Managing all city traffic lights in real time and in a centralized way is the main goal of the future Lisbon Intelligent Mobility System (SIM.Lx)that EMEL and the Lisbon City Hall are trying to introduce in the city. To this end, a public tender has been launched to find the best software.
EMEL moves forward, in a statement, which "SIM.Lx will make possible the centralization of all Lisbon's signalized intersections and, through the introduction of a predictive component, allow the elaboration, in real time, of special traffic light plans for programmed actions".. The company explains that, with this new system, it will be possible to use the traffic lights to avoid jams in the case of road closures, road works, or accidents, "because it will be able to anticipate the different traffic scenarios that may create congestion situations".. Priority may also be given to the circulation of public transport emergency vehicles with the future SIM.Lx.
Lisbon's current traffic signal network management system is called Gertrude and is connected to only 138 of all 547 traffic signal intersections (set of controlled equipment) in the city. Reminds EMEL that Gertrude was "revolutionary in the 1980s, when it was introduced in the city, but which has not kept pace with the natural evolution of urban mobility, and is clearly out of step with today's needs".
According to the specifications of the international public tender now launched, one of the main objectives of SIM.Lx will be prioritizing public transport in the city over individual transport. The new system will, moreover, have to have a "Public Transportation Prioritization Module that receives information directly from the Lisbon City Public Transportation provider (CARRIS) and its Operation Support System (SAE)".
"The implementation of the SIM.Lx project follows the work of improvement and modernization of mobility that EMEL has been carrying out in Lisbon, in a joint effort with CML, which aims to strengthen a paradigm of urban mobility that contributes to a more peaceful experience of the city, making it increasingly safe and sustainable, able to provide a better quality of life to its residents and to those who circulate and enjoy it"says the company in a press release.
SIM.Lx will represent an investment of 4.9 million euros.
