Mayor John Tory has announced that the City of Toronto is launching two smart traffic signal pilot projects to test the latest adaptive traffic management technologies, in order to evaluate which of two rival systems is most suitable for Canada’s largest city.

As its fourth largest city, Toronto was the first in North America to deploy a computerized traffic signal control system when it introduced the technology in the 1960s. The city currently uses a mix of earlier generation traffic systems, some of which are over 20 years old, to control about 2,400 traffic signals.

However, the equipment is aging, it is hard to get replacement parts, and the old communications infrastructure makes it difficult to connect with the signals in the field. Toronto is now testing new smart signal technology to modernize and expand the city’s traffic management network.

Read the full story at traffictechnologytoday.com.