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

  • Smart cameras offer real-time alerts
    April 10, 2014
    Intelligent traffic cameras open up a host of possibilities for traffic planners and controllers alike. If traffic management centres (TMCs) around the world are to cope with the increasing demands of growing traffic flows while maintaining or improving transport safety and efficiency, then video monitoring will have to be supplemented by automated warnings of incidents or deviations. According to Patrik Anderson, business development director at Swedish camera manufacturer Axis Communications, it is no
  • Toyota proving ground tests co-operative ITS
    February 25, 2013
    Opened in November 2012, Toyota’s intelligent transportation systems (ITS) proving ground is being used to run a number of interactive tests between specially-equipped Toyota vehicles. Located at the company's Higashi-Fuji Technical Centre in Susono City, Japan, the ITS proving ground is a 3.5-hectare site that faithfully replicates a real urban environment, complete with intersecting streets, pedestrian crosswalks, and traffic signals. It is equipped with optical beacons, government-allocated 760 MHz trans
  • Standardised technology aids low cost wireless communication
    November 13, 2012
    In the UK, the necessary radio spectrum has been identified and standardised technology developed to allow cost effective wireless communication between cars, devices and other ‘machines’. This by Professor William Webb. A world free of traffic congestion, with intelligent systems directing vehicles and alerting drivers to free parking spaces may sound a far off fantasy to motorists stuck in seemingly endless queues on the outskirts of London. Yet this is a scenario not confined to the world of science fict
  • Russia looks to ITS to curb congestion and reduce accidents
    May 7, 2015
    Major ITS installations are planned as the Russian capital Moscow grapples with extensive traffic problems. At the end of 2014, Russia’s first complex intelligent transport system (ITS) started easing traffic problems in and around the capital Moscow, following the implementation of the plans by the federal government and the city’s authorities.