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Traffic Management Centre in Cape Town

In May 2010, Cape Town Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato, officially opened the City’s R160 million state-of-the-art Transport Management Centre ( TMC), which is the first integrated public transport, traffic and safety and security management centre in South Africa, and also one of the first of its kind in the world.

The TMC, a 2010 FIFA World Cup legacy project, brings together services like freeway management, urban traffic control, transport information centre, integrated rapid transit, traffic services and metro police to function side-by-side in one operational environment designed and built to meet and exceed world standards. The TMC was jointly funded between the city and the national government through 2010 FIFA World Cup grants.

The TMC, situated in Goodwood, will therefore facilitate the management of traffic incidents/emergencies and provide road users with up to date, reliable information that will enable them to select the best route.

Mayor Plato said: “Joint operations in this high tech, designed-for-purpose facility will result in improved incident and information management and will ensure effective and efficient traffic and public transport operations in the City of Cape Town.

Functions of the TMC

Freeway management system: Severe traffic congestion has a negative effect on productivity, the running costs of vehicles, the environment and the amount of time people spend with their families. The City of Cape Town identified the need to efficiently deal with accidents and incidents that impact on traffic flow, which led to the implementation of the Freeway Management System.

This system uses 197 CCTV cameras to monitor the traffic flow and 48 variable message signs to communicate with commuters. Variable message signs have been erected throughout the city, of which some use renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

Arterial management system: The arterial management system comprises traffic signal controls with CCTV cameras. Traffic signals play a vital role in keeping traffic in the city moving smoothly. The TMC is also home to the traffic signal fault reporting and management section.

Integrated incident management – A key component of the TMC is the enhancement of the existing incident management system, which serves to facilitate faster emergency and incident response. This is achieved by improving the lines of communication and the speed and efficiency of notification between the incident location and the incident management system.

The video wall system comprises the following eyevis products:

* 48 x EYE-LCD-4600-SN-V2 (super narrow LC display with 46-inch screen diagonal an WXGA resolution).

* 1 x NPX-3804R-D8-G2.3 (High-end graphics controller for the visualisation of video and data signals).

* 1 x eyecon wall management software.

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