Sep 29, 2014

Traffic congestion is a considerable issue in nearly every city across the globe. In Scottsdale, Arizona, however, officials are able to recognize and address traffic congestion throughout the city thanks to a monitoring and management system utilizing Firetide’s wireless mesh network.

Scottsdale spans 185 miles and is called home by more than 225,000 individuals. In addition to these citizens traversing the city’s roads, the municipality is situated alongside Phoenix, Tempe, Glendale and Mesa, considered some of the heavily populated areas in the state. With special events and other happenings occurring in the city, traffic congestion becomes a real problem.

In order to address the issue and make the roads safer for Scottsdale drivers, city officials decided to deploy a wireless intelligent transportation system, an advanced approach to traffic management. During the evaluation phase, however, officials discovered that while there were existing fiber connections in some areas of the city, a wireless network was needed to connect video camera pole locations with the fiber.

“We already have a lot of fiber in the ground, so the biggest challenge was to establish reliable, last-mile communications,” said Scottsdale Technology and Maintenance Council manager Bruce Dressel. “The question we needed to answer was, ‘Could wireless provide that? And could it do so within the constraints of typical downtown obstacles such as foliage and buildings, and during all kinds of weather, including dust storms and rain?’”

Firetide was able to answer this call with its industry-leading wireless mesh network technology. The resulting deployment included for 86 digital video cameras, traffic signal controllers and responsive message signs, all wirelessly connected to the city’s command center via 90 Firetide HotPort 7020 mesh nodes. The system also utilizes Firetide’s HotView Pro network management software, allowing operators to pinpoint gridlocked roadways and take proactive measures to reduce traffic jams before they get worse. The city also saw better collision response, improved traffic management in construction zones and increased road safety, making the deployment a success.