Sitting in traffic on any one of the New York City bridges should get easier with MTA’s plan to balance traffic flow.
The MTA Bridges and Tunnels plans to install new electronic travel time signs, which would give motorists information about connecting highways so they can get to destinations at a quicker pace.
Electronic message signs will eventually be installed at nine major crossings. Signs have already been put in place at the Robert F. Kennedy, Verrazano-Narrows, Throgs Neck and Henry Hudson Bridges.
“Giving motorists real travel time information not only allows drivers to make more informed driving choices; it also helps us improve traffic flow at our crossings,” said Bridges and Tunnels Chief Technology Officer Tariq Habib.
Each sign is designed to relay information to drivers on the approximate amount of time it will take take to get from one destination to the next. For instance, just before entering the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Brooklyn there’s a sign that tells Staten Island-bound drivers how long it will take to reach the toll plaza on both the upper and lower levels.
“By directing traffic to the level that has the least amount of vehicles at that particular time we are able to balance the flow of traffic,” said Habib.
Another Verrazano message gives real travel time to the Goethals Bridge and Outer Bridge Crossing. Each sign gives different estimation travel times based on the location. The Manhattan-bound sign before the Henry Hudson Bridge toll plaza provides travel times to 57th Street in Manhattan; the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in the Bronx to the Long Island and Brooklyn-Queens Expressways via Grand Central Parkway or the Harlem River Drive. Other messages may include information to area airports like JFK and La Guardia or destinations like Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.
Aside from electronic message signs, Bridges and Tunnels uses anonymous information from E-ZPass transponders, an online virtual application that provides graphically animated views of current travel speeds and times. The information is based on how long it takes to get from the toll plaza through or across the bridge or tunnel, not taking into account traffic leading up to the toll.
Motorists can access information from the Bridges and Tunnels web site at www.mta.info to see traffic conditions before traveling or using mobile web sites on Blackberry and iPhones. An iPhone one-touch application is being developed to access a variety of information including streaming video near toll plazas, toll information, and real travel times at B&T crossings.
“We are pleased to be able to bring the most up-to-date travel information to our customers, to help them make more informed choices and improve traffic in New York,” Habib said.
