Commission unanimously recommends City Council approve three-year signal synchronization update

The Traffic & Parking Commission voted unanimously on March 2 to recommend that City Council approve the three-year update to the city's Local Signal Synchronization Plan and adopt the resolution attached to the staff report.

Tran Tran, a city staff member who presented the update, told the commission the plan is required every three years to remain eligible for funding through the Orange County Transportation Authority's OC Go program (an 80% OCTA, 20% city funding match). He said completed or substantially completed corridor projects include El Toro Road, Los Alisos Boulevard and Lake Forest Drive, with Portola Parkway and Santa Margarita Parkway listed as substantially complete and in ongoing signal-timing and maintenance phases. "These corridors are doing exceptionally well," Tran said, noting the program's performance is measured by a Corridor Synchronization Performance Index (CSPI).

Tran explained the technical trade-offs in signal timing, including cycle length (he cited an example intersection cycled at about 140 seconds) and the use of offsets to create a "green band" for drivers traveling at a set speed through coordinated corridors. He also described infrastructure upgrades made under the program, saying roughly 90% of the city's signals are now connected by fiber and that many candidate corridors remain for future retiming if funding allows.

Commissioners asked about cost estimates, consultants, and funding flexibility. Tran said the city worked with consultant Hartzog and Bris (named in the draft plan) for estimates, that vendors and consultants provided current pricing and contingencies, and that OCTA will reimburse up to the approved application amount while the city must cover costs beyond that or reduce project scope. "It's actual numbers at the end of the day," he said, describing contingencies built into the estimates.

After discussion, the chair moved to approve staff's recommendation and the motion passed on a manual roll call with all commissioners voting yes. The commission directed staff to forward the LSSP update and the attached resolution to City Council; Tran said the full package and other OC Go compliance documents will be presented to council around June.

The commission also noted the plan's goals of improving air quality and corridor performance by reducing stop-and-go driving and greenhouse-gas emissions, and flagged candidate corridors to pursue pending available funding.