In New York sitting in the car is not just about wasting fuel, it is also a trigger for health related problems. So the New York City’s Department of Transportation has decided to invest $1.6 million in a real time traffic management system.
The system called ‘Midtown in Motion’ uses a network of sensors and cameras that allows the operators to adjust traffic signal patterns on the fly. It harnesses the power of 100 microwave sensors and 32 traffic video cameras along with E-ZPass readers at 23 intersections in a 110 square block area situated from Second to Sixth Avenues and from 42nd to 57th streets.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that it was a potential solution to the Midtown traffic problem. He added that he did not want anybody to think starting tomorrow that there won’t be another traffic jam between 42nd and 57th, but that it could be made better. It takes a while to get the bugs out he said.
Once the data of the traffic flow has been consolidated by city workers the computer program will be worked out. Then the troubled traffic spots will be identified and dealt with by altering the lengths of lights by a few seconds to help improve traffic flow.