Real-time traffic updates help ease the pain on congestion

Every Michigander knows there are five seasons in the state: spring, summer, fall, winter, and construction.

Thankfully, the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) has a solution for the last “season” with a revamped online Real-Time Traffic Map, making the congestion-monitoring tool simpler, easier and faster to use.

The map is available on the RCOC Website, www.rcocweb.org (click on “Get Map” in the top right corner of the home page).

“Ours was the first real-time traffic-information map for non-freeway roads in the nation when it was launched in 1999,” observed RCOC Chairman Greg Jamian. “We have regularly updated it over the years as the technology has evolved. We are committed to staying on the cutting edge of transportation technology, and this is the latest evolutionary step.”

 The current changes allow map viewers to see congestion levels on county roads across Oakland County, thanks to data provided by RCOC’s Faster And Safer Travel through Traffic Routing & Advanced Controls (FAST-TRAC) adaptive traffic-signal system. FAST-TRAC detects the volume of traffic moving in each direction at equipped intersections and uses that data to determine, in real time, the most efficient timing for the traffic signal or corridor.

Thanks to a cooperative agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the map graphically depicts real-time traffic congestion data for MDOT freeways in the county, making the map one of the few in the country that shows real-time congestion levels for both local roads and freeways. The map also provides access to MDOT freeway cameras, changeable message signs and construction project information.

Also available on the map is a link to the Google weather and traffic map for Oakland County.

“Not only is our FAST-TRAC system improving the safety and efficiency of our road system, it’s also providing useful travel information to motorists,” Jamian said. “This is one of the most advanced traffic signal systems in the country, and the second largest such system in North America. This type of real-time congestion information for non-freeway roads is simply not available in most of the country.”

The map also was converted from a static map to dynamic Internet mapping technology. On the backend, the site logic was updated to reduce page loading time. The map also was enhanced for easier use on mobile devices.