Traffic department expands use of smart traffic lights
AMMAN — The Central Traffic Department (CTD) said that it is addressing traffic flow between secondary and main roads by installing smart traffic lights at locations experiencing heavy traffic and a higher risk of accidents, CTD Director Brig. Gen. Raed Assaf said on Wednesday.
In remarks to Al Mamlaka, Assaf said that the location near Al Nahda Bridge towards the Eighth Circle is the fourth site to receive a smart traffic light as part of a pilot study, Al Mamlaka TV reproted.
The location previously required a traffic officer to regulate traffic during peak hours, while the smart signal allows a shift from “fixed control” to a system that monitors traffic and responds to exceptional situations, enabling traffic officers to be deployed at other locations that require regulation, Assaf said.
He noted that the traffic light is linked to the Greater Amman Municipality’s central control system and monitoring cameras operated by the municipality and the Traffic Department.
Other smart traffic lights have been installed at Istiklal Hospital for traffic coming from Jordan Street, at the intersection of Arjan Street and the Faculty of Education with Al Shaheed Street, and at the Queen Noor Street Bridge, he said.
Other traffic solutions are also being implemented, including widening lanes and constructing parallel roads along some routes, Assaf added.
Assaf noted that the work is being carried out in cooperation with the Traffic Department, the Greater Amman Municipality and the Ministry of Public Works, adding that plans are underway to address traffic flow along King Abdullah Street and the roads feeding into it.
Regarding smart traffic systems, he said the Public Security Directorate has developed the Traffic Department’s operations room and equipped it with artificial intelligence-enabled screens, digital maps and surveillance cameras. Operations rooms in Zarqa and Irbid have also been upgraded, while drones are being used to monitor traffic.
