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

  • Joining the dots: four ways to help cities make the connection
    May 18, 2018
    Smoothing the path to connected transportation systems in urban areas all round the world takes a lot of planning: Cisco’s Kyle Connor lays out the four key areas on which he thinks cities should focus. Forward-thinking cities around the world are exploring innovative, new ways to leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) and related technologies to create more connected and efficient transportation systems. Through greater digitisation and connectivity, cities can optimise public transit routes, reduce
  • Rekor AI speeds Ohio transit
    October 7, 2022
    New web platform designed to help reduce journey times and improve road safety
  • Bluetooth speed and travel data collection shows cost savings
    February 2, 2012
    Houston TranStar is using Bluetooth sensors to collect speed and travel data in a project which is already demonstrating significant cost savings
  • Rekor: solving the data puzzle
    April 19, 2022
    AI can help transport agencies to deal with incidents on the road. Noam Maital of Rekor explains to Adam Hill how marrying up different types of data can be like putting together a 1,000-piece puzzle