Beachcombing -- Efficiency

Sometimes government can save money without cutting a program, laying off an employee or raising taxes. It can simply stop waste.

Consider the traffic signal, especially those that I regularly encounter that control the left turn lanes at northbound Bellflower at Willow or northbound Clark at Willow or westbound Stearns at LCD.

We’ve all sat at a red left-turn arrow while staring at an empty road. Nobody is coming. You could safely make the turn, but the red arrow says no. So, you sit there, engine running, burning gasoline and perhaps wondering who programmed the darn thing.

There is a better way.

Communities across the country use flashing yellow left-turn arrows. A green arrow still provides a protected turn. But at appropriate times, a flashing yellow arrow tells drivers they may turn after yielding to oncoming traffic and pedestrians.

That’s a small example of a much bigger idea: What if cities made efficiency itself a priority?

Start with traffic signals. Instead of lights operating primarily from schedules established months or years ago, sensors and adaptive traffic controls can change signal timing according to actual traffic. The Federal Highway Administration reports that adaptive signal-control technology has improved travel times by more than 10% on average, with considerably greater improvements where existing timing is poor.

Less waiting means less expensive gasoline burned, fewer emissions and less time wasted.

Then apply the same thinking throughout city halls in the greater Long Beach area.

Turn things off. Government buildings don’t need every light, computer and air-conditioning system operating as though they’re fully occupied around the clock. Occupancy sensors, programmable thermostats and building-management systems can shut down lighting and equipment when nobody is there. The EPA says the average building wastes about one-third of the energy it uses.

Find the leaks. Cities pump, treat and distribute enormous amounts of water. The EPA estimates that an average water system loses about 14% of the water it produces to leaks. Every gallon lost has already cost money to pump and often to treat. Finding leaks before they become broken water mains is maintenance that can pay for itself.

Make water plants more efficient. Drinking-water and wastewater facilities can account for 30% to 40% of a municipal government’s energy consumption. EPA estimates efficiency improvements can reduce their energy use by 15% to 30%.

Fix things before they break. Government has a habit familiar to homeowners: postpone maintenance until a small problem becomes an expensive emergency.

For example, the water main that broke near Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive in West Hollywood was 36 inches in diameter. The rupture occurred July 16, on a riveted-steel pipe dating to 1916, making it about 110 years old. The break released an estimated 17 million gallons of water, causing extensive flooding and a large sinkhole.

Put routine business online. A resident shouldn’t have to drive to city hall, find parking, stand in line and hand an employee a piece of paper if the same transaction can be completed electronically. Permits, licenses, payments, applications and records requests should be digital whenever practical – while retaining help for people who aren’t comfortable online.

Measure whether city property is actually being used. Empty offices still require cleaning, maintenance, electricity, insurance and repairs. Cities should periodically ask whether every building, warehouse, office and leased space is still necessary.

And finally, measure everything.

Businesses routinely ask what something costs and what they get in return. Cities should do the same. How much does it cost to collect a ton of trash, repair a pothole, process a permit, maintain a vehicle or operate a building per square foot? You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

None of these ideas will solve a city’s financial problems by itself. But multiply a little wasted electricity, gasoline, water, employee time and office space by hundreds of facilities, thousands of employees and 365 days a year, and little inefficiencies become big money.

Perhaps the flashing yellow arrow is an appropriate symbol.

Government doesn’t always need another red light telling us to stop. Sometimes it just needs a yellow one telling us: Use some judgment and keep moving.

publisher@beachcomber.news