FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                            October 9, 2007

CARY GETS HIGH MARKS ON TRANSPORTATION REPORT CARD

Town’s “B” well above national average of “D”

CARY, NC – With an overall average score of 4.3, the Town of Cary’s grade of B on the National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC) 2007 National Traffic Signal Report Card puts Cary well ahead of most of the 417 agencies representing 47 states that participated in this year’s study.  This year’s national average score was a “D”.

The national self assessment focused on six areas of traffic signal operations: management; signal operation at individual intersections; signal operations in coordinated systems; signal timing practices; traffic monitoring and data collection, and maintenance.  Scoring for each response to the 43 questions on the self assessment survey is based on a 1-5 scale, with a score of 1 meaning that a jurisdiction has made no effort and a score of 5 meaning a comprehensive effort has been applied.  Average question scores of less than 3 result in an “F” grade with any score between 4.5 and 5 resulting in an “A”. 

“The Town of Cary’s high score is a direct result of the Council’s forward thinking in preparing our signal system to handle current traffic demands as well as address the traffic needs for the future,” said Engineering Director Tim Bailey.  “The NTOC’s report card helps show how local governments can improve quality of life for our citizens by making what are often small changes in the way they manage and operate our traffic signal systems.”

The Town of Cary’s centralized signal system became a reality in 2005 when over 130 intersections were interconnected with fiber optic cable and, soon after, a fully staffed and functional Traffic Management Center synchronized all of the traffic signals managed by the Town, including running specific timing plans during peak hours, off peak hours, weekends, holidays, special events, and incidents. 

In addition, the Town has an Advanced Traffic Management System which includes dynamic message signs at gateways into town to warn motorists of accidents or congested areas as well as closed circuit TV cameras at key intersections, which provide traffic images on Cary TV 11 that citizens can access during rush hours before leaving home to choose the best routes.  And soon, citizens will be able to go to the Town's Web site for real-time traffic information and images.

The NTOC is an organization comprising transportation experts including the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Public Works Association, the International Municipal Signal Association, ITS America, U.S. DOT–Federal Highway Administration and many other organizations.  Their mission is to improve management and operation of the nation’s existing transportation system so that its performance will exceed customer expectations.

For more, see the Traffic Signal section of www.townofcary.org or visit the NTOC at http://www.ite.org/reportcard/.

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