At the 2018 Texas Public Works Association’s Annual Conference held in Fort Worth, the City of Sugar Land received two awards.
The City received the Technical Innovation Award for the Adaptive Signal Control Project along the SH 6 corridor. The Adaptive Traffic Control System is defined as the changing or adapting of signal timings (Cycle Length, Splits, and Offset) based on actual demand, which fluctuate along the day, week, and even the year. The adaptive system consists of both hardware (detectors tallying up vehicle Volume and Occupancy, per lane) and software (optimization algorithm). Traffic demand fluctuates during the day, the week, and even the year. Even though there is a pattern, actual demand still randomly changes. The traffic operation main goals were to, adjust signal timings in real time, maximize roadway efficiency/capacity (optimal solution for Cycle Length and Split allocation, Increase Traffic Flow (more cars moving through the same 1-hour peak), minimize queues, minimize delay (reduce wait time) and minimize traffic stops. When utilizing the adaptive system, the system is constantly processing Volume and Occupancy data from the intersection detection (Pods). The algorithm aims to maximize efficiency by adjusting the Cycle Length, Splits, and even Offset (for progression/coordination). This routine occurs in quasi-Real time, processing the optimum solution based on the Pod data collected in the previous cycle, creating a cycle by cycle analysis. Under this scenario, the heaviest intersection is going to drive this process; therefore, impacting all intersections in the corridor.
In addition, the City received the Exceptional Performance Award in the area of adversity for the City’s response during Hurricane Harvey. This award recognizes individuals, teams, or organizations in the areas of adversity for exceptional performance in the face of adversity in service to the public. As you recall this was truly a team effort by all City departments to provide exceptional public service in a time of adversity of historic proportions.