Dreading the traffic delays at area shopping centers over the holidays? To keep shoppers and traffic moving during the busiest shopping days of the year, the Virginia Department of Transportation has developed special holiday signal timing plans for a dozen Northern Virginia shopping malls.

The timing plans are in effect now and will continue through New Year’s Day.

“We’ve developed customized signal timing plans for 165 signals in the vicinity of 12 major shopping centers throughout Northern Virginia,” said Mark Hagan, manager of VDOT’s Smart Traffic Signal System. “Our goal is to accommodate the increased traffic volumes expected around the shopping centers as efficiently as possible.”

The holiday timing plans are designed to facilitate traffic movements entering and exiting the shopping malls while maintaining traffic coordination and progression on major roads.

In 1998, the Virginia Department of Transportation completed implementation of a computerized signal system for Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties to ease congestion.

Signal timing optimization is a critical component in providing short-term mitigation for the effects of congestion. In 1999, Tysons Corner Mall asked VDOT to assist them with traffic management during the holiday season. Since then, VDOT has assisted 11 more shopping malls and centers in the region.

VDOT’s Smart Traffic Signal System manages more than 1,100 signals in Northern Virginia and uses state-of-the-art signal optimization software tools to provide signal timings and coordination.

New schedule

Page last modified: Dec. 11, 2003