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VAAS - Bangalore's New Traffic Control System
tsubba - 5 October, 2007 | Traffic | Bangalore | BTRAC
By October-end Bangalore will have a new traffic control system - Vehicle Actuated Signal System which, the Hindu reports, will facilitate faster movement of traffic BEL begins installing sensor lines at 48 locations The city, which is witnessing tremendous growth in vehicular traffic, is gearing up for a new type of traffic control system. The work includes surveillance and enforcement cameras mounted at different places, vehicle actuated signal systems, sensor-driven corridor synchronisation and a central control room for monitoring traffic movement. In a chat with The Hindu here on Wednesday, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) K.C. Ramamurthy said the city’s traffic was not being handled effectively by the present system and that it needed a new system — the Vehicle Actuated Signal System (VASS). The system facilitates faster movement of traffic and every “time cycle” will be monitored as well as administered by a chain of sensor-driven signal posts. The VASS has been designed by the public sector Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) and will be highly proficient automatic traffic management system, claim sources in BEL. The density of vehicles is gauged by a sensor at a given time cycle and the signal is referred to the traffic signals posts. Explaining the concept with an example, the sources said the system would be fed with different time cycles depending on the estimated volume of traffic. The police had conducted vehicle density sample survey of different places and had arrived at more or less the exact density of traffic in most of the city’s roads and traffic islands. The estimated “time cycles” were based on this study, Mr. Ramamurthy said. The sensors would relate to the time cycle and regulate the traffic signals in tandem with the recorded vehicular density at a particular time. Traffic density The time cycle ranges from a minimum 10 seconds to 60 seconds. At a time when the traffic density was very low — say 1 a.m. — the sensors would use the 10 second cycle, which meant the red light period would be restricted to 10 seconds. But at that particular time if the approaching traffic increased in volume for some reason, the sensor would increase the time cycle in the multiples of 10 seconds with a cut-off limit of a maximum of 60 seconds. At peak hours, the time cycle would begin with 60 seconds and depending on the density of traffic would multiply at multiples of 40 seconds. The BEL had begun installing sensor lines at 48 different places in the city and by October-end the entire city would be covered under this system bringing all 167 traffic signals under the ambit of the VASS. This system was working at West of Chord Road, Sadashivanagar and at three places on the Inner Ring Road. Mr. Ramamurthy said the traffic wing had acquired five enforcement cameras which would be mounted at various traffic points in the city. These cameras would help the police in identifying troublesome vehicles and those violating traffic rules. He said the photos and the video footage taken from the camera would become evidence in the court of law and would help the police in bringing down traffic offences. Surveillance cameras The department would also install surveillance cameras at 40 different traffic islands. It would help the police in managing the peak hour traffic and, in the case of major traffic blockages, to divert the traffic through different roads. The inputs of both classes of cameras would be recorded in the server at the traffic headquarters on Infantry Road. The camera systems would be installed at a cost of Rs. 3.33 crore and the VASS at a cost of Rs. 1.95 crore. The BEL would set up and maintain the system, Mr. Ramamurthy added. Sources in the Transport Department said that approximately 1,500 new vehicles were being registered every day and things were going to worse when it came to traffic management.
COMMENTS
Synchronized Signals is what we need
Vasanth - 7 October, 2007 - 10:12
Main problem today that we are facing is waiting in 'N' number of signals that too as long as 180 seconds leading to piling up of vehicles. Many times we have to wait 2 or 3 turns to get the actual green. This leads to frustation and then people will speed up to compensate the lost time leading to accidents and traffic jams. Currently, from KR circle to upto almost town hall while coming from Maharanis to Market flyover is synchronized and we get continuation. Even the wait time in the centre portion of Bangalore is less at around 120 seconds maximum. It is the southern Bangalore especially on the ring road which is really frustating. Near Devegowda petrol bunk, people have to wait 180 seconds and many times we cannot get the signal in one pass. This is a good move - let us wait and see when it will be functional and how effective it will be.
flyover/grade seperator at devegowda bunk
blrsri - 8 October, 2007 - 11:03
wasnt it planned? with the area having high profile signatures..it shouldnt be long that there is one implemented there! On other thoughts..a 3 min wait at a signal is.. 3 min loss doing nothing 3 min pollution(starting uses lot of fuel too) 3 min of frustrations 3 min of inhaling illness
Airport Road like flyover needed
Vasanth - 9 October, 2007 - 01:23
I have seen many flyovers built in Bangalore without proper planning - without common sense. Common flyover is a bridge just crossing a circle as in National College Circle resulting in benefit only for one road. Some flyovers are planned with 1 under pass, 1 section of middle road and 1 overpass such as Jayadeva and Dairy Circle. This results in 4 combinations of uninterrupted passs. Mostly in Bangalore, they are planning like this. But, 8 other combinations will remain unhandled - which again has to have signals even under flyovers as in Jayadeva flyover. In some cases, it is left out as it is without signals as in Dairy Circle and National College Circle. In any intersection of 4 roads, there is 12 possible ways in which people move - There shouldn't be any interference to anyone. Only Airport Road Flyover handles all the combination. Hebbal flyover also handles most of the combinations. We need such kind of flyovers. Although delayed and complicated, it solves the problem. Adding an underpass will confuse and complicate more. Such kind of flyover is needed here in DG petrol bunk. Ring Road needs to be untouched, from North to South along the Uttarahalli main road, a flyover is needed. If it is done on the Ring Road, lots of heavy loaded trucks run on the ring road which cannot climb up.
