Lansdale Wins $216,000 PennDOT Traffic Signal Grant

Every car you brake, every turn you make, every law you break, every