Traffic lights in Cedar Park will now have updated detection and optimization systems following a unanimous council decision Nov. 9.

The context

Traffic signal detection is a hardware system located at intersections throughout the city that informs the signal where a vehicle is waiting or approaching, so it knows how and when to change, Assistant Director of Public Works Stephen Hanuscin said at the Nov. 9 council meeting.

Hanuscin said the city’s three main goals with the new system are to ensure maintenance, and obtain efficiency and safety at intersections across Cedar Park.

Diving in deeper

While the city has a system in place to detect the presence of vehicles at intersections, city staff recommended implementing an updated version for the following reasons:

• The system is 30-year-old technology, and there have been advancements in technology since then. Hanuscin said the city needs to find a newer system.
• This updated system is a result of the city’s master mobility plan.
• It's one of council’s goals.

City staff outlined specifications for the new system, which includes:

• Using simultaneous video and radar detection, instead of solely relying on video
• Applying object-based detection, which recognizes the type of vehicle identified
• Enabling the traffic lights to send alerts to drivers with connected mobile devices, which is an emerging technology

“This technology is awesome, and hopefully it helps improve the traffic moving through Cedar Park by being smart about traffic flows at different times of day,” council member Mel Kirkland said.

One more thing

The new system is estimated to cost the city no more than $3.5 million, with one of the largest funding sources being Cedar Park’s 2022 bond program.

While there was no timeline specified on the implementation of the newly approved system at existing intersections, the technology will be installed on new traffic signal projects moving forward, Hanuscin said.