NEW HOBART TRAFFIC CONTROL ROOM OPENS


Revolutionary traffic signals designed and manufactured in Tasmania are being trialled in Hobart with a view to dramatically cutting power and maintenance costs and improving road safety.
Minister for Infrastructure Jim Cox today officially opened the new Hobart Traffic Control Room and inspected the light-emitting diode (LED) traffic signals being trialled at the Campbell and Brisbane street intersection.
Mr Cox said this was the engine room for the urban road system and provided a fascinating insight into the inner workings of what is an enormous machine that the traffic signal staff keep well-oiled and running as smoothly as possible.
“Before the move here, their job was that much harder. Although we’ve been using the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System, or SCATS for about 20 years now, conditions were less than ideal.
“From this new control room, video surveillance extends as far as Goodwood Rd on the Brooker Highway, the Southern Outlet and to the Eastern side of the Tasman Bridge,” Mr Cox said
He said it was hoped that in the next financial year, that reach will expand even further, to the Mornington Roundabout.
Mr Cox said that the major costs involved in traffic lights are replacing burnt-out lamps and the power costs of running them.
“Theoretically, LED traffic signals are designed to last for at least a decade, thereby dramatically reducing maintenance costs.
“They are intended to benefit road safety by eventually failing gradually, rather than suddenly, and should offer recurrent cost savings by using at least 80 per cent less power than light globes.”
Mr Cox said the type of LED signals currently being introduced interstate were not meeting those expectations. He said some signals were failing after only two years and technical difficulties were hampering safe operation.
He said while interstate LED signals waste about 60 per cent of the electrical power as heat, which damages the signals, the Tasmanian extra-low voltage LED signals cut wastage to about 20 per cent, extending operational life and further reducing recurrent power costs.
“I am so delighted to see Tasmanian innovation at work, to create improvements in two such important areas as road safety and energy efficiency” Mr Cox said.
Mr Cox said the Tasmanian LED lights were pure of colour and had no misleading colour visible due to sunlight when the lights were off, which should reduce the risk of people misinterpreting the signals.
The ELV LED lanterns are based on Tasmanian designs and have been manufactured by local company Solux.
There are estimates that the ELV LED signals could save as much as $250,000 annually on power costs if installed statewide.
Mr Cox said the lights were being tested during the summer because that was when the heat caused the most damage. They are also being tested in independent laboratories to ensure that all necessary standards are met.
The trial and reporting process should be completed by Easter 2007.