Anyone who commutes by road daily in or out of Richmond will testify to how sensitive the flow of traffic is to the slightest hiccup anywhere in Metro Vancouver.
So, the city hooking up its traffic management system to the province’s DriveBC state-of-the-art regional network — the first “marriage” of its kind in B.C. — could be the beginning of a fruitful relationship.
For example, a major incident on Highway 99 may cause traffic to divert into Richmond.
With both traffic management systems working together, staff would be able to respond quicker to deal with the disruption, perhaps by adjusting the timing of traffic lights in the area, before congestion builds up.
Richmond residents and people working in the city are also expected to benefit from the move, with data, video and image-sharing giving a clearer picture of travel conditions in the city and in areas around it.
A report detailing the changes, set to go before the city’s public works committee on Wednesday, states that the physical connection of the cabling network between Richmond and DriveBC is expected to be completed by the end of March.
Testing will then take place and the system could be up and running by the end of 2015.
Richmond’s Traffic Management Centre is currently in the process of moving its operations from behind Fire Hall No. 1 to the City Hall Annex on Minoru Boulevard and Granville Avenue.
According to the report, with one-third of all daily trips in Richmond made to destinations outside of the city, more timely and detailed traffic information will help “travellers make smart choices.”
The provincial government is picking up the tab for the connection of the two networks, with staff costs expected to be absorbed within regular resources.
