Reimagining Urban Mobility Through Traffic Management

What if we transformed the transportation landscape across the country to be more efficient, equitable, and accessible? This is not only a question of building more transit infrastructure but also of rethinking how we manage existing transportation networks. Traffic management plays a central role in shaping how people move through cities, and it is increasingly clear that car-centric design has reached its limitations. Congestion, emissions, and inequitable access to mobility options are persistent issues in communities of all sizes.

Effective traffic management is not just about reducing travel time for drivers. It involves integrating land use planning, transit operations, and street design to create safer, more efficient, and more inclusive systems. This includes everything from optimizing traffic signals to support bus rapid transit (BRT) routes, to implementing curb management strategies that prioritize pick-up/drop-off zones for shared mobility services. When executed thoughtfully, traffic management can support broader municipal goals such as climate resilience, economic development, and social equity.

Data-Driven Approaches to Congestion Reduction

Municipal traffic engineers now have access to unprecedented volumes of real-time data from GPS-enabled vehicles, Bluetooth sensors, and traffic cameras. These data sources allow local governments to make dynamic adjustments to traffic signals, lane assignments, and turn restrictions. For example, adaptive signal control technology, which adjusts signal timing based on real-time traffic conditions, has been shown to reduce travel time by up to 10 percent in some urban corridors¹. This type of system is already in use in cities such as Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, where it helps balance traffic flow and reduce bottlenecks.

To maximize the impact of these systems, municipalities must invest in both technology and staff capacity. A common challenge is ensuring that signal timing aligns with transit schedules or that traffic incident data is shared seamlessly between departments. Establishing integrated traffic management centers that coordinate police, fire, transit, and public works operations can help support more responsive decision-making². These centers not only respond to major incidents but also optimize everyday operations, such as adjusting traffic flows during construction or large public events.

Prioritizing Transit in Traffic Management Strategies

A key strategy for reducing car dependency is to make public transportation more competitive with driving. Traffic management can support this by giving buses priority at intersections, dedicating curb space for boarding, and enforcing dedicated bus lanes. Transit signal priority (TSP) systems, which hold green lights longer or shorten red lights when a bus approaches, can reduce transit delays significantly. In Portland, Oregon, a TSP program reduced bus delays by up to 18 percent during peak hours³.

These types of solutions require coordination between transit agencies and municipal traffic departments. Cities such as Seattle and San Francisco have institutionalized these partnerships through interagency working groups and shared performance metrics. Municipal governments can also use traffic management tools to support emerging mobility options, such as microtransit or on-demand shuttles, by reserving dynamic curb space and integrating these services into signal priority systems. When traffic management policies prioritize shared and high-occupancy vehicles, transit becomes a more attractive option

Reimagining Urban Mobility Through Traffic Management