Cohda chosen for Freight Signal Priority project by Transport for NSW
Cohda chosen for Freight Signal Priority project by Transport for NSW
Future transport: Trucks will “talk” to traffic lights to tackle congestion.
Minister for Roads Duncan Gay has announced a trial to tackle congestion by using connected technology to reduce the number of times trucks stop at traffic lights.
The technology should improve travel time at more than 100 intersections across Sydney, resulting in smoother overall traffic flow for all road users.
“Heavy vehicles take a long time to stop and start which can cause delays for all road users,” Mr Gay said.
“This trial will detect a heavy vehicle approaching traffic lights and provide more green time, which will hopefully show us how we can ease delays for all motorists across the whole network in the future.
“We could potentially expand the use of this kind of technology to emergency vehicles and buses which could improve daily commutes – the opportunities are vast.”
The project — being delivered in partnership with Australian technology company Codha Wireless — will trial around 110 trucks by using the latest Cooperative Intelligent Transport System (CITS) technology, which allows vehicles to ‘talk’ to road infrastructure.
As part of the trial, the smart infrastructure will be installed on key freight corridors including sections of Pennant Hills Road, Parramatta Road and King Georges Road.
“The results of this project will inform the way we look at incorporating connected vehicle technology on other vehicles and is a key step towards making Sydney infrastructure-ready for connected and automated vehicles in the future,” Mr Gay said.
“Congestion costs Sydney about $5 billion each year. With congestion increasing we are looking at all of our options and putting in place immediate measures to tackle congestion while work on major road projects such as WestConnex and NorthConnex continues.”
Traffic monitoring will continue during the trial through the Transport Management Centre to ensure traffic continues moving and if needed our traffic light systems can override the wireless technology.