Urban Traffic Control

Intelligent intersection control

April 12, 2013

Intelligent intersection control systems have a growing role to play in making urban traffic more efficient. Robin Meczes reports. The idea of every traffic light turning green as you approach it has long been a dream for many an urban driver – and none more so than those driving heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), which are slow and difficult to bring to a halt and then accelerate back to normal travel speed. But that dream has become a reality for some drivers in a small number of cities around Europe in the las

Major road schemes to reduce road congestion and boost economy

April 11, 2013

The Highways Agency is to deliver a further twenty-two schemes in the UK’s north-west to boost the economy, reduce congestion and improve safety in the third, and final, stage of its pinch point programme. The schemes, representing an investment of US$47.7 million, will remove bottlenecks and keep traffic moving on England’s motorways and major A roads. Nationally, this stage of the programme comprises 58 schemes, worth US$151 million, that will be delivered by March 2015 and will bring an estimated US$2.1

North Texas to get 511 traffic information system

April 11, 2013

A new source of traffic information will shortly be available to drivers on the central expressway in Collin and Dallas counties, Texas, with the implementation of the 511 system which will provide travel information by telephone and on the web. The system is due to be tested from the end of April and will be formally launched in the summer. The project involves several cities and transportation agencies that are combining their information for the first time. "The idea of pulling it all together at one l

BMW and WirelessCar extend partnership in China

April 10, 2013

German car manufacturer BMW has teamed up with connected services specialist WirelessCar and its local service partner China Unicom to introduce BMW ConnectedDrive services to China. BMW’s services include emergency, breakdown, and concierge calls as well as remote door unlock, traffic information and further internet-based services. WirelessCar’s solutions are provided via its telematics service delivery platform (TSDP), a comprehensive off-board platform based on the open framework next generation telema

Palm Beach trials Bluetooth traffic monitoring

April 10, 2013

As part of a growing effort to use technology to manage traffic on roads and highways without building more roads, for the last six months Florida’s Palm Beach County has been using Bluetooth readers to determine how long it takes motorists to travel along its corridors. "We're adding more capacity through technology rather than asphalt," said Dan Weisberg, Palm Beach County's traffic engineer. "We can't build ourselves out of congestion. We need to be smarter about what we have and manage it." In collabor

Indra wins Manila urban traffic control and toll lanes projects

April 8, 2013

In two contracts totalling US$13.5 million, Spanish consulting and technology provider Indra is to equip Metro Manila, the Philippines’ main metropolitan region, with more than 11 million residents, with its urban traffic control system. The company will also upgrade the toll collection system for the 90 kilometre long Manila North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), one of the most important motorways in the Philippines, carrying more than 160,000 vehicles each day. For the urban traffic control project, in a consort

Safer roads for UK cyclists thanks to government funding

April 8, 2013

Cyclists across England are set to benefit from safer roads thanks to a £40 million (US$60.9 million) boost to improve dangerous routes and junctions announced by Transport Minister Norman Baker. The money will be made available to improve the design and layout of roads at 78 locations across the country, with all schemes due for completion within the next 12 months. The schemes are a mix of improvements including the reallocation of road space, significant simplification of road layouts, changes in priorit

NJDOT traffic signal coordination project begins

April 8, 2013

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has started work on a much-needed congestion relief project, using technology to improve traffic flow along a thirteen mile stretch of Route 22 in Somerset and Union counties. The US$7.77 million project will improve mobility along the entire corridor through the creation of an integrated system interconnecting eighteen traffic signals into one controlled traffic signal system (CTSS). This includes the complete replacement of the existing traffic signal sy

Virginia expands travel information on I-66

April 4, 2013

Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is to expand the traffic information system on Interstate 66 (I-66). Motorists will now see travel times displayed on overhead message signs for the 35 miles from Washington to Haymarket. VDOT has been posting the number of miles and minutes to key destinations at three locations between the Capital Beltway and Gainesville since August 2011. Message signs will display the information at seven new locations. In addition, by summer, six more locations will be ad

Abu Dhabi installs VMS

April 4, 2013

Motorists in Abu Dhabi will now be able to get alerts about accidents and traffic jams from numerous variable message signs (VMS) currently being installed on the capital’s roads. At least 86 (VMS) will notify motorists of road blocks, construction and weather updates, giving them the opportunity to change their route if necessary. More than half will be equipped with traffic monitoring stations to record data from their areas and send the information to a central data centre. CCTV will also transmit road