NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — You'd think the stoplight at Clarksville Pike and 26th Avenue North in North Nashville works like every other one, but it doesn't.
The Nashville Department of Transportation's Chief Traffic Engineer, Derek Hagerty, says the smart signals will recognize cars, buses, and people and change accordingly.
"No longer are pedestrians going to have to push a push button," said Hagerty. "No longer will people be sitting at a red light as no one comes in the other direction."
The system detects cars, buses, and pedestrians and changes lights based on real-time traffic.
Hagerty said the technology doesn't read license plates or recognize faces, but it does record and store information from the LiDAR system at Vanderbilt University to study traffic patterns.
"We are able to see the movements of every pedestrian in an anonymous manner; LiDAR just gives data," said Hagerty.
It will take about seven years, but almost 600 of these smart lights will cover the city. Hagerty said NDOT will replace about 80 to 90 lights each year, and some of the lights currently installed are almost 80 years old.
It's funded by the Choose How You Move initiative that Nashvillians pay for with an increased sales tax. City leaders said the lights will help clear traffic.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Kim.Rafferty@newschannel5.com.
My friend and colleague Carrie Sharp had a lot of fun last week, on an adventure to a country more than three thousand miles away! She’s back now – sharing her Adventures in Iceland through stories, and incredible images of this remarkably beautiful and unique island nation (kudos to Chief Photographer Catherine Steward)! But did you know Nashville has something very important in common with Iceland? Tourism! Here, Carrie explains how a volcanic eruption decades ago helped save the country’s economy from collapse!
-Rhori Johnston
