Uptown Traffic Gets New Signal Timing
Engineers Fine-Tune Uptown Signals to Balance Traffic Flow and Safety
Drivers and pedestrians passing through Uptown on Wednesday might have noticed engineers in bright yellow shirts standing on benches, leaning into the street, and staring into the distance. They were observing traffic patterns they had just adjusted after months of study. The engineers from GPD Group and the City of Westerville were in the final stages of implementing a new signal timing plan along State Street, designed to keep vehicles flowing smoothly while enhancing safety for pedestrians.
The update follows months of study along State Street between Walnut Street and Home Street, where temporary sensors installed in April collected detailed data on vehicle counts, speeds, and signal coordination. That information helped engineers create time–space diagrams, illustrating how traffic moved through Uptown’s series of lights. The models identified opportunities to adjust offsets and reduce stop-and-go congestion without increasing speed.
At State and College Avenue, engineers confirmed the new 120-second traffic signal cycle on Wednesday morning. According to the updated plan, State Street gets 90 seconds of green light, while College and Main Street share 30 seconds. The settings were sent to the city’s traffic signal server the night before, allowing technicians to make additional adjustments remotely.
“Every intersection in this system can be adjusted from a computer,” one engineer explained while examining the control cabinet. “If traffic patterns shift, we can tweak timing.”
One of the most noticeable changes is the new Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPI) at Main Street and College Avenue. This feature gives pedestrians a few seconds to start crossing before the traffic light turns green for vehicles, helping them to enter the crosswalk and be more visible to turning drivers.
Uptown’s street layout also influences traffic flow. State Street’s lanes are 11 feet wide, narrower than the 12-foot standard used on many arterial roads. The reduced width is intentional, serving as a built-in traffic-calming measure to encourage slower speeds through the historic district.
While the design promotes pedestrian safety and maintains the walkable character of Uptown, it can also irritate drivers used to wider streets and quicker travel times. Engineers say traffic-calming is part of the balancing act, creating a corridor that feels steady, not rushed.
“The goal isn’t speed. Its predictability,” one technician noted while observing traffic flow from the sidewalk. “We want drivers to move through Uptown in rhythm with the lights.”
The current coordination, centered around the 90-30 split favoring north–south movement, will be monitored over the next several weeks. Data from sensors and on-site observation will inform further adjustments, all managed through the city’s connected traffic-signal network.
If the changes succeed, Westerville officials plan to extend the same technology south toward Schrock Road. A similar timing system is already installed along County Line Road, from Worthington Road to State Street, where synchronized signals have improved traffic flow through that corridor.
The Westerville News is a reader-supported publication by Gary Gardiner, a lifelong journalist who believes hyper-local reporting is the future of news. This publication focuses exclusively on Westerville—its local news, influence on Central Ohio, and how surrounding areas shape the community.
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