Skip to main content

Multi-million dollar system to ease Columbus’ congestion

Columbus, Ohio is to benefit from a US$38.1 million traffic management system to replace the one installed in the 1970s to allow the city to respond more quickly to problem areas and speed up travel throughout Columbus and even in its suburbs. The new system will wrap all signals into a single network. More data will funnel to new software in the traffic-management center, where operators can decide how to handle traffic congestion. Nearly 500 miles of fibre-optic cable will run to most traffic signals, and
April 3, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Columbus, Ohio is to benefit from a US$38.1 million traffic management system to replace the one installed in the 1970s to allow the city to respond more quickly to problem areas and speed up travel throughout Columbus and even in its suburbs.

The new system will wrap all signals into a single network. More data will funnel to new software in the traffic-management center, where operators can decide how to handle traffic congestion.

Nearly 500 miles of fibre-optic cable will run to most traffic signals, and others will sync wirelessly with the new system. The number of cameras posted around the city will triple from fifty to 150, while six, 60-inch monitors will display camera feeds and other data will go up in the new command centre.

“It definitely will make the commute smoother,” said Patti Austin, a city planning and operations administrator.

Upgraded software will give the city power to move traffic along during big events, Austin said.

“We’re pretty limited in what we can do certain times of day,” said project manager Ryan Bollo. “This new software will be able to cover whole corridors and have pre-timed systems we can run any time of day.”

Related Content

  • Drover AI’s Alex Nesic: ‘We’re still in the basement level of micromobility’
    April 12, 2022
    The micromobility revolution has reshaped the way we get around cities, but it has created some problems too. Drover AI’s PathPilot is here to help cities – and pedestrians – Alex Nesic tells Adam Hill
  • ANPR - cost-efficient traffic management, enforcement and more
    January 23, 2012
    Geoff Collins of Vysionics Intelligent Traffic Solutions talks about the near-term prospects of ANPR. The continued absence of a champion for its cause is preventing digital enforcement technology from delivering the true levels of cost-effectiveness of which it is capable, according to Geoff Collins, sales and marketing director of ANPR specialist Vysionics Intelligent Traffic Solutions.
  • Suppliers reshape to provide tolling and traffic management expertise
    August 2, 2013
    Jason Barnes examines the trend towards single source supply of complete tolling and traffic management solutions with some senior tolling industry figures. Only a few years back, the major tolling system suppliers were aggressively positioning themselves as one-stop shops for tolling solutions and operations. No sooner has that little flurry of innovation settled than another trend has emerged – tolling companies wanting to become major ITS suppliers as well. Various tolling company seniors have in recent
  • Spreading the word about Bike Share in the US
    April 19, 2016
    Smart bike share technology and funding policies help bridge the transit gap through the final mile as Andrew Bardin Williams explains. The sharing economy is coming to Portland this summer. BikeTown, the city’s new bike share program sponsored by Nike, will be launched in mid-July with 1,000 bicycles distributed across 100 stations throughout the city. Originally funded by a $2 million federal grant, the program has been boosted by a $10 million sponsorship deal with Nike ensures funding for the next five