Moving through busy intersections is going to be much easier and safer for Independence Township emergency vehicles in the coming years.
On May 16, the Independence Township board voted unanimously to authorize the Road Commission for Oakland County to install and maintain signal preemption devices on traffic signals within the township. Clerk Shelagh VanderVeen and Trustee Charles Dunn were not present for the meeting.
This resolution grants ‘authorized emergency vehicles? the ability to electronically control the sequencing of traffic lights in the township through the 3M ‘Opticom? Priority Control System.
‘This resolution had to be signed before the road commission could say, ‘Okay, Independence wants to go down the road of this program,?? said Ronk.
‘Its always a difficult situation to try to make it through traffic as congested as it is around here. It’s a lot different than it used to be,? said Ronk. ‘The potential for an accident is always there when we’re trying to get somewhere in a hurry and people have their radios turned up and aren’t paying attention. We drive defensively as much as possible, but you’re trying to hurry through traffic.?
Ronk explained hearing emergency responders approaching is more difficult nowadays with quieter cars, louder radios and people using cell phones.
Township Supervisor Dave Wagner agreed with Ronk and likes what the system brings to the department.
‘It adds a lot to the department. Safety is everything. Anytime you can make things safer for those people and the guys risking their lives it’s a good thing,? said Wagner. ‘I think it’s certainly needed. It’s something the chief has talked to me about for awhile.?
According to Ronk, the system will use transmitters placed on emergency vehicles to send a signal to the traffic lights when the department is in emergency- response mode. The signal kicks the traffic light into a cycle that gives the emergency vehicle a green light.
‘It basically goes to yellow if it’s not green our way and gives a green light in a short period of time,? said Ronk, who estimated the signal strength to be about 1,500 feet.
A brochure from ‘Opticom? system states the emergency vehicle gains ‘right-of-way in a manner that appears normal allowing other traffic to respond predictably in a natural transition.? The system is also directional meaning it only goes where the emergency vehicle goes without affecting parallel intersections or unnecessarily delaying cross traffic.
The emergency vehicle emitter broadcasts data and encoded infrared communications to upcoming traffic intersections, states the brochure. The detector at the intersection receives the communication and sends an electronic message to a phase selector that validates the signal and requests a green light.
‘When the emergency lighting is on and you’re in drive’and the parking brake is off, the opticom system will be activated,? said Ronk.
Ronk highlighted the intersections of Sashabaw and Clarkston roads and Clintonville and Maybee roads as lights receiving the new technology in the near future.
Currently, the 2006 Fire Department budget has approximately $30,000 set aside to get the project started, according to Ronk. He said 3M gives a discounted rate for the first purchase and the department wants to get more for the money by making a substantial initial investment.
‘We’re looking at it just because we are a growing community. We’d like to get it in before we have 150 traffic lights we have to convert and because we have to pay for the conversion of any existing traffic lights. For any future ones it’s built into the price of the project,? said Ronk.
In a memo to the Township Board from Ronk, it will cost an estimated $3,000 per traffic light to install. To outfit vehicles with the device to correspond with the light will run another $1,000 per vehicle. Ronk said all ‘first response vehicles? will be converted over, but not staff cars.
‘In the research I’ve done, the maintenance isn’t a lot. Being this will be new installation, we don’t expect to have a lot maintenance for a number of years,? said Ronk.
Ronk could not estimate the number of lights to be completed with the first implementation.
‘I can’t give you a number yet. We’re going to evaluate the lights we’ve got,? said Ronk, noting areas high traffic volume areas like the Dixie and Maybee intersection and the Sashabaw Corridor, would most likely get the equipment first.
Ronk said he plans to have every light in the township equipped with the technology, acknowledging it will take years.
Ronk guessed the department will have more details about specific lights and dollar amounts in the next month for the board.
RCOC Information specialist Craig Bryson highlighted South Lyon and Troy as the other Oakland County communities with the 3M ‘Opticom? Priority Control System.