Pasadena Considers New Citywide Traffic Monitoring System

In an attempt to better “manage and optimize traffic signal synchronization around the city,” Pasadena’s Department of Transportation is planning to install a Citywide Traffic Monitoring system through a contractor that will not charge the city anything. Instead, the contractor, Live Traffic Data, Inc. (LTD), plans to exchange the exclusive rights to use the live streaming of travel data from the system.

According to initial documents provided the Department of Transportation, the city will have access to archived processed data only and will not have access to raw data that could be utilized for potential collision reconstruction litigation for collisions occurring at traffic signals.

LTD’s system is a spinoff from the 2012 pilot program that Pasadena implemented to automate the monitoring of travel speeds and approach queues at six intersections on Orange Grove Blvd. from Lake Avenue to Sierra Madre Blvd. The City then partnered with the University of Minnesota and its affiliate, ITERIS Inc., to implement a “Smart Signal System” pilot deployment.

After the initial deployment, the University of Minnesota spun off the Smart Signal System to the private LTD Inc. Like its predecessor, the LTD system uses an event date logging device placed inside each traffic signal cabinet in the corridor. Once installed, the device automatically logs all events inside the traffic signal cabinet with second-by-second precision.

Recorded events include all vehicular detections, pedestrian push button activations, and every instance when each traffic signal display turns green, yellow or red for all approaches of a signalized intersection. The information is then processed using proprietary algorithms that produce historical travel time and traffic queuing information.

Improvements in the new LTD system include a more streamlined recording device inside the traffic signal cabinet, expanded software with an improved graphical user interface and enhanced reporting capabilities from which data that could help better manage and optimize traffic signals around the city can be extracted.

LTD approached the City in 2014 to offer a proposal to deploy the LTD system citywide at no cost to the City. The transportation found merit in the proposal but negotiated several aspects that would protect the city and further improve how the system integrates with the existing traffic signaling system in Pasadena.

Among these aspects is a provision that the project “will not cause controversies with respect to the visual aspect of project deployment because the data logging device will not be visible to the public.” If any equipment needs to be visible, it will be small and unobtrusive wireless communication device at certain intersections where the city has no direct communications.

Through the Municipal Services Committee, the Department of Transportation is seeking City Council approval for the City Manager to enter into a contract, without competitive bidding, with LTD Inc. to deploy the Citywide Traffic Monitoring system for a five-year term.

According to the terms of the agreement, the City will not incur any direct costs for the installation, maintenance and operation, or removal, of the LTD equipment. The only costs that could be incurred will be for City staff to provide access to traffic signal cabinets and to monitor installation and removal of LTD equipment. These costs, which are expected to be nominal, will be charged to existing operating budget and to the CIP (Capital Improvement Project) aspect of the Citywide Transportation Performance Monitoring Network.

Once the contract is executed and a Notice to Proceed is issued, LTD Inc. estimates installation time to be complete in 18 to 24 months.