PRESS RELEASE
Chesapeake (VA) Upgrades Its Opticom Emergency Vehicle Preemption System
System provides traffic signal priority to emergency vehicles at intersections for faster response and fewer intersection auto accidents.
April 22, 2021 (ST. PAUL, Minn.) – The City of Chesapeake, VA has upgraded its Opticom™ emergency vehicle preemption (EVP) system from Global Traffic Technologies (GTT), LLC to help its emergency vehicles move through intersections quickly and safely. The expansion was facilitated in part by GTT’s regional dealer of Opticom, J.O. Herbert Company, Inc.
When an emergency vehicle needs to navigate an intersection en route to a call, the Opticom EVP system onboard the emergency vehicle sends a request to the intersection’s controller ahead of its arrival. If that request is granted, the traffic light turns green and the vehicle gets a clear path through the intersection.
While Chesapeake started with preemption in only one station in 1979, the Opticom Infrared (IR) solution is now installed in 150 of its 187 intersections. The city upgraded all the older phase selectors utilized by Fire and EMS this past year and included CMS as part of the project for diagnostic purposes to ensure the devices remained in working order.
Chesapeake joins its neighbors Newport News and Suffolk as cities in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia that have recently expanded their Opticom deployments. In fact, using Opticom is so formalized in the southeastern corner of the state that it is written into the public standard in the Hampton Roads region for the purposes of compatibility and mutual aid.
“We decided 20 years ago through the Hampton Road Transportation Planning Organization that we were going to stick with Opticom,” said Kevin Eppley, a project engineer with the City of Chesapeake. “[Opticom] cuts down on that response time and it’s been excellent; we’ve had no problem.”
“For more than half a century, GTT has been a trusted ally for customers (like Chesapeake) across North America,” GTT CEO Nicole Rennalls said. “We have developed – and continue to work on – technological advancements that will help those cities evolve and expand their deployments for years to come.”
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About Global Traffic Technologies
GTT provides a clear path to smarter and safer mobility for communities worldwide. GTT’s Opticom intelligent transportation solutions help to increase safety, minimize traffic congestion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while maximizing resource efficiency and performance. Thousands of emergency, transit and traffic agencies have trusted the innovative, comprehensive Opticom traffic solutions for more than 50 years. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, GTT is the market leader in traffic management systems, having an installed base of more than 180,000 connected devices in over 3,100 municipalities worldwide, including 41 of the 50 largest U.S. cities. To learn more, visit www.gtt.com.
For more information, please contact:
Bill Hupp
GTT Content Specialist
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