County Tackles Northern Tier Traffic

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Douglas County has added two new full-time Traffic Signal Technician/Traffic Management Center (TMC) Operators to monitor traffic in the urban areas of northern Douglas County. Their primary duties will be to monitor traffic during the morning and evening peak traffic periods and perform traffic signal maintenance during the remainder of their shifts.

The TMC was recently expanded to enhance Douglas County’s ability to serve the public. The TMC is the hub of all communications used by traffic signal systems in unincorporated Douglas County. The TMC allows Douglas County to help in maintaining consistent traffic flow on the roads by monitoring the central traffic signal system, remotely modify traffic signal timing when necessary and monitor the 14 on-street traffic cameras at major intersections.

“The ability to modify timing patterns from a central location such as the TMC during the holiday season is crucial due to unpredictable traffic congestion,” said Principal Traffic Engineer Alex Larson.

Monitoring traffic will help to quickly assess if there is a traffic signal malfunction or if a repair needs to be made. Traffic technicians can also see if an accident has occurred and promptly contact the Sheriff’s Office or local police department to be sure it has been reported and to determine if there are any measures that can be taken to lessen the impact to traffic by the accident.

Over time, TMC Operators will learn what normal traffic conditions are like in the area. When heavier traffic congestion is identified, the TMC Operator can contact a traffic engineer to determine what mitigations can be implemented.