New traffic system will help Dallas ease congestion

As Dallas continues to grow, so does the traffic.

But the city is taking a high tech road to ease congestion by putting in place the components of a computerized traffic management system.

The city is changing lanes on how it manages traffic. It’s turning to a computerized system designed by Ericsson called ‘Connected Urban Transport.’

Ericsson Program Director Jeff Gaskill describes the program as a cloud-based ecosystem that will allow cities to share data in a controlled manner. It will help the city identify and steer travelers away from traffic troubles.

“Where the traffic is, where it isn't,” said Michael Rogers, the city’s director of transportation. “Then, we can start to communicate with those vehicles. We can start to communicate with individuals through cell phones, through the radio, through various means.”

On top of commuter communication, the system will also automate traffic signal patterns.

“With the system that we're developing here now, our traffic signals can be smart enough to re-time themselves and be adaptable to the traffic conditions,” Rogers said.

The system will also be able to pick up on traffic patterns across adjoining cities.

“This will allow Dallas to share traffic data with an adjacent city,” Gaskill explained. “Then, they can collaborate on traffic plans.”

“Tie our systems together and create a more seamless experience from one city to another is certainly one of the many goals that we have for it,” said Bill Finch with the city of Dallas.

“It’s being able to get data from different data sources and correlate that date and do some action that will help and affect the city,” explained Ericsson Solution Architect Maria Carcedo.

The program was paid for by more than $6 million in grants from the North Texas Council of Governments.