ITS America Smart Solution Spotlight
Portland, Oregon's Traffic Signal Optimization & Retirement of Carbon Credits
The city of Portland and non-profit organization The Climate Trust collaborate to improve traffic flow at congested thoroughfares and significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the Portland area.
"In six years, this innovative collaboration
resulted in the reduction of more than 157,000 metric tons of CO2 -
the equivalent to removing more than 30,000 passenger vehicles off
the road for an entire year. This is the kind of innovative project
we're hopeful will be emulated by other communities around the
country."
- Scott Belcher, President and CEO of ITS
America
Portland, OR - The City of Portland and The
Climate Trust were presented with the inaugural ITS America
Smart Solution Spotlight award this week in recognition of the
collaborative use of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to
improve traffic congestion and air quality. The award was presented
to Susan Keil and Peter Koonce of the Portland Bureau of
Transportation, and
Erica Keeley from
The Climate Trust by ITS America President and CEO Scott Belcher
during the Women's Transportation Seminar/ITS Oregon
luncheon.
As the leading voice of vehicle and infrastructure innovation, the ITS America Smart Solution Spotlight celebrates creative uses of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to reduce traffic collisions, congestion, costs and carbon emissions. ITS Smart Solutions exemplify the coming revolution where vehicles and infrastructure are all connected creating a safe, smart, clean and efficient transportation system.
What Is This
Project?
In December 2002, The Climate Trust, a
Portland-based nonprofit that specializes in local climate
solutions for governments, large businesses and utilities,
contracted to buy carbon credits from a City of Portland project
designed to improve the timing of traffic signals at congested
intersections.
During the next five years, the Portland
Bureau of Transportation spearheaded the project to improve traffic
signal timing at 17 major arterials, including some of Portland's
most congested thoroughfares.
The City's program costs were covered through a
pay-for-performance contract with The Climate Trust, under which
the nonprofit organization paid the City based on the amount of CO2
emissions that are saved through the traffic signal optimization
project. The City then transferred ownership of the CO2 credits
from the project's reduced emissions to The Climate Trust, which
retired the credits.
How This Project Benefited The
Community?
By retiming the designated traffic signals, DKS
Associates, a national transportation planning and
engineering firm, significantly improved the traffic
flow in the 17 intersections, reducing congestion and the amount of
wasted fuel and CO2 emissions.
By October 2008 - less than six years into the project -
more than 157,000 metric tons of CO2 were verified by Kittelson
& Associates, Inc., a transportation planning, engineering and
research firm. The carbon credits were then retired, not sold, by
The Climate Trust.
Eliminating this amount of CO2 is equivalent to removing
more than 30,000 passenger vehicles off the road for an entire
year, or of removing the emissions generated from burning 17.7
million gallons of gasoline.
Because of the improvements in traffic flow and
emissions reductions, the contract was extended through December
31st, 2012, with the goal of reducing an additional
21,000 metric tons of CO2.
A Collaboration of ITS Technology &
Carbon Credits
"ITS America is impressed that the City of Portland and
The Climate Trust not only utilized Intelligent Transportation
Systems (ITS) to reduce traffic congestion and improve efficiency,
but went another step - a very big step - by measuring and
eliminating CO2 through the purchase of carbon credits,"
said Scott Belcher, ITS America's President and
CEO.
"The City of Portland was seeking to apply ITS
technology to improve its traffic light synchronization but faced
financial constraints. The Climate Trust stepped forward with
financing that made the traffic signal optimization program
possible.
"The result is that the efficiency of Portland's
transportation system improved as did the area's air quality. This
is the kind of innovative project we're hopeful will be emulated by
other communities around the country."
For additional information about this project
contact:
- City of Portland Bureau of Transportation
Dan Anderson, Public Information Officer
( 503) 823-3723
- Peter Koonce, Signals, Street Lighting, & ITS
( 503) 823-3723
- The Climate Trust
Amy Phillips, Marketing and Communications
Manager
(503) 238-1915 ext. 211
- DKS Associates
(503) 243-3500
- Kittelson & Associates, Inc.
(503) 228-5230
The Intelligent Transportation Society of
America represents more than 400 member organizations including
public agencies, private corporations, and academic institutions
involved in the research, development, and deployment of
technologies that improve safety, increase mobility, and sustain
the environment. http://www.itsa.org