NCJ Number
69001
Journal
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Gazette Volume: 40 Issue: 10 Dated: (1978) Pages: 10-13
Date Published
1978
Length
4 pages
Annotation
COMPUTERIZATION OF SIGNAL LIGHTS ALLEVIATED CAR CONGESTION AND REDUCED CAR ACCIDENTS IN OTTAWA, CANADA; HOWEVER, INCREASED PUBLIC TRANSIT IS RECOMMENDED AS A LONG RANGE SOLUTION.
Abstract
PRESENTLY 295 INTERSECTIONS IN OTTAWA AND 18 IN THE CITY OF HULL ARE SUBJECT TO THE CENTRAL FACILITY LOCATED IN OTTAWA. TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS CAN BE SET TO SHOW GREEN FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES ALL THE WAY TO THE ACCIDENT SITE. SWITCH BOXES, LOCATED AT ALL THE INTERSECTIONS, PROVIDE A BACKUP SYSTEM FOR THE COMPUTER. CROSSWALK LIGHTS CAN BE ACTIVATED BY PEDESTRIANS TO HELP THEM CROSS SAFELY. A COMPUTER MALFUNCTION IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT CONFIGURATION, UNIQUE TO OTTAWA. THREE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNITS ARE LINKED TOGETHER, EACH ONE PERFORMING INDEPENDENTLY, YET CAPABLE OF TAKING OVER THE OTHER'S FUNCTION. HOWEVER, THE SYSTEM PROVIDES ONLY A TEMPORARY SOLUTION TO TRAFFIC PROBLEMS, AND A MORE ATTRACTIVE TRANSIT SYSTEM IS NEEDED. THE CITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY EXPERIMENTING WITH PARKWAY ROUTES TO AND FROM THE CITY, DEDICATED EXCLUSIVELY TO TRANSIT BUSES, AND IT IS ALSO STUDYING THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, A CONCEPT ORIGINATING IN EUROPE. INDIVIDUAL VEHICLES, HOWEVER, CANNOT BE ENTIRELY DISMISSED. A PRACTICAL AND ECONOMICAL SOLUTION HAS YET TO BE FOUND.