THUNDER BAY – Shorter waits at Thunder Bay traffic lights are becoming a reality.
The city recently installed radar vehicle detection devices at the intersections of Harbour Expressway with both Balmoral Street and Memorial Avenue. The radar devices are capable of reading and reacting to traffic patterns up to 900 metres away.
The devices should mean green lights will stay green longer if there is more traffic and drivers will no longer have to wait for the left-turn signal unless someone is actually there to turn left.
The city has also completed similar work at intersections on Arthur Street and Red River Road, though those devices won't be turned on until 2025.
It’s part of a $2.8 million revamp to the municipality’s traffic-light system, with the major north-south intersections on Edward Street/Golf Links Road, Memorial Avenue, Balmoral Street and Fort William Road scheduled to be completed in late 2025 or early 2026.
The new devices will replace sensors buried under turning lanes, many of which have stopped working over the decades since they were first installed, resulting in advanced left-turn arrows even when there are no vehicles in the left-turn lane.
David Binch, the traffic technologist with the City of Thunder Bay’s infrastructure and operations department, said now that fibre cables have been put in place, and the proper software has been purchased, the plan is to first test the new technology at the Harbour Expressway intersections at Memorial Avenue and Balmoral Street.
The city is also testing out thermal detection devices at Memorial Avenue and John Street, to learn how they perform during adverse weather conditions.
The goal, Binch said, is to speed up commute times in Thunder Bay.
“The advantages of radar is it can see a lot further than our normal detections. Radar can do your up-close detection, but it can also look about 900 feet away from the intersection, to see the upcoming wave of vehicles approaching the intersection,” Binch said.
“That’s really going to benefit the city in regards to timing at those intersections and accommodating the high volume of traffic there.”
Binch said motorists should notice a difference at the two intersections at the Harbour Expressway, and at John Street and Memorial Avenue, right away.
“They’re going to notice adaptability in the signals,” he said. “The signals will provide the green time for the most amount of traffic for the appropriate time. A common problem throughout the city is a green that’s left on a little too long. That’s lost time, and that’s something we want to eliminate throughout the city.
“That’s really the key efficiency here. That green time can be reassigned somewhere else in the interim and that can be done automatically by the computer system.”
Binch said it’s unfortunate that many left-turn signals are still on the old system, marked by a diamond-shaped cut in the pavement at select intersections in Thunder Bay.
“They were installed quite some time ago and they are no longer responsive. Many residents of the city have likely realized, and the engineering department does agree as well. (That’s why) we are trialling new technologies throughout the city, different sizes of technologies depending on the intersection, that can accommodate the size of the intersection,” BInch said.
Asked if the city had considered flashing yellow or red lights at some intersections at non-peak times of the day, Binch said it was looked at, but because of a concern for increased collisions, it was decided it wasn’t the best course of action to take.
The new radar vehicle detection devices are part of the city’s ongoing traffic-light synchronization project.
