PRESS RELEASE
Three Arizona Agencies Choose Opticom Priority Control as a Service
Pinetop, Timber Mesa and Show Low embrace EVP to help reduce intersection accidents amidst growing traffic congestion.
February 23, 2021 (ST. PAUL, Minn.) – Three agencies in Arizona – Pinetop Fire District, Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District, and the Show Low Police Department – have come together to implement Opticom™ priority control from Global Traffic Technologies, LLC (GTT).
More specifically, all 20 signalized intersections in the south part of Navajo County have been equipped with Opticom Emergency Vehicle Preemption (EVP), which works alongside traffic controllers to help ensure emergency vehicles can move through intersections quickly and safely. Timber Mesa has installed the system in 15 of its emergency vehicles; Show Low has added it to 22 of its police vehicles and Pinetop has equipped six of its emergency vehicles.
“If we can have traffic flowing freely as we approach an intersection, then we can maneuver through the signal a lot more safely,” said Randy Chevalier, assistant chief of Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District. “In modern construction builds, fires double in size every 30 to 60 seconds. When we’re [fighting] a structure fire, seconds count … and this is going to decrease our response time. The Opticom EVP system will influence EMS incidents as well. The goal of decreased response times is to improve patient outcomes.”
When an emergency vehicle needs to navigate an intersection, the Opticom EVP system onboard that vehicle sends a request to the intersection’s traffic controller ahead of its arrival. If the request is granted, the light turns green and the vehicle gets a clear path through the intersection. This will allow emergency vehicles to respond to incidents even faster and to avoid the danger of navigating an intersection against the flow of traffic.
“The safety of our community and our first responders is of the utmost importance,” Show Low Police Chief Joe Shelley said. “Even one bad accident is horrible. Our traffic levels have increased dramatically in the last 5-8 years, which has further underscored the need for this technology.”
The solution being deployed is Opticom Priority Control as a Service™ (PCaaS), a subscription-based model that offers the most flexible way to deploy Opticom priority control. With PCaaS, GTT provides all necessary hardware, software and services – including project management, installation, training, maintenance, monitoring, reporting, repairs, replacement and optimization – which relieves the burden on smaller cities that may not have the resources to keep the system up and running optimally. First responders enjoy faster, safer travel to emergencies without the need for capital spending.
“The subscription-based model appealed to us because the three different jurisdictions working together don’t have to worry about who owns the equipment,” Chevalier said. “We’ll pay an annual subscription fee and the rest will be managed by GTT. [They’ve] been a great partner and we’re looking forward to a long-term relationship with them.”
“We’re glad we were able to find a way to bring priority control to this part of Arizona,” GTT President Nicole Rennalls said. “The subscription-based model is a convenient way for agencies to share the costs of this technology without worrying about it becoming obsolete.”
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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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