HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Receives Grant to Coordinate Signals

The city has received a $500,000 grant to computerize and coordinate its traffic signal control system, an improvement that is expected to smooth traffic flow and reduce air pollution.

Traffic engineers will use the money to install a master computer and communication system and upgrade traffic-signal controls at intersections.

The system will permit engineers to monitor and change traffic signal operations from City Hall, officials said.

City Traffic Engineer Jim Otterson said the grant will be a big boost to the city.

“At the moment, the city doesn’t have any coordinated traffic signals, but this grant will make it possible to coordinate most of the city’s signals and monitor the signals on Beach Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway,” he said.

The traffic signals at Pacific Coast Highway and Beach Boulevard, which are designated state highways, are maintained by the state Department of Transportation.

State Rep. Tom Mays (R-Huntington Beach), a former mayor of Huntington Beach, said he discovered that the funds were available and contacted city officials to determine if they were interested. He then submitted an application on the city’s behalf, he said.

“This new system will provide payoffs in improved safety due to smoother traffic flow, and will reduce fuel consumption and air pollutant emissions” because coordinated signals minimize stop-and-go driving, Mays said.

Mays said the money was provided by the Petroleum Violation Escrow Account, funds paid by oil companies to the federal government as restitution for violations of federal pricing regulations in the 1970s.

The U.S. Department of Energy distributes funds to the states according to a formula based on consumption of petroleum products, Mays said. The funds must be spent for energy conservation or energy assistance purposes, he said.