New Traffic Control Systems Being Put in Place

The City of Edmond is in the process of implementing the Intelligent Transportation System, an application that is designed to improve traffic jams and safety during congested times by using technology.

This system is something the city wants to implement in preparation for autonomous, or driverless, vehicles.

The City of Edmond website has a video that described the Intelligent Transportation system as, “High tech field devices at each intersection detect problems, and notify operators in the traffic management center. After evaluation, adjustments can be made to improve traffic flow.”

A completion date has not yet been named, but the first phase, consisting of 2nd Street and neighboring intersections in its corridor, was completed in 2016 and cost about $3 million.

“The Intelligent Transportation System includes a wide range of applications,” said Tom Minnick, Edmond’s traffic coordinator. “It can ease congestion, improve traffic management by monitoring traffic conditions, minimize environmental impact and increase the benefits of transportation to commercial users and the public in general.”

The second phase, which will consist of 22 intersections such as Danforth, Covell and Sante Fe, is set to be under construction by fall 2018 and is estimated to cost about $5 million.

The third phase is currently under design, and no beginning or end time has been set.

“Approximately 75 percent of the city’s traffic signal infrastructure does not follow the current accepted national standards,” Minnick said. “Each new phase we implement will follow the National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation System protocol.”

Minnick said that by following the national standards, Edmond hopes to fix the interoperability (products that can work with other systems) and interchangeability (products that are practically identical and can be replaced with each other) between computers and traffic control equipment.

“Wireless technology is used to connect vehicle information and location to other vehicles and other transportation modes, such as pedestrians or bicyclists, local infrastructure and remote infrastructure,” Minnick said.

According to Minnick, as long as vehicles are willing to accept that information, the installation of the I.T.S. will have controllers with the future capability of giving and sharing information to vehicles traveling through an intersection.

For more information, including videos, visit edmondok.com and search “traffic projects.” A tab on the left will be titled “Intelligent Transportation System.”

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