What Happens to Traffic When the World Goes Back to Work?

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need for agility, efficiency and predictability in all aspects of life, including how cities manage the flow of traffic

Before coronavirus (COVID-19)-related shutdowns, the United States lost 6.3 billion hoursⁱ, 30 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissionsⁱⁱ and $88 billion dollars of productivityⁱⁱⁱ to congestion each year. While COVID-19 closures have decreased emissions by as much as 26%^iv around the world, experts expect traffic levels to resume over time. Retiming signals – typically an expensive, time consuming, manual process – can reduce congestion at intersections by up to 40%^v, in turn reducing GHG emissions by an estimated 4.9 million tons per year and lowering productivity losses by an estimated $27 billion annually.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need for agility, efficiency and predictability in all aspects of life, including how cities manage the flow of traffic,” said Andrew Liu, senior vice president, smart cities for Parsons. “The Intelligent Intersections tool is designed to improve mobility, whether that means reducing congestion at the peak of rush hour or cycling through signals more effectively as traffic rises back toward pre-COVID-19 levels. By unlocking the data available at intersections, our solution allows traffic engineers to retime signals up to 20 times more frequently and make more efficient, effective traffic management decisions.”

Parsons Corporation announced the company’s new Intelligent Intersections solution, which uses advanced analytics and algorithms to reduce congestion and improve mobility around cities. Using data already being generated at the intersection, the solution provides a dashboard that allows traffic engineers to visualize information and deploys an algorithm that allows automated retiming of traffic signals.  

The solution will be deployed in four cities around the United States in the coming months, including Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization (FMPO)/Fort Smith, Arkansas; Austin, Texas; Westminster, Colorado; and Walnut Creek, California. Using existing city sensors to analyze traffic data and provide signal timing recommendations, these pilot programs are expected to yield outcomes including reduced travel delays and improved driver satisfaction, as well as supporting each city’s efforts to promote safety.

Parsons’ Intelligent Intersections solution is part of a collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help change the way cities move.

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