FLORENCE, Ky. — As part of our "Let's Talk" series this week, we visited Florence to hear about the things residents feel deserve attention. During the stop, something we heard time and again was traffic concerns.
We set our focus on a stretch of U.S. 42 in Florence, where city, county and state officials are working on solutions to the bumper-to-bumper backups.
"They need to address the roads before they build anything else," Sarah Sleet of Union said. "We need to improve our roads. And addressing traffic lights is a big issue with that."
WATCH: After listening to your concerns, we're looking at possible solutions to traffic congestion on a busy Florence roadway
The project entails installing new smart signals, or adaptive traffic signal controls, throughout a specific several-mile stretch of U.S. 42, starting at Ewing Boulevard and up past Pleasant Valley Road into Union.
Adaptive traffic signal controls adapt to traffic in real time, versus the current traffic signals on that stretch of U.S. 42, which run on a timer. That means the smart signals can adjust to situations like rush hour or accidents.
"You can have it working through technology with cameras and other sensors to be able to see where the timing of a signal may need to be flexible to accommodate peak times and peak travel," Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore said. "What if there's an accident and that has thrown off the normal cycle that an interchange would experience?(You could) manually take that over."
The smart signals will also allow Florence city staff to take manual control over traffic light signals and intersections when necessary.
"Much like our 911 center for dispatch and for emergency, you really could have a control center for transportation efficiency," Moore said. "The manual operation may only need to exist for 15 minutes to 30 minutes, and then you go back to sensors and the normal operation."
Moore said situations like morning or evening rush hour and school dismissal could warrant manual control of the lights, tailoring traffic signal patterns to whatever congestion issues need to be alleviated.
"I believe this is a great example of technology providing the solution," he said. "Utilizing technology to provide a better solution than the traditional concrete bulldozers, disruption of construction."
We are still working to pin down a timeline and price for this project. As of Friday evening, we are waiting to hear back from Florence officials, who are working with consultants to spearhead the plans.