flyovers just dont help - period
silkboard - 9 October, 2007 - 02:23
Blrsri - if you do a flyover there, you may wait only 30 secs at DG bunk, but would then wait 240 secs or more at your next signal/bottleneck. Even the airport road flyover - how has it helped? All the traffic now waits at whatever signals or bottlenecks lie after the flyover in each direction. Without a comprehensive plan for a given road, which should include - synchronized signals, - widening it uniformly (so that there are fewer lane merges) - and then doing underpasses or flyovers at strategic places Then it will help. Above could be done for Outer Ring Road for example. Doing a flyover just at junctions you find choked is a very short sighted exercise and gross waste of public money.
Roads & Highways
tsubba - 9 October, 2007 - 03:00
Until we keep confusing our streets and roads as highways this will keep happening. Roads and streets are only to provide access within layouts(think about them as villages/towns) and between neighboring layouts. not to act as link roads that connect distant layouts. in most cities of the world they donot build flyovers to city roads. they build then on city highways. every time there appears to be a need to build a flyover/grade separator at a junction, it is basically saying that there should be a highway here. there should be a highway network on top of the city's road network. for example at DG road, if you take out local traffic from long distance traffic you will suddenly find that the intersection is adequate. ORR should really have been a highway. instead as SB pointed out we have apartment complexes with balconies connected to the exhaust pipes of vehicles stranded on it. SB article on Ribbon Development has me so riled up.... OK we have been cursing babus all along, but what about the hi-fi private builders, they have all the gyaan- right? if i ever get to meet the guy who built that apartment complex at marathahalli, I am going to go tom and jerry or better yet obelisk and the roman legionary on him.
Traffic Signal Waiting Times...
shri21 - 2 November, 2007 - 08:44
Every other week we read in the newspapers about big things planned to decongest the city traffic...but in reality, hardly anything changes. The waiting times at traffic junctions only increase. Has anyone cared about how much unduly long wait times at signals contributes to road rage? The traffic cops do not bother to reset the timers differently for the lean morning traffic, causing unnecessary waste of time and fuel. Presently the waiting times at some junctions are as high as 190 seconds. The present method of signal timing can be described as "pile up the traffic and then release" which is irrational. And when is the VAAS or whatever really going to be seen?
So we increase timers
s_yajaman - 13 June, 2008 - 06:32
Adding on to Narayan. So the most obvious solution to the BCP is to increase the timers on signals. The root cause is turbulent flow and not short timers. Increase times cause even more pile ups and even more turbulence and we get into a vicious cycle.
Curiously, I saw a tender from the BCP asking for cones to be procured as lane separators. Just 50m of lane separators at each traffic light can (IMHO) smoothen out things at many junctions.
Srivathsa
There was a time..
gowda - 12 June, 2008 - 23:49
when the lights were all synchronized. So if you get a green light and maintained 40 kmph you would get green lights all the way. I remember going to work from Malleswaram to Domlur in 15 mins flat.
I think this will be part of history
synchronized signals?
silkboard - 13 June, 2008 - 03:46
Are you sure gowda? I doubt Bangalore has ever had synchronized signals. Are you saying this based on your observation (Malleswaram to Domlur), or are you 'in the know'?
We really want to know the cost and effort involved in synchronizing signals on select stretches, say key radial roads in Bangalore. BTRAC is supposed to include the work for installing new signals lights, and synchronizing a lot of them (recalling from their agenda). but as always, no idea how the project is going - we only have tenders and odd reports in newspapers to go by.
Cubbon Road was synchronized somewhere around 1990
s_yajaman - 13 June, 2008 - 04:05
SB,
Gowda is correct. I remember that Cubbon Road was synchronized starting from HAL Corporate office till Brigade Road junction. As long as you kept a 40kmph speed you would get green till Dickenson Road. I myself used to drive on Cubbon Road - preferred it to MG Road as it had 3+3 lanes and a nice divider all along.
If you had lived in Bangalore in that period - it was heaven. I used to drive from HAL to Jayanagar 8th block in 30 mins without ever crossing 50 kmph. We used to cycle back from school along Airport Road (total 8km) without feeling scared about the traffic.
Traffic cops had a speed radar in the early 90s and I know a couple of my friends who had been booked for speeding.
Srivathsa
Sorry for doubting that
silkboard - 13 June, 2008 - 04:36
I forgot I came to this city only in 1995. You guys know better.
