We know where smart traffic lights will be installed. 15 intersections in Nicosia and Limassol

Smart lights in Nicosia and Limassol They will appear at 15 specific intersections. CYPRNews presents the full list of locations where the 25 detectors will be installed, allowing traffic lights to respond to the actual number of cars.

The system will operate locally at each intersection. If there are a dozen or so cars waiting on one side and no one on the other, the traffic lights will be able to shorten the green light for the empty direction and reallocate the recovered time to the point where the queue is forming.

Smart lights in Nicosia and Limassol. We know all the locations.

Installation is planned in Nicosia 11 detectors at seven intersections:

• Kallipoleos – Ypatias – Chalkidonos – 2 detectors
• Lemesou – Tevkrou Anthia (E138) – 1 detector
• Lemesou – Lefkosias – 2 detectors
• Morfou – Lykavittou – 2 detectors
• Iroon – Lefkotheou – 2 detectors
• A1, exit 6 – Chalepianon – Tseriou (E120) – 1 detector
• Kallipoleos – Ypatias – Nik. Mylona – 1 detector

There will be more of them in Limassol – 14 detectors at eight intersections:

• Georgiou A’ – Ariadnis – 2 detectors
• Spyrou Kyprianou – Kranou – 1 detector
• Kathetos Limaniou – Agoras – 2 detectors
• Kathetos Limaniou – N. Kavvadia – Tassou A’ – 3 detectors
• Nikaias – 22 people Dromos – 2 detectors
• A. Sioukri – Olympion – 1 detector
• Spyrou Kyprianou – P. Mavromichali – 1 detector
• Spyrou Kyprianou – Christoforou Agroti – 2 detectors

In total, this gives 25 new devices at 15 intersections.

The little "black box" above the lights

The new devices may look like small cameras mounted at traffic lights.

As Alexis Avgoustis, Executive Engineer at the Department of Public Works, explains, However, these are not surveillance cameras.

These are detectors that can use, among other things, radar technology to detect vehicles on a specific section of the road.

Their task is to answer a very simple question: Are cars actually waiting in a given direction?

Green from 30 seconds can be reduced to 7

Currently, many intersections operate on the basis of previously prepared programs.

A different schedule applies in the morning, during rush hour, and at night. A full traffic light cycle can last around 120 seconds during the day, and drop to around 50 seconds during lighter nighttime traffic.

The problem is that a traditional program does not know what exactly is happening at any given moment.

So, a situation may arise where there are 20 cars waiting on one side and none on the other, and yet both directions receive the time resulting from the programmed cycle.

The new system aims to change this.

At another intersection in the Engomi area, where similar detectors are already in operation, the time for the direction without real demand can be limited, for example from 30 to 7 seconds.

The remaining seconds are not wasted. The system can use them for the direction where more cars are waiting at that moment.

They won't eliminate traffic jams

However, the Department of Public Works is cooling expectations.

New technology won't make traffic jams suddenly disappearIts purpose is to make more efficient use of the time available during each signaling cycle.

Instead of holding a green light where no one is waiting, the system can allocate more time for actual traffic.

This is a solution based on current demand, not a rigid schedule.

This is not a new SCOOT

It is also important to distinguish between a new project and a much larger traffic management system.

The old system SCOOT It operated from approximately 1992–1993 until 2023. Its technology became obsolete and the process of replacing it began.

The tender was awarded, but the decision was challenged and the case is currently before the Administrative Court.

The 15 Intersections project is something completely different.

New intelligent systems they will not form one network and will not communicate with each otherEach intersection will analyze the situation independently and transmit information directly to its own traffic light controller.

This makes the solution much simpler and cheaper.

The total cost is expected to be around 42,000 euros.

The estimated cost of the project is 41,900 euros excluding VAT.

This is not much compared to building a full, integrated traffic management system, which would also require communication infrastructure, central servers or the cloud, and a control center.

Offers can be submitted until September 18, work is scheduled to begin at the beginning of October and implementation is expected to take three months.

This is just the beginning

The Department of Public Works intends to develop this model at other intersections as well.

If funding becomes available, a similar tender may be announced next year for approximately 10 more locations.

Needs are also identified in Larnaca and Paphos.

The technology itself is not entirely new to the island. Similar solutions have been gradually being installed for about four or five years, including during major investments that increase traffic.

Only measurements will show how much we will actually save

For now, the Department of Public Works does not provide a specific amount by which the waiting time will be shortened.

However, the new tender provides for the execution measurements before and after system installation.

Among other things, the length of queues and the situation at individual intersection entries will be analyzed.

Only then will it be possible to determine the actual benefits of switching from a fixed schedule to signals that respond to current traffic.

Source: Politis / Department of Public Works