Photo by Liam Verster/EverythingGP

By Liam Verster

Public Engagement on Traffic Operations

City of Grande Prairie launches survey to raise public awareness of traffic operations

Dec 21, 2020 | 1:18 PM

Rather than the conventional survey that gathers feedback from the public, the City of Grande Prairie is raising awareness on traffic operations through the new ‘Did You Know? All About Traffic Operations‘ online survey.

Those operations consist of three main components: Traffic Engineering, which involves work like data collection, assessing signal and crossing needs, speed limits and safety reviews; the Traffic Sign Shop which installs signs, handles temporary traffic control and roadway painting; and Traffic Signal Maintenance, which works on intersections with traffic signals, overhead pedestrian crossings and beacon controlled crosswalks.

Wade Nellis, the Traffic Operations Supervisor for the City of Grande Prairie, says these components all work together to ensure the roads are safe for both drivers and pedestrians, while also maintaining the flow of traffic.

He adds that the work they do often comes with making decisions based off a number of factors that need to be addressed, pointing specifically the operations of traffic signals.

“[Traffic signals] can work in a number of different ways, whether they’re on a pre-set schedule or they’re utilizing detectors to try and make the best use of the available time,” says Nellis.

“And also we’re trying to balance all the different needs of the road use. So everybody wants green lights from home to work and back in the afternoon, but we are balancing that with the needs of side street traffic to access those roadways, the needs of pedestrians so they have adequate crossing time, the needs of transit and heavy vehicles. So there’s a number of factors that go into how we configure traffic.”

Nellis adds that there are two types of traffic signal modes, Coordinated and Free Operation.

Coordinated Operation is used along sections with lots of lighted intersections or one way roads, such as the downtown core, where traffic is controlled in a way that usually means when a driver has to stop for one red light, they won’t be caught in another one in the upcoming intersections.

Free Operation is used with the help of small cameras and detectors that monitor traffic density, and then change the lights to best meet the needs of the specific time so that traffic can flow smoothly.

The Traffic Operations department, along with ensuring traffic doesn’t grind to a halt in the City, also does a lot of work based off statistics and information intended to improve the safety of road users.

“One of the things we did this year of course was the speed limit drops along Wapiti Road and the existing bypass. So basically we’re just looking at statistics and the available data to try and establish consistency throughout the City,” says Nellis.

“Safety is our number one priority, but, we are also always looking to make travel through the City as efficient and painless as possible.”

Another example of statistic driven work done by Traffic Operations this year was the replacement of several stop signs in the City with yield signs, an initiative which Nellis says will continue at low-risk intersections in the future.

He adds the department will likely also invest in more flashing beacon crosswalks in the new year, and may also expand it’s flashing radar speed sign program in the near future.

Though the survey is mainly being used as an educational tool, Nellis says Traffic Operations is always open to hearing feedback from the public.

“Quite often when we get concerns from the public a lot of it can have one of two results: either there is something going wrong with the signals and we’re happy to get that feedback and repair what’s going wrong, or the signals are operating as intended and we’re happy to explain to citizens why things operate the way they do.”

The ‘Did You Know?! All About Traffic Operations’ survey is open until January 8, and can be found on the City’s engagement website.