Florida County ATMS Includes HD

PROVO, Utah—September 22, 2011—Officials in Florida’s Manatee County are implementing a $20 million advanced traffic management system to improve traffic flow throughout the county. The system uses SmartSensor HD, in combination with a number of other detection technologies, to monitor traffic on approaches to intersections, in an effort to keep traffic moving with fewer delays and with less congestion.

“It’s all about using technology to make travelling better,” said Sage Kamiya, manager of Manatee County’s traffic engineering division. “It’s about helping people get from point A to point B more efficiently.”

Forty SmartSensor HD units have been installed at mid-block locations to monitor traffic volumes and vehicle speeds on approaches to dozens of intersections. The information is fed into a new, state-of-the-art signaling system that uses the real-time data to determine the most efficient times to change the signal to red. In addition to SmartSensor HD, the system also uses video from 60 cameras for visual verification of conditions; and magnetometers embedded in the road to inform the system of the presence of vehicles at the intersection stop bar.

The system is monitored and controlled from the county’s Public Safety Center and should be completely installed by the end of 2011. Additional functionality will be phased in over time, including technology that allows emergency vehicles to clear a path by accessing multiple signals along its route. Eventually, the Manatee County system will work in concert with Florida Department of Transportation’s traveler information system on Interstate 75.