Aug 31 2010
The sensors that are installed beneath the solar panels are multiple lane receptive acoustic traffic-detecting devices which have the capability to capture road noise and detect the traffic status on the roads.
This information which is available on the traffic maps from the web provides insights in to the status of the roads having heavy traffic during commutation. The traffic information can also be transferred to the electronic displays alongside the roads.
Michael Duval, project engineer, state Department of Transportation, Region 8 commented that the sensors detect high-decibel noises and, captures traffic information from five different lanes and monitors lane by lane analysis about the volume and speed of the five lanes that have been captured.
The department of transportation has started installing the sensors since last year and Duval reported that as many as 100 poles will be incorporated along the 62 miles of the parkway of Westchester and currently it is being installed along the Cross County, Sprain Brook, Hutchinson River and Saw Mill River parkways. The DOT spokeswoman Melissa Slater stated that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is funding the entire project worth $4.9 million.
Slater added that the data obtained from the traffic sensors furnishes information to the drivers about the upcoming traffic and reduces the clogging by re-directing the motorists to less congested routes. The poles mingle with the latest series of technology in creating awareness about traffic congestions and other status of the roads allowing the traffic to move easily.
The information gathered is transmitted to the Hawthorne Hudson Valley Transportation Management Center, which is an administrative center for the region’s traffic, where the entire road happenings are projected out on large screens for constant monitoring.
Duval explained that DOT will be uploading the new traffic information into the web pages by this summer, providing detailed information to the drivers. The already resourced traffic information can be obtained by a positioning device, GPS facility available in mobile phones, 511 site’s camera or through the traffic websites www.511ny.org or www.thruway.ny.gov/webcams.