Relief coming to San Pedro

L.A.'s high-tech Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control system is coming to San Pedro and Wilmington. The system -- started during L.A.'s great victory against traffic (the 1984 Olympics) -- now covers about 70% of the city, according to the Breeze:

By February 2009 all traffic lights in San Pedro will be controlled from this command center housed four floors below Los Angeles City Hall. Construction is scheduled to begin on San Pedro's 57 traffic lights by May 2008, said ATSAC engineer Benjamin Chan. During this same period, 70 traffic lights in Wilmington also will be refitted to become part of the ATSAC network. ATSAC is a computer-based traffic signal control system that monitors traffic conditions and improves traffic flow by selecting the most efficient signal timings. Sensors in the street detect the number and speed of vehicles passing through the intersection. The control center receives this information within one second and analyzes it within a minute to determine whether better traffic flow can be gained by changing the signal timing. Statistics for areas with ATSAC show traffic moves between 7 percent and 10 percent more efficiently. This would be equal to about three more cars per lane for each green light on Western Avenue.