FDOT, Winter Park work to smooth out traffic along U.S. 17-92

The Florida Department of Transportation has its eye on U.S. 17-92 — in search of new ways to keep traffic moving smoothly. 

The department currently is installing technology that will monitor turning movements along Orlando Avenue, allowing its engineers to understand where traffic is going and see how they can change the cycles of traffic lights to keep the cars moving. Instead of the set cycles, there would be cycles added to best suit the needs of the traffic. 

“This information will all go back to a command center, where there’s engineers that watch these computers,” Winter Park Traffic Manager Butch Margraf said. “They help decide what the best timing plans are at any particular time. It’s not 100% operational yet, but we’re working in that direction.”  

But that’s just the latest addition of technology to U.S. 17-92. Last summer, FDOT added Bluetooth technology along the street that picks up a signal from cell phones. That technology records how long it takes cars to travel down the road. 

The projects along U.S. 17-92 eventually may be implemented onto other roads such as Fairbanks and Aloma avenues, Margraf said. 

The Bluetooth and turn technology coincide with a new team formed by FDOT called the Integrated Corridor Management Team, which monitors major roads such as U.S. 17-92, said FDOT Public Information Officer Jessica Keane. It launched about a year ago and already has been developing traffic-adjustment strategies, Keane said. 

“We are extra eyes, ears and hands to see things, hear things and help fix them if (local jurisdictions) aren’t able to or they’d like us to,” she said. 

City Commissioner Greg Seidel also has been developing a traffic model with city staff that could tell how much traffic will result from a potential development project. 

Seidel said the concept is still being crafted but compared it to what he does at The Balmoral Group, an engineering design firm with an expertise in economics, environmental analysis and GIS capabilities. Seidel said his firm has every farm in Florida mapped out for its estimated water use so farmers can better understand and monitor their water consumption. 

Winter Park can take the same approach with measuring traffic, he said. 

“We have development outside of the city that we can’t do anything about,” Seidel said. “With this model that I’m talking about, those are your boundary conditions for the model. Only so many cars can come down Aloma at 436.” 

Seidel said he’s hopeful to see it in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.