Fighting The War On Traffic

Hidden away in an upstairs loft inside Cranberry’s Public Works Building, the township’s Traffic Operations Center is ground zero in managing the growing volume of traffic along Cranberry’s major corridors. 

Tonight, township Manager Jerry Andree has invited residents to see how the center uses some of the most sophisticated software available to monitor and tweak traffic signals at 42 intersections in and around the township.

The event also will mark the first anniversary of the , which opened in December 2010.

Cranberry Public Works Director Jason Dailey said the center has made the township more attractive to new businesses and residents.

“Being able to see in real time what’s happening. . . has really been a big benefit to help us move traffic,” he said.

The intersection of routes 228 and 19 is Cranberry's busiest corridor. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation estimates more than 100,000 cars pass through the intersection each day. That's the same number of drivers who fly by daily on nearby Interstate 79—and those drivers don't have to deal with a traffic signal.

"Traffic increases every day," township traffic operations tech Marty McKinney told Patch shortly after the center opened. "We can't go backward; we can only go forward."

That means going high-tech.

Inside the sleek traffic nerve center, visitors tonight will observe flat-screen televisions broadcasting live video of busy intersections near routes 19 and 228 and Freedom Road.

A state grant that former Gov. Ed Rendell's office awarded in 2006 to Westinghouse Electric Co. as part of an incentive to keep the company and its operations in Western Pennsylvania helps fund the project. Westinghouse moved its headquarters in 2009 from Monroeville to Cranberry. The township completed the project in a partnership with the Butler County Community Development Corporation.

Besides monitoring traffic, the system collects information and manages data. For example, it also will send an alert if something is wrong with a signal. Before the center opened, signal operators usually had to wait for a driver to complain before they knew of a problem.

According to a recent video time study, the addition of the traffic center has shaved as much as two minutes from a motorist's travel time along Freedom Road.

“Two minutes might not sound like a lot. . .but that’s a significant time savings,” Dailey said.

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IF YOU GO:

Starting at 7 tonight, Township Manager Jerry Andree will lead guests through the traffic center at 20729 Route 19 and provide a tour of other parts of the township’s Public Works facility. 

The tour is part of the ongoing “Coffee and Conversation” series with the manager. Due to space limitations, participation requires reservations. Call 724-776-4806 to reserve a place. Sturdy shoes are strongly recommended. 

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Cranberry Patch Editor contributed to this report.