City of Marco Invests in Traffic Improvements

In late 2022 the City commissioned an Intelligent Traffic System Study to evaluate traffic flow at the ten signalized intersections on the Island. At the January 8th City Council meeting, Council members received a presentation showing the enhancements that have been made and heard recommendations for future improvements. This project springs from the 2022 citizen survey in which residents indicated that minimizing traffic congestion was a top priority.

From this project, six of the signalized intersections along North Collier Boulevard from Barfield Drive to San Marco Road were placed on a coordinated signal timing plan which led to a savings of 1,200 vehicle hours per week, 2,200 gallons of fuel savings per week and a reduction of 118 seconds per vehicle for those vehicles coming on the Island between 8:00 am – 9:30 am. Other improvements made to date include increasing the pedestrian walk times per Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) standards, increasing the “red clearance interval” per FDOT standards (the interval between one light turning red and the other direction turning green), and developing new timings at all ten signalized intersections to optimize signal length/cycles.

In this year’s budget, City Council approved funding for additional intersection improvements at North Barfield Drive and North Collier Boulevard. These improvements will include turn lane modifications, signal control upgrades, pedestrian crossing safety enhancements, and replacement of traffic signal lights and mast arms.

Over 200,000 vehicles come on the Island every week and the City is committed to making investments to reduce congestion, modernize infrastructure and improve safety. Improvements to other signalized intersections including synchronization between intersections will follow in coming years.