Skip to main content

Canberra plans high tech traffic management system

A consultant's report prepared for the Australian Capital Territory ACT) Roads department found that a full-scale rollout of intelligent transportation systems could cost about US$79 million but save US$116 million per year through lower rates of accidents and traffic delays. The government has included plans for a traffic management centre in its infrastructure, to be considered for future budget funding. The centre could eventually be linked to a network of cameras, road weather monitoring stations, v
January 21, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
A consultant's report prepared for the Australian Capital Territory ACT) Roads department found that a full-scale rollout of intelligent transportation systems could cost about US$79 million but save US$116 million per year through lower rates of accidents and traffic delays.

The government has included plans for a traffic management centre in its infrastructure, to be considered for future budget funding.  The centre could eventually be linked to a network of cameras, road weather monitoring stations, variable speed signs and electronic messaging boards on major roads.

Electronic messaging signs would display estimated travel times and advise motorists of delays and alternative routes in the event of congestion or accidents.

Canberra does not have a network of cameras for traffic monitoring and the report found that authorities were reliant on the public and media to report problems.

The report recommended installing electronic traffic measures in one area initially, with cameras to be activated on other major roads in central Canberra at the same time. The system would be gradually rolled out to other major roads.

The report also suggests the use of ramp metering techniques which detect gaps in the traffic on the main road and use traffic signals to stop cars before they travel down entrance ramps on to major roads if there is heavy traffic.

Related Content

  • 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
  • Machine vision’s image of road management’s future
    June 11, 2015
    Q-Free’s Marco Sinnema looks at how the commoditisation of high-quality vision-based solutions is widening their application. Machine vision technology’s entry into the ITS/traffic management sector has followed a classic top-down path. This is unsurprising given the extremely demanding performance criteria which are the standard in its market of origin, manufacturing processing. Very high image qualities combined with frame rates often in the hundreds per second range resulted in vision systems with capabi
  • Evidence growing for distance-based charging
    January 18, 2012
    The case is growing for an alternative to fuel taxation for funding highway infrastructure. A more sustainable system of mileage-based charging can be established in a way that is acceptable to the travelling public, writes Jack Opiola. Fuel tax - the lifeblood relied on for 80 years to maintain and improve roads and transit systems - is now in considerable jeopardy in the United States. Increased vehicle fuel efficiency and a poor economy already hamper generation of fuel tax revenue; now a recent federal
  • TM 2.0 boost TMC data feed and driver influence
    November 15, 2017
    TM 2.0 views connected vehicles and V2I as two-way communications channels, benefitting traffic management and drivers, as Alan Dron discovers. As connected vehicles are progressively rolled out there will come a point at which traffic managers and traffic management centres (TMCs) will have to gear up to cope with a rapidly-evolving road scenario. The TM 2.0 Platform (see box) is promoting a concept of new-generation traffic management (which carries the same TM 2.0 title) and is studying how future T