Some relief is on the way for London's traffic woes. A long awaited upgrade to London's traffic light control equipment is the first step towards having a state of the art system directing traffic through intersections.
City engineers are recommending council approve a $4.4 million contract to install the electronic backbone of the system and upgrade equipment at 404 traffic signals in London.
Called Inet, the system is already improving traffic flow in Mississauga, Ont., Halifax, NS and Vancouver, BC.
Councillor Steve Lehman suggests the system will make existing roads more efficient, “The traffic lights are too short, not allowing enough traffic through. And too long where traffic has gone through.”
Poorly synchronized traffic lights have become a common complaint for commuters like Umair Malik, “Trying to turn off of Windermere onto Adelaide, that one takes forever.”
The upgrade is partially funded through senior government transit funding because buses will also benefit from improved traffic flow.
Future phases of the upgrade will include real-time cameras.
Lehman says cameras will allow instant adjustments, “If there is a bottleneck somewhere we can maybe divert traffic or adjust traffic flows to make the situation less unbearable for all of us.”
Malik looks forward to the upgrade, “As our city grows and we get more and more people here it is going to make it so much easier here especially during rush hour when I'm going to work.”
City hall’s Civic Works Committee will discuss awarding a contract for the advanced traffic management system on Tuesday.
