Yellowknife (Aug 04/06) - Both the city and citizens are getting relief, not only financially but from frustration as well.

Traffic lights are being retrofitted downtown to reduce energy costs and increase traffic flow.

Chris Greencorn, municipal works engineer, shows off a new traffic control box on the corner of 53rd Street and Franklin Avenue. - Emily Watkins/NNSL photo

"We have the bulk of the work done now," says Chris Greencorn, a municipal works engineer.

"There is less congestion downtown, but we will continue to retrofit the rest of the traffic lights in Yellowknife over the next two to three years."

The downtown core will never be free from congestion, Greencorn says, because the blocks are so close together.

Workers have replaced the bulbs in the traffic lights with LEDs that Greencorn says will decrease energy costs by ten percent.

They are also replacing the timers that control the lights with computerized versions that adjust to the number of cars on the road.

"It's tweaking it to adapt Yellowknife traffic flow," he says.

Workers have also installed a backup power supply that will allow the traffic lights to stay on during blackouts.

"One of the main things that we did work on was the intersections of 54th (Street) and Franklin (Avenue) and 53rd (Street) and Franklin (Avenue)," Greencorn says.

"By putting in new controllers, we have been able to stop the lights from changing at the same times."

City Council approved $100, 000 for the new controllers, another $100, 000 for the new LED traffic lights and the GWNT gave $35, 000 towards the LED lights.