XN000022-1976-09-28 — Page 4

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1976

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COMPUTERISED TRAFFIC CONTROL SCHEME IN OPERATION NEXT MARCH

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TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN WEST KOWLOON WILL SOON BE CONSIDERABLY IMPROVED WHEN A $12 MILLION COMPUTERISED TRAFFIC CONTROL SCHEME COMES INTO OPERATION NEXT MARCH.

THE SCHEME, DESIGNED BY A SPECIAL TEAM OF PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TRAFFIC ENGINEERS AND COMPUTER EXPERTS, WILL COVER YAU MA TEI, MONG KOK AND PARTS OF TSIM SHA TSUI AND SHAM SHUI PO.

THREE SETS OF COMPUTERS, WORTH NEARLY $9 MILLION, ARRIVED FROM BRITAIN OVER THE WEEKEND AND ARE NOW BEING INSTALLED

IN THE CONTROL CENTRE OF THE P.W.D'S AREA TRAFFIC CONTROL UNIT AT THE KOWLOON GOVERNMENT OFFICES IN NATHAN ROAD.

MR. TONY THOMPSON, THE P.W.D'S OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE UNIT, SAID TODAY THE COMPUTERS WOULD BE THE NERVE CENTRE OF THE SYSTEM CONTROLLING SOME 85 SETS OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS IN THE WEST KOWLOON AREA.

+THE CENTRAL COMPUTER WILL BE LINKED TO A NETWORK OF HIDDEN CABLES UNDER THE ROADS WHICH WILL RECORD TRAFFIC CONDITIONS AND TRANSMIT THE INFORMATION TO THE COMPUTER WHICH WILL BE ABLE TO REACT INSTANTLY AND ADJUST THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS TO EVEN OUT TRAFFIC FLOW THROUGH CRITICAL BOTTLENECKS AND JUNCTIONS, HE SAID.

+ IF FOR EXAMPLE, AN ACCIDENT OCCURS AND TRAFFIC BECOMES HEAVILY CONGESTED OVER A LARGE AREA, THE CENTRAL COMPUTER WILL INSTANTLY SYNCHRONISE TRAFFIC SIGNALS IN THE WHOLE AREA TO ENABLE TRAFFIC TO FLOW MORE SMOOTHLY, HE ADDED.

MR. THOMPSON SAID IT WAS ALSO INTENDED TO LINK UP THE SYSTEM WITH THE TRAFFIC POLICE TO PROVIDE TRAFFIC INFORMATION SUCH AS THE NUMBER OF PASSING CARS, SPEED OF TRAFFIC AND THE LENGTH OF QUEUES, SO AS TO ENABLE THE POLICE TO SPOT AND CLEAR TRAFFIC JAMS IMMÉDIATELY.

ANOTHER FEATURE OF THE SCHEME, HE SAID, WOULD BE TO DEVISE SPECIAL PROGRAMMES TO ENABLE THE COMPUTER TO CREATE A CLEARWAY FOR FIRE ENGINES AND OTHER EMERGENCY VEHICLES BY ADVISING THE QUICKEST ROUTE AND CO-ORDINATING THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS ALONG IT.

MR. THOMPSON SAID THE COMPUTERISED TRAFFIC CONTROL SCHEME HAD BEEN SUCCESSFULLY ADOPTED IN A NUMBER OF CITIES IN EUROPE AND AMERICA, BUT THE WEST KOWLOON SCHEME WOULD THE FIRST IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.

+ALTHOUGH THE SCHEME WILL INITIALLY ONLY COVER WEST KOWLOON, IT HAS BEEN DESIGNED IN SUCH A WAY FOR POSSIBLE FUTURE EXPANSION AND IF NEED BE, IT COULD HANDLE ALL TRAFFIC SIGNALS IN KOWLOON, HE SAID.

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