By Samuel B. Parker
Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.
It’s a relatively new technology that’s quickly becoming more common: transit signal priority (TSP) systems that change red lights to green when emergency vehicles approach crowded intersections, or else lengthen green lights to allow buses to pass.
And, thanks in part to a grant from the Federal Highway Administration , Richmond’s fire trucks and regional buses will be outfitted with that system by next spring.
But Richmond’s police cars and ambulances won’t be included in the new program, officials say — at least, not right now.
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“Because of available funding and the city’s approach to rolling out this new technology, ambulances and police vehicles are not included in the initial phase,” city spokesperson Jensen Gavulic said in response to questions. “However, the same technology could be expanded to additional emergency response vehicles in the future as resources allow.”
It’s a decision that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to Chip Decker , the 20-year chief executive officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority , which oversees the city’s emergency first response operations, and recently resumed full control of 911 calls at the direction of City Council .
“If I was doing it, I would include us,” Decker told The Times-Dispatch . “It just makes sense, and I don’t think there’s any downside.”
Enhanced traffic safety, better response times expected
The technology, manufactured by Econolite, tracks vehicles’ built-in GPS systems to make decisions on when to trigger a traffic signal change. Small devices (called cabinets) will be installed on certain traffic lights, and those cabinets will be able to receive and decode location data from equipped vehicles.
So when a fire truck traveling along a crowded corridor nears an intersection, the traffic lights will change to allow it to pass. And as Greater Richmond Transit Company buses approach crossroads, green lights might last a little bit longer to get them through.
“The system can provide signal preemption to help clear a path through intersections,” Gavulic said of the planned rollout for fire trucks. Buses, meanwhile, will only get priority under “certain conditions,” which Gavulic did not identify.
Econolite’s TSP became available to Richmond after the city received a $1.9 million federal grant, which officials matched with $1.9 million in city funds. And the benefits are manifold, officials say.
Richmond’s TSP will improve fire response times by allowing fire trucks to proceed more quickly through intersections, especially during peak traffic times and along congested routes. Similarly, it’ll enhance public transit efficiency as signals prioritize nearby buses carrying dozens of riders, rather than individual cars that often have only a single occupant.
It’s safer, too, officials say. Every year, Americans are injured or killed by emergency vehicles going through red lights. Signal changes are expected to cut down on that.
Included in the city’s package is Econolite’s “intelligent traffic sensors” and “advanced detection systems” that, in some cases, can track the number of vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians that pass through an intersection.
‘It’s just a lot safer’
Decker agrees that the new TSP has many advantages and hopes that RAA ambulances are eventually folded into the program.
Unlike Chesterfield and Henrico counties — which Decker said have been equipped with older, 1990s-era infrared transmitters that also change traffic lights — Richmond ambulances currently have no way of communicating with traffic signals or receiving route advantages of any kind.
“Pretty much everyone around us has it,” he said. “It’s just a lot safer.”
But for now, Richmond ambulances will continue to make do with less sophisticated options, like growler sirens that drivers can physically feel, and digital alert systems that use navigation apps like Waze to notify nearby motorists of emergency vehicles.
Those options still leave RAA shortchanged, Decker said.
“If we’re responding (to an emergency) and the traffic light is red, then we have to stop,” he explained. “We shut down all the emergency lights and wait for the light to turn green because you don’t want to shove people into the intersection … or cause panic.”
Because of Richmond’s urban density and many stoplights, the frequent slowing and stopping have left city ambulances with an average travel speed of 23 mph, Decker said. When it comes to a heart attack, a brain bleed, an asthmatic episode or any number of other medical scenarios, those are precious seconds lost.
Asked whether he believed the TSP rollout to be a “life-or-death issue,” Decker said, “I think so, yes.”
“It helps with response time with critical incidents, and it definitely helps with public and provider safety,” he said. “If everybody has the red light except you, you don’t have to worry about cross traffic.”
The RAA just emerged victorious from a testy battle with Mayor Danny Avula’s administration over which entity should field 911 calls.
Before July 27 , calls were handled by City Hall’s Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response , which would then forward them to the RAA if and when ambulance dispatch was needed.
After the RAA and Avula’s administration sparred in City Council meetings over which agency was better suited to steward that process, City Council sided with the RAA — and ordered that full custody of calls be transferred to the RAA.
But Avula’s administration missed the mandatory deadline for doing so by several weeks, citing senior officials’ vacations as the reason why the law wouldn’t be followed. That prompted more angst from some council members.
Decker doesn’t seem to believe the heated debate over 911 calls had anything to do with the RAA’s exclusion from the TSP launch. In fact, he said he has an “advocate” in the DECPR that is working with him to explore expanding the technology’s use.
“I’m definitely going to keep pushing,” Decker said.
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