The Edmond Sun

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August 25, 2010

$780,000 leaves trails budget for traffic plan

James Coburn The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — Money to fund the first phase of developing the Intelligent Traffic System was approved by Edmond City Council this week.

The $2 million to $4 million intelligent system infrastructure project involves the design, construction and implementation of an advanced transportation management system for the city, according to information provided by the City Council. It will include new fiber optic cable, a traffic control system upgrade, new traffic signal controllers and a traffic operations center.

A $780,000 transfer of appropriations taken from the Edmond Trails program will fund the first phase of development, which is a consultant service for the ITS program, said Larry Stevens, city manager. The City Council has identified ITS as its top priority for improving traffic flow in Edmond.

Assistant City Manager Steve Commons said ITS will be a multi-year project with corridors finished incrementally. Second Street probably will be one of the first components of ITS, Commons said Tuesday. The time frame for ITS depends on the City Council’s approval of each component.

This funding is temporarily being removed from trail construction, Stevens said. More than $1 million still remains for developing the Edmond Trails this year, he added.

Commons said small sections of the trails will be completed for connectivity.

“One of the things we’re trying to work on right now is getting from Mitch Park some kind of linkages clear down to Hafer Park,” Commons said.

Mitch Park trails will need to link to a trail at the Covell Underpass, which extends to Danforth. The city will need to work out details with the University of Central Oklahoma in order for the trails to span the campus, he said. Fink Park is necessary to access because it has a trail going to Hafer Park, Commons said.

Mayor Patrice Douglas said the city already has spent $3.7 million on the trail system since voters approved the 2000 Improvement Capital Sales Tax.

“We’ve talked about the ITS as one of the projects that we feel we can move forward with and have a significant impact on in a relatively short span of time,” Stevens said. “Obviously we didn’t have money in the budget to cover that so the money will come from the 2000 Improvement Capital Sales Tax.”

The Capital Projects and Financing Task Force agreed last week to transfer the funding from the trails program to ITS. This task force is a citizen group appointed by council to oversee the spending of the taxpayer-approved 3/4-cent permanent sales tax approved in 2000.

Remote monitoring would provide City of Edmond Traffic Planner Tom Minnick an instant alert during a signal light mishap. Time and employment costs could be saved by not always having to send workers to verify a situation in the field. In June, Minnick said the system would make his department less reactionary and more proactive.

ITS simultaneously would share information with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Edmond Police Department, Emergency Management and Central Communications.

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