75 new adaptive traffic lights to be installed at 75 intersections in Gurugram

Police compiled data of the most congested stretches in the city, and these new traffic lights will be installed at the intersections to prevent road accidents and decongest traffic

Police have identified 75 intersections in the city where adaptive traffic lights will be installed to prevent road accidents and decongest traffic, officials said on Friday.

Gurugram, India - September 19, 2019: A new traffic light installed, at Hero Honda Chowk, in Gurugram, India, on Thursday, September19, 2019. Traffic lights were removed at the three junctions, after an underpass, was constructed here. (Photo by Yogendra Kumar / Hindustan Times) (Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)

This will help in adjusting the timings of red, yellow, and green lights to accommodate the changing traffic patterns and ease traffic congestion at different intersections, police said, adding that even small intersections require surveillance and monitoring, to control traffic violations and speeding.

Kala Ramachandran, commissioner of police, and several officials of the traffic police have been inspecting important areas in the city and observed that “serious traffic issues require intervention at the earliest”. “I was shocked to see how commuters violate traffic rules and regulations, and take advantage at points where there are no police deployment. They risk their lives and that of others too. This is a psychological problem that if there is no traffic signal, commuters will drive freely, which usually leads to accidents,” she said.

Ramachandran also said that Gurugram currently has 75 traffic signals, and is under proper surveillance. “However, we need to plan ways to decongest several stretches as the city has been expanding and the number of vehicles increasing, too,” she added.

At present, 1,100 traffic police personnel, including two assistant commissioners of police and 12 inspectors, are deployed across the city. They also have an additional 500 home guards at areas where the movement of traffic is higher.

Ramachandran said the police, with the help of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), will install adaptive traffic lights at 75 more intersections this year, covering all the intersections across the city.

“We have identified the spots, and we will send experts there to check how many cameras are required at each intersection so as to capture the traffic movement properly. New traffic signals, with in-built censors, will also reduce queue lengths... Once all the traffic signals are installed, police personnel deployed in those areas will also be moved to other duties,” she said.

Police have also been compiling data of the most congested stretches in the city, the number of vehicles crossing those stretches, and issues faced by the commuters.

The GMDA will also replace old traffic signals with sensor-based adaptive traffic lights to determine the signal timings, in a bid to ease congestion. Police teams deployed at the Integrated Command Centre (ICC) will monitor the traffic lights. The ICC has been set up to monitor CCTV feed and share real-time data with patrolling teams, said police, adding that no manual intervention will be required as the chip installed in traffic signals will be able to change the duration of traffic signals automatically. Adaptive traffic signals are also synchronised with each other to provide better signal timings at every intersection, according to the police.

The commissioner also said traffic police teams have been directed to deploy officials on stretches where they have been planning to install traffic signals, and to check the impact on traffic violations before and after the police deployment at those areas.