Smart Streetlights Getting Smarter
- December 6th 2024
- Public Safety
Photo: Clancy Law Group
By Lee Burnett
Wait times at traffic lights on Main Street should get shorter next year with the installation of new technology aimed at adjusting traffic throughout the corridor, according to City Manager Steve Buck.
A federal Safe Routes for All grant is funding the acquisition of long-range cameras, mid-block sensors and software at 13 stoplights, Buck told city councilors Tuesday evening. The equipment would monitor not just the volume of traffic at stoplights, but traffic entering and leaving Main Street anywhere along the route, Buck said.
“So, the cameras will be able to look down the corridor, look at the traffic count and flow coming to the light. The midblock sensors will look at the cars flowing in to and out of that traffic mix. All the lights can self-adjust using the new software technology,” he said.
The capability of streetlights was already upgraded with seven-pin connectors, installed with the development of the city’s 45-mile fiber optic network in 2018. The “smart” streetlights are already starting to collect data and will be further enhanced with the upgrade funded almost entirely through a $463,200 Safe Streets for All grant and other state and federal money, Buck said.
The combined funds will support enforcement details and a public education campaign. The result should be slower traffic speed, reduced wait times and overall improvement in safety, he said.
“You’ll have 12 percent more success rate at getting a green light while going the speed limit,” he said.
The city hopes to award an installation contract in the spring.
