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       The partnership with Google’s Project Green Light aims to improve the synchronization of traffic lights and the flow of cars, trucks, and buses at problematic intersections. According to Google, the project “uses artificial intelligence and Google Maps Driving Trends, combined with a deep understanding of the global road network, to model traffic patterns and provide city traffic engineers with intelligent recommendations to optimize traffic flows.”
       Research shows that Boston’s traffic conditions are among the worst in the world, and data shows that things are getting worse.
       The green light program was tested at the Fenway-Kenmore, Mission Mill, and Jamaica Plain intersections by changing the traffic light timings at those intersections.
       Two crashes occurred at Huntington Avenue and Opera Street and at Amory and Green streets in Jamaica Plain. Stop-and-go traffic at the two intersections has dropped by more than 50 percent, according to city officials.
       ”We need to find better ways to get people out on the streets, and we’re working hard to improve our streets, make buses more reliable, create more safety features so we can do that. People are not being asked to take their lives into their own hands.”
       ”But we know that even small changes can have a big impact on traffic flow. Sometimes it’s just a question of how long a certain light stays green at intersections and junctions.”
       Stacey Thompson, a member of Livable Streets, a group working to make Boston’s streets safer, lives near the intersection in Jamaica Plain, and is optimistic about the plan.
       ”I would say this is a solution to one of the problems we have on our streets, and people shouldn’t expect it to magically change things overnight,” she told WBZ TV.
       ”You want the technology to take into account everyone at the intersection, whether they’re walking, biking, taking transit, or driving. My understanding is that cities think about all of these users, because no matter what mode of transportation you use, it’s going to have the same impact.”