The city of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, has upgraded its Opticom™ traffic signal priority system from Global Traffic Technologies, LLC (GTT) to take advantage of the advances provided by the latest-generation GPS-enabled technology. The Opticom system works alongside intersection controllers to help emergency vehicles move through intersections quickly and safely, and allows public transport vehicles to request green light priority to ensure on-time arrival for transit passengers
When an emergency vehicle needs to navigate an intersection, the Opticom Emergency Vehicle Preemption (EVP) system onboard the emergency vehicle sends a request to the intersection’s controller ahead of its arrival. If the request is granted, the light turns green and the vehicle gets a clear path through the intersection. The Opticom Transit Signal Priority system allows public transportation agencies to extend or truncate green cycle times at traffic signals for more accurate schedule adherence, allowing riders to get to their destinations faster and more reliably. In turn, transit vehicles are on the road less, which can significantly reduce fuel and other fleet operations costs.
In Calgary, Opticom EVP and TSP systems are integrated to produce the best results for emergency and public transit vehicles. Now the existing solutions are being upgraded from Infrared-based technology to GPS-enabled, which avoids the need for line-of-sight communication between the vehicle and the intersection.
Calgary is the most populous city in Alberta, with 1.2 million residents, and hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1988. The city is home to the Calgary Flames NHL team, and George Stanley, the designer of Canada’s iconic maple leaf flag, was born in Calgary.
GTT’s president Jason Lund said, “We are delighted to continue working with the city of Calgary to provide both emergency services and public transit providers and passengers with an upgraded, next-generation traffic signal priority system.”
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