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Smooth traffic flow is the aim

In a bid to ease congestion and keep traffic flowing, the Main Roads Department has installed CCTV cameras on busy Townsville and Thuringowa intersections.

A Department of Main Roads spokeswoman said the initiative was about monitoring and improving traffic conditions, and came under the department's Intelligent Transport System (ITS) scheme.

With Townsville and Thuringowa in the midst of a growth spurt, it was expected this type of technology would be relied upon more and more.

"ITS is the name given to the use of modern technology to improve traffic conditions, it is particularly useful as the city grows and traffic volumes increase," the spokeswoman said.

"It covers a range of initiatives, with Main Roads' Traffic Management Centre at its Wills Street premises being the hub which receives information from closed circuit TV (CCTV) cameras at key intersections."

By viewing the CCTV images, Main Roads monitors can remotely adjust timing of traffic lights during peak hours if congestion is occurring, according to the spokeswoman.

"There are currently CCTVs at 17 locations around North Queensland, with another five to be installed shortly," she said.

"Of those, most are in Townsville/Thuringowa, but they are also located in rural towns, including at traffic lights in Ingham, Tully and on the Burdekin River Bridge.

She said another example of ITS was a computerised system installed at several of Townsville/Thuringowa's busiest intersections, allowing ambulances to activate the traffic lights to change from red to green to give them priority access.

Intersections where the system is installed include the Nathan St/Ross River Rd intersection and the Hugh St/Woolcock St.

Meanwhile, Main Roads was about to undertake a $400,000 project designed to ease congestion at the Dalrymple Rd/Banfield Drive intersection.

The spokeswoman said the project would see traffic lights installed on the less heavily trafficked leg of the Banfield Drive roundabout, on Dalrymple Rd, to improve access during peak hours.

"This is similar to what was done on the Angus Smith Drive/University Rd roundabout in 2004, where traffic lights are activated when vehicles queue on the less heavily trafficked leg, allowing these vehicles to gain access, and it has worked well," she said.

The project will be funded under the State Government's Safer Roads Sooner program.

"When traffic is flowing smoothly and there are no queues, it will operate as a normal roundabout, with normal 'give way' rules applying," she said.

"The traffic lights will only operate when queueing becomes a problem, to halt traffic on the dominant road entering the roundabout so that traffic on other roads entering can have access."
PUBLICATION: Townville bulletin

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