Skip to main content

Access control aids Helsinki’s traffic flow

Finland’s capital city, Helsinki, has installed an intelligent vehicle access control system in an effort to increase road safety, reduce hazardous emissions and make the city centre more cyclist and pedestrian friendly. Developed by Dutch vehicle detection supplier Nedap, the system provides selective vehicle access control, enabling the city to regulate traffic move movements and reduce the volume of vehicles in the city centre, by allowing only vehicles with a valid permit to enter. The system offers a
February 5, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Finland’s capital city, Helsinki, has installed an intelligent vehicle access control system in an effort to increase road safety,  reduce hazardous emissions and make the city centre more cyclist and pedestrian friendly.

Developed by Dutch vehicle detection supplier 3838 Nedap, the system provides selective vehicle access control, enabling the city to regulate traffic move movements and reduce the volume of vehicles in the city centre, by allowing only vehicles with a valid permit to enter.  The system offers a high level of flexibility in permitting access to vehicles based on need, route, destination and time of day.

Finnish access control systems specialist Visy installed the system on three access roads to the city, using various technologies for identification and communication.  Long range RFID technology is used to identify vehicles, while a vehicle management controller (VMC) connects to barriers, traffic lights and RFID readers and controls their activity. The VMC hardware layout and purpose built embedded software provide an easily-maintained installation.

According to Nedap, access control has proved to be an effective method for reducing unnecessary traffic volume in city centres.  They say Helsinki has seen the results as positive and is currently considering increasing the number of restricted traffic zones in the city.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bigger role for data protection and privacy policies in transportation
    June 11, 2015
    Dr Caitlin Cottrill, lecturer at the University of Aberdeen’s School of Geosciences, examines the impact of privacy legislation on the transportation sector. Growing reliance on big data, underscored by the increasing ubiquity of smart infrastructure and the ‘Internet of Things’, has profoundly impacted the regulatory environment experienced by transportation professionals. This is particularly the case in relation to the privacy of personally identifying information (PII). There has been increased attenti
  • Tunnel simulators vital for real world tunnel management
    January 23, 2012
    Guillaume Ponsar, tunnel safety engineer with Egis Road Operation, writes about the advantages to be gained from the use of tunnel simulators. Major tunnel disasters over the last decade and more have shown how swiftly and badly a simple crash or fire may evolve should the wrong actions be taken by control room operators or traffic managers. Global safety issues and the reactions of operations staff have now become the principal concerns for Operations and Maintenance (O&M) service providers. As a result, n
  • Satellite based goods vehicle tracking comes a step closer
    March 15, 2012
    A project aimed at proving the viability of satellite-based goods tracking in Europe has come to a close – establishing everything necessary for commercial services to flourish. A landmark stage was reached in tracking of goods across Europe in December last year, with conclusion of the Scutum project – ‘Securing the EU GNSS adoption in transport of dangerous materials’. This has validated the accuracy and reliability of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) for goods tracking and se
  • Videalert provides full time enforcement with part time workload
    March 19, 2014
    Videalert says its algorithms on automated enforcement can reduce the workload on staff while providing an effective deterrent to offenders. Colin Sowman reports. While members of the public may believe that the enforcement of parking regulations, bus lanes and box junctions has no practical benefit and is purely a money-making operation, for many authorities the opposite is true. Enforcement is a loss-making but vital exercise as illegally parked vehicles create obstructions and dangers leading to gridl