Ed. — Archived from the Sunday, March 3, print edition.
VIRGINIA BEACH — I’m lucky because I have a short commute to and from work each day. But that doesn’t mean congestion is not still on my mind.
I often worry about the traffic and whether I’ll get to work or get home on time. It can be stressful at times, for sure.
But Mike Shahsiah may be the one person in our city who worries about everyone’s commute.
Shahsiah is the city traffic operations engineer for Virginia Beach, and I recently visited with him at the Virginia Beach Traffic Management Center. There, he spends a good chunk of his workday examining the traffic around our city on huge monitors covering an entire wall.
“There are over 400 traffic lights in Virginia Beach and 200 of them have cameras attached to them, and 70 percent, of all our traffic lights are fiber-line connected,” he said.
Shahsiah knows all about our traffic flow, and he and his staff are committed to making commutes as easy and stress-free as possible.
The key, of course, is to collect and analyze data and adjust as necessary.
It can be a little overwhelming considering our traffic system and how it works.
The average time of a red light is two minutes, but there are some red lights that only last 70 seconds. Others can last up to three minutes. Many of the traffic lights have up to six cycle options which allow the red-light time to adjust throughout the day.
That’s a lot to keep track of, but Shahsiah and his colleagues are masters of their version of “Red Light, Green Light” that we played as kids on the playground.
In addition to the logistical study of traffic patterns and flows, Shahsiah’s office also conducts annual preventive maintenance on all traffic signals and school safety lights. That’s about 550 lights needing an annual check-up. Each light gets a thorough examination with all operational components checked, tuned or replaced.
The technology behind it all has improved over the years, which makes this task a little bit easier. LED lights, for example, have a much longer life span and have been installed in all the traffic lights.
Research into the “latest and greatest” systems and devices is always on-going. Cities in our region have also joined together through the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization. An opportunity to see the big picture exists here.
The idea is to help all of us move between our sister cities and in and out of the region.
Shahsiah and his staff certainly have a lot on their plate.
“When I started with the city of Virginia Beach in 1989, there were only 200 and some traffic lights,” Shahsiah told me. “Since then, that number has more than doubled.”
The biggest challenge?
Maintaining the traffic signal infrastructure is the biggest task and the top priority.
“It makes all of us here feel good when we help our community by addressing and solving a traffic issue,” he added.
So the next time you find yourself sitting at a red light, take a moment to reflect on what goes on behind the scenes and what it takes to keep our traffic flowing.
Shahsiah and staff are watching, analyzing and making it all work as effectively as possible.
The author, a business coach and consultant, is active in community service and enjoys time with his wife, Kim, and daughter, Kara. Reach him via email at mckco85@aol.com.
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