Bottlenecks and traffic congestions are nothing new to Bangaloreans. Residents have been facing traffic snarls and aggressive traffic jams since years and the problem has gone beyond control.
But hopefully, Bangaloreans can soon get some respite from all such issues as the state government is planning to deploy a highly advanced traffic technology from Japan for decongesting the critical junctions of the city.
DULT Finalizes Japanese Firm For Project
The Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) has finalized a multinational firm from Japan to start the project. Accordingly, DULT has already issued a work order for the installation of Que-Length measurement sensors along the Old Madras Road, MG Road, Hosur Road, and around 29 other junctions.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will assist in the execution of this 72 crore project scheduled to begin in June this year. According to reports, the road sensors working on the Japanese traffic system has the ability to cut down the traffic snarls at least by 30%.
The QMS will help to monitor the real-time traffic signal timing. With the help of the sensor, it will be easier to analyze the traffic density of the road. Similarly, the automatic traffic counters will pass on the data to the Bengaluru Traffic Information Center (B-TIC) and the signals will be streamlined according to the traffic density.
In all these operations, the DULT will serve as the nodal agency. The QMS sensors installed at a distance of every 50, 100 and 50 meters will help in analyzing the density of the traffic along a particular road and also share the information with the B-TIC and the traffic police in real-time.
Bengaluru, First City To Have MODERATO
While explaining the operation of QMS a DULT official said, “The current traffic signals function based on the pre-set timing. But this technology allows the release of traffic based on the actual density on roads to the entire stretch irrespective of junctions. If the density is more at the Trinity Circle towards Anil Kumble Circle, the sensors will release signals along this high-density stretch in one go by releasing all signals.”
This Japanese traffic technology has been used in many cities of South-East Asian nations. However, Bengaluru will be the first city to also have Management by Origin-Destination Related Adoption for Traffic Optimization (MODERATO) technology apart from Japan.
The Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department, Mahendra Jain said, “The tenders are finalized and we have issued work orders to execute the project. As the firm has already appointed consultants, the work may begin any time in June.”
Apart from the installation of Classifier sensors, and Queue Measurement Sensors (QMS), the DULT is also planning to install Variable Message Signs (VMS) in the areas of Silk Board, Trinity Circle, and KR Puram so that the motorists can have real-time information about the traffic congestion as well as weather-related updates.
