For several years we have been talking about smart traffic lights whose technology serves a better manage the chaos generated by cars and also to Napoli the experiments started a while ago.
For a couple of years the first traffic lights of this type have been installed in the areas of Old Town, between Salvator Rosa, via Costantinopoli, via Foria and where the National Archaeological Museum is located, while in these days the experimentation will also start in Fuorigrotta and to Agnano.
We Neapolitans are well aware of the difficulties caused by traffic and there are many congested roads and the work of intelligent traffic lights should greatly improve the situation.
The installation in Fuorigrotta and Agnano
As mentioned, the first intelligent traffic lights are being installed in these neighborhoods, in fact there are operators who are installing a sort of sphere above them. It's about a camera which records the passage of vehicles at intersections and identifies them.
In addition, this system will also be connected to the GPS of the buses to help them move better in traffic and reduce waiting times at the bus shelters.
They are currently installing at most important intersections as in Kennedy Avenue between the Zoo and Edenlandia. In total there are now around 40 and the installation is expected to be completed by this year, while they will be activated in 2023.
But let's see how they work.
How do smart traffic lights work?
These semaphores are called anti-traffic and they are capable of count the cars in circulation, obviously near their line of sight, so as to predict where chaos could arise. In this way, the computer alone decides whether or not it is appropriate to trigger the green to decongest the area.
Substantially independently regulate the duration times of red and green based on current traffic.
The project, financed by the Agency for Territorial Cohesion with 2016 funds, therefore has the objective of optimize traffic regulation through what will be a real network of traffic lights, and not just for the single unit, minimizing the travel time of drivers. All the systems of the network are interconnected and communicate with each other to free roads and intersections.
The connection with ANM and Police
As mentioned, the cameras on the smart traffic lights will be connected to the ANM bus gps. Basically, they communicate with the central computer of ANM and monitor the circulation of both buses and private vehicles in real time.
Not only that, because they will also be linked to Ced of the Municipal Police, the Data Processing Center, i.e. their database. Precisely with the Ced of Viale Adriano. Indeed, these cameras are equipped with a technology that allows you to make fines and therefore to have a very effective video surveillance.
The new traffic lights are ecological
The new traffic lights provide led lights, therefore more ecological and sustainable for the environment. In fact, the bulbs used previously, and those currently used in traffic lights that have not yet been replaced, are incandescent. Furthermore, the LEDs, with the same brightness, they consume much less.
Lower energy consumption also means lower environmental impact.
Why are current traffic lights obsolete?
Excluding the smart traffic lights already installed and those for which experimentation is starting, the old generation traffic lights are obsolete because they manage traffic on the basis of information that is too standardized. They are based on traffic analyzes which have now stopped, which have been communicated for some time and which do not vary.
They evaluate the time of the day, the average number of vehicles in transit, if he day is weekdays or holidays, but without any update or assessment of the current situation. So they have fixed transition times between red and green and are based on "prepackaged" time slots.
The project for the whole city
This project was born with the previous council and should conclude this year, in theory. With a loan of 5 million euros for almost 300 traffic lights, the project includes:
- the realization of the system with the network of intelligent traffic lights;
- la replacement of traffic lights of old traffic lights with new latest generation systems, both for crossings and for pedestrians;
- the replacement, as mentioned, of the incandescent bulbs with led lanterns;
- installation of systems countdown e devices for the blind.
