‘Smart’ signals at junctions to sense traffic flow and change

Gurgaon: The GMDA’s plan to convert all 91 traffic signals in the city to smart ones is back on track, with the authority finally deciding the technology on which the system will be based.
According to officials, they had floated a tender for the project earlier this year, giving two options — to base the system on camera detectors, or on data collected by Google.
The civic authority has now zeroed in on the camera detector technology, which involves installing the devices that estimate the rush at a junction and then change traffic signals to ease movement.
The reason for picking this model of smart lights, officials said on Wednesday, was that there were no precedents to see how Google data can be used to control the entire city’s traffic.
“While the second option (using Google data) can be demonstrated at individual junctions, this project requires managing around 100 signals by processing inputs from them at the same time to control the entire traffic signal system. Software for this kind is yet to mature in the market. We have not come across any case in any city where this has been used for a substantial duration of time,” a senior GMDA official said.
“In comparison, the first kind of technology (camera detector) is already in use in other parts of the country. It is an established technology that is already in use, so we will also stick to that for now,” he added.
Officials said GMDA will now open financial bids for the project, and if the process continues without a hitch, work can begin by early next year. The work should be completed in six months.
The project was approved in August 2021, but the first tender floated this February did not get eligible bidders. Companies at the time had the option to decide which technology they would offer.
A total of 91 traffic signals will be transformed as part of the current tender — 29 in Old Gurgaon, and 62 in New Gurgaon — at a cost of Rs 16 crore.
Apart from easing traffic flow, smart signals will also facilitate pedestrian movement and help decongest junctions.
The system, officials said, will also be equipped with the ability to detect traffic violations, and can create green corridors for seamless movement of emergency vehicles such as ambulances.