But, I was here in 1984 once (first visit to Bangalore), the place did seem like heaven (Trees everywhere, organized things - majestic bus stand, jayanagar streets). Memories stuck, and when it was time to pick employers at campus (Bombay), I only applied for Bangalore based companies.
One key thing to note in what you wrote above is - you dont need high speeds to get to your destination in reasonable time. Nobody will complaint if we get to destinations 20 km away in 35 minutes, reliably, with only 5 minutes this way or that way.
But its like the game theory, isn't it - the rush to reach before others ensures that we all reach late. Anybody doing more than 40 kmph is effectively reducing his and others chances of reaching sooner. But the fact that the stress recently has been on eliminating signals than adding more of it has made it worse - we all think we have better individual chances of reaching sooner, and the negative effects of game theory only increase.
Game theory (Maths), Turbulence, Laminar/Streamlined flow (Fluid dynamics), Entropy (Thermodyamics) - these three are perhaps the best tools to model and describe our traffic. Watch for a post, soon.
High speeds are meaningless in Bangalore
s_yajaman - 13 June, 2008 - 04:49
SB,
Bang on. The average speed in Bangalore during peak hours is 12-13 kmph and during non-peak hours is about 24-25 kmph.
This means that in peak hours I take 1 hr to get from MG Road to my house in JP Nagar. Somedays worse. Most of the time is spent waiting at traffic lights. During non-peak hours the same distance can be covered in 35 mins. Still decent.
All that you do by speeding is to reach the next signal/junction quickly. I have seen this so many times. Someone will overtake me (me at 45 - he at 65). After 2 or 3 mins, I reach the traffic light only to be a couple of cars behind him. The odd time, he gets through the last 2 secs of green - but that is statistically going to be rare.
Talking of turbulence - you must have observed that traffic in Bangalore takes forever to move because we don't line up at traffic lights. It then becomes like untying a knot. With the result that sometimes just 30-40 m worth of traffic moves in the 30 secs that the light is green. Ideally with a green of 30 secs, we should have about 200m of traffic moving (average speed of 20kmph through the lights). But because of Game Theory - everyone optimises for himself and the whole group is left worse off.
Srivathsa
enforce lanes
narayan82 - 13 June, 2008 - 06:25
I agree with Srivatsa, hopeless lane discipline and perpendicular stoppings at Traffic Junctions is why only about 20-30 meters of traffic get cleared at a green signal. Lane discipline can be enforced by actually creating small dividers between the "right turn" lane and "straight" lane. In places such as the Jewels De Paragon Junction (Cubbon park), traffic coming from M G road towards cubbon park is stopped becuse someone heading to Raj Bhavan is stopped for his right turn signal. These dividers I propose can be the red plastic stands and refelect paint. Hopefully someday a line will suffice!
two wheelers at junctions
narayan82 - 13 June, 2008 - 06:48
Often - being a two wheeler use myself- I have noticed that when say 4 cars are parked behind each other at a signal the two wheeler will go and squeeze through them. Its like filling in gaps with "Patti!" And If I choose to wait patiently behind them, then an impatient two wheeler will start hooting from behind! Lane disciplines must be enforced to all vehicles however many wheels it has. Two wheelers get away with a lot of zig-zagging and riding on pavements. And if you ever question a two wheeler who does so his answer would be "why the hell do you think i got a bike??"" Duh...
Two Wheelers - Same context but another angle
madhu_nr - 13 June, 2008 - 07:14
More than the two wheelers squeezing between cars, many do not realize the risk they put themselves into, when they do this even when the traffic is moving. I have observed two wheeler drivers cut in front of larger vehicles likes buses and trucks apart from cars. These vehicles have a longer stopping / slowing distance and a sudden intrusion in front of larger vehicles can mean severe injury or death, if the two wheeler has to slow down due to any reason. I think of horses with blinkers when I see such drivers (in many cases women - no gender bias here, but a mere observed fact) who do not seem to look before darting into traffic, with no apparent care. They are playing with their lives.
Madhu
Near miracle in Jayanagar IV block
s_yajaman - 13 June, 2008 - 09:09
Witnessed a near miracle (by Bangalore standards) while driving around Jayanagar 4th block.
There is a signal on 11th Main where the roads from the swimming pool and T-Block meet 11th Main (near Pavithra restaurant). This signal has not been working for some time.
But yesterday as I went past, there was no chaos at the signal. Each road took turns to move - as though the signal was working. I asked my wife if she could see a traffic cop. There wasn't one. She told me that she this was self regulating. I could not believe it. Self regulating and in Bangalore?? Let's see how long it lasts.
Srivathsa
I think they should really
jollivee - 2 June, 2009 - 08:04
I think they should really monitor not only the traffic on the streets but also the security of the citizens. Security and surveillance cameras should be installed to be able to keep track on what's going on out there on the streets. Az security system
This surveillance cameras
roebe - 24 May, 2009 - 09:57
This surveillance cameras can help the police and other people a lot, to identify the actions in the areas. The gadgets is not only for the security it also for the protection for the people. This is great for all of us, i wish someday all of the streets or city's would have this kind of gadgets. home security systems
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