TAMPA, Fla. — How do you keep up with the growing traffic in Tampa Bay — while running out of room to build roads or add lanes?
That’s where technology can help.
Hillsborough County is now piloting smart vehicle detection at several intersections.
The technology gathers live traffic data in real time, showing how many cars are using an intersection at any time. The information is sent in seconds to the Hillsborough County Traffic Management Center, which is then used to adjust traffic light timing.
That process used to take weeks, according to Hillsborough County traffic engineer William Johnson.
“I’ve been doing this almost 20 years now. So I’m of the manual age of data collection. I understand what that process looks like. And I can tell you the difference is night and day,” Johnson said.
When planning to make adjustments for traffic signals at an intersection, the traditional method can involve contractors going out to a location and installing sensors. Often, that meant getting random counts at different times.
Now, that data can be gathered in minutes at all hours of the day.
“If I need to make any specific changes or in that specific time of day, it now allows me to compare,” said traffic engineer Rafael De Dios. “Apples to apples. Previous year to this year.”
The system can also detect pedestrians and bicyclists.
The data could be used by the county to make safety improvements at intersections, like adding crosswalks.
Engineers also say the video is not recorded, so personal information about drivers is not gathered.
They hope this leads to better traffic flow and safer roads.
The county is piloting the smart vehicle detection at 30 different intersections with plans to add more.