Since 2023, Seattle has been part of a Google pilot program called “Green Light,” designed to optimize traffic lights using artificial intelligence. This project, which also extends to other heavily congested cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Calcutta, relies on Google Maps data to adjust traffic light cycles at major intersections.
Streamline traffic at the busiest intersections
The objective is twofold: to reduce waiting times at traffic lights and to reduce emissions linked to the accumulation of vehicles, which represent a significant source of pollution in urban centers.
« We observed positive results said Mariam Ali, spokesperson for the Seattle Department of Transportation. According to her, the program provided recommendations “ specific and actionable » which made it possible to identify and remedy certain bottlenecks in the traffic system. The algorithm developed by Google learns from traffic data and suggests minute adjustments, such as reducing the duration of a red light by a few seconds to make passage on one side of the intersection smoother.
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The first results of this “green light project” are encouraging. According to Google’s 2024 Environmental Report, the algorithm could reduce stops by 30% and intersection emissions by 10% on average. This approach uses real-time data provided by drivers, who act as “mobile sensors” via Google Maps.
Unlike traditional light adaptation systems, which require expensive sensors under the roads, the project relies solely on information already available. This helps limit infrastructure costs while increasing system efficiency.
This technology does not replace human decision-making, which is often necessary to adjust traffic based on city-specific criteria. For example, some Google recommendations were rejected in Seattle because they had no net benefit.
In Manchester, England, engineers routinely ignored Green Light’s suggestions, favoring public transportation and other modes of travel like bicycles and pedestrians. This is because urban traffic management is not limited to car traffic. Priorities also include pedestrian safety, the fluidity of public transport and the management of residential areas.
Despite these limitations, Google sees in this project an opportunity to improve traffic conditions in many cities. Currently, Green Light is being tested at more than 70 intersections around the world, and project engineers hope to expand it to several hundred intersections in the coming years. The long-term goal is to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in urban centers, where pollution at intersections is up to 29 times greater than on open roads, according to a 2015 study.
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