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Lake Woodlands traffic signals still a work in progress
  
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By SCOTT COONS
A string of traffic signals atop utility poles at various intersections along Lake Woodlands Drive likely will remain as they are, inoperable and wrapped in burlap, until mid-year 2009.
Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ed Chance said many of the signals still need assembly, requiring anything from the laying of fiber-optics lines to interfacing the light with Montgomery County’s Northstar Traffic Management System.
According to the project’s contractor Statewide Signal Co. of Houston, Texas, the project is set for completion sometime in May or June.
“This was originally a 16 month contract,” Chance said. “It requires time and effort. It is a tremendous time burden more than anything else.
The roughly 10 traffic signals in question will be added to about 65 already in place in The Woodlands, Chance said. Most of these will be along Lake Woodlands and Grogan’s Mill.
The traffic lights are part of ongoing efforts to facilitate traffic flow and reduce pollution throughout The Woodlands, Chance said.
In addition to the new lights, the project also will involve upgrading several existing traffic signals to full compatibility with the Northstar system.
Chance says many intersections have outgrown the four way stop signs that had controlled them previously.
“These intersections were originally built while there was minimal traffic in the area,” Chance said. “With the increased development and construction in the area, the stop signs can no longer handle the traffic flow. The real need for these signals is that it allows both lanes to merge effectively.”
In 2003 Chance began seeking state and federal funding. In 2007 it came, primarily by way of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, or CMAQ.
This federal program’s purpose, according to the Federal Highway Administration’s website, is “...to fund projects and programs in air quality nonattainment and maintenance areas for ozone, carbon monoxide, and small particulate matter which reduce transportation related emissions.”
Roughly translated, this means the program awards money to projects which can reduce the presence of air-borne pollutants, particularly from cars and trucks.
CMAQ and state funding awarded about $4 million to the intersection development project based on an analysis of the traffic passing through these given areas. The county chipped in $600,000.
“The longer cars sit at a stop sign the more [emissions] they put out,” Chance said. “The cars will have to spend less time at the lights than they did with a four-way stop.”
For more information on the Northstar Traffic System, visit http://www.mctraffic.org.
Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ed Chance said many of the signals still need assembly, requiring anything from the laying of fiber-optics lines to interfacing the light with Montgomery County’s Northstar Traffic Management System.
According to the project’s contractor Statewide Signal Co. of Houston, Texas, the project is set for completion sometime in May or June.
“This was originally a 16 month contract,” Chance said. “It requires time and effort. It is a tremendous time burden more than anything else.
The roughly 10 traffic signals in question will be added to about 65 already in place in The Woodlands, Chance said. Most of these will be along Lake Woodlands and Grogan’s Mill.
The traffic lights are part of ongoing efforts to facilitate traffic flow and reduce pollution throughout The Woodlands, Chance said.
In addition to the new lights, the project also will involve upgrading several existing traffic signals to full compatibility with the Northstar system.
Chance says many intersections have outgrown the four way stop signs that had controlled them previously.
“These intersections were originally built while there was minimal traffic in the area,” Chance said. “With the increased development and construction in the area, the stop signs can no longer handle the traffic flow. The real need for these signals is that it allows both lanes to merge effectively.”
In 2003 Chance began seeking state and federal funding. In 2007 it came, primarily by way of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, or CMAQ.
This federal program’s purpose, according to the Federal Highway Administration’s website, is “...to fund projects and programs in air quality nonattainment and maintenance areas for ozone, carbon monoxide, and small particulate matter which reduce transportation related emissions.”
Roughly translated, this means the program awards money to projects which can reduce the presence of air-borne pollutants, particularly from cars and trucks.
CMAQ and state funding awarded about $4 million to the intersection development project based on an analysis of the traffic passing through these given areas. The county chipped in $600,000.
“The longer cars sit at a stop sign the more [emissions] they put out,” Chance said. “The cars will have to spend less time at the lights than they did with a four-way stop.”
For more information on the Northstar Traffic System, visit http://www.mctraffic.org.
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P.K. wrote on Aug 29, 2008 4:41 PM: