City of Thunder Bay on road to synchronized traffic lights

Drivers in Thunder Bay could soon be seeing more green on the road.

The city is moving ahead with $4 million in upgrades to its traffic light system, which will eventually allow traffic lights along major corridors to be synchronized.

"It was priority action that was identified in the transportation master plan that was approved by council in 2019," city engineering director Kayla Dixon said. "This program will require the update of the traffic controller at the intersections, as well as the communication to that intersection, and the software that we manage the system with."

"So it will be a phased-in approach."

Dixon said the first phase will involve upgrading the software that runs the city's traffic lights. Money has been budgeted, and the city will begin engaging with vendors this year, with the goal of having the new software up and running in 2023.

Dixon said currently, the city is able to remotely control some traffic signals; however, that's done through a dial-up connection.

Other steps include replacing cables that allow for that communication; Dixon said many of those copper cables are degraded and the city doesn't have a connection with about two-thirds of its traffic lights as a result.

When all the upgrades are in place, the city will be in a position to begin synchronizing the lights along some of its travel corridors, Dixon said, and possibly expand the city's traffic light pre-emption system, which is currently used by the city's fire service, to more emergency vehicles, such as ambulances or police, or city busses.

"It would provide some additional capabilities for the city to help manage traffic," Dixon said. "People will definitely see a difference when that's all in."