.”
The new traffic signal controllers were approved this week by the Common Council’s Public Works Committee.
Seven existing traffic signals at corners along West and Belden avenues will be converted from traffic responsive to traffic adaptive, meaning the signals will change based on traffic patterns in the area rather than a standardized shift from red to green, according to city documents.
“We received a safety grant to improve the signals on West Avenue and turn them to adaptive.” Michael Yeosock, Norwalk Transportation, Parking and Mobility principal engineer
The signals at West and Belden avenues are part of a state-funded project that began about two years ago, Norwalk Transportation, Parking and Mobility Principal Engineer Michael Yeosock said.
“We received a safety grant to improve the signals on West Avenue and turn them to adaptive,” Yeosock said. “This is from Butler Street north, including Belden Avenue.”
The city notified residents and businesses near the seven affected intersections with mailers, and received no feedback, Yeosock said.
The preliminary construction cost estimation for the project was about $442,000, of which 90 percent would be funded by the Federal Highway Administration, according to city documents. The remaining 10 percent will be paid for by Norwalk.
Semi-final design plans were already developed by the state and Common Council approval of the project is the next step, Yeosock said.
Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps and pedestrian pushbuttons will be added to the street corners as well, according to city documents.
West Avenue is not the first strip in Norwalk to receive the upgraded traffic signals, Yeosock said. Adaptive signals have already been installed outside The SoNo Collection.
“We are also changing the rest of the signals in South Norwalk on MLK and South and North Main to adaptive as part of the Walk Bridge project later this year or early next year,” Yeosock said. “This
will complete that whole corridor. The west side of the river basically will run adaptive.”
As part of the conversion, a “leading pedestrian interval phase” will be added to each traffic signal, which enhance visibility for pedestrians and reinforce their right-of-way over vehicles, according to the Connecticut Transportation Institute.
Traditional traffic signals, called exclusive pedestrian phase, allows pedestrians to cross the street when vehicles are stopped on all approaches, according to the UConn center. Exclusive pedestrian phasing reduces the overall number of pedestrian crashes, but the crashes that do occur are often more severe, according to a 2017 University of Connecticut study.
“LPIs are typically applied where both pedestrian volumes and turning volumes are high enough to warrant an additional dedicated interval for pedestrian-only traffic,” according to the Connecticut Transportation Institute.
The seven intersections planned to receive traffic signal upgrades are West Avenue at the corners of Wall Street/ Mott Street, Berkeley Street/Leonard Street, Chapel Street, Merwin Street/ Arch Street and Maple Street/Orchard Street.
Belden Avenue will also receive new traffic signals at the intersections of Cross Street and Burnell Boulevard, according to city documents.