Boston AI Pilot Optimizes Traffic Light Timing

A pilot program that uses artificial intelligence (AI) platform Green Light to improve traffic flows in Boston has led to a noticeable reduction in stop-and-go traffic, reports Jonathan Andrews in Cities Today.

“A platform like Green Light is a low-barrier way for us to try more frequent signal timing changes that are responsive to recent traffic conditions. The automated impact analysis helped us evaluate the recommendations– and by extension, the value of the platform –very easily,” said Michael Lawrence Evans, Director of Emerging Technology for the City of Boston.

Engineers at the Boston Transportation Department assessed the AI recommendations to decide where and whether to implement them. “At one intersection, stop-and-go traffic has been reduced by over 50 percent and cities around the world that use Project Greenlight have reportedly experienced a 10 percent average reduction in emissions.”

The city says the tool assists them in identifying signals that need to be optimized “particularly at the 300 signalised intersections that are not directly connected to the city’s Traffic Management Center.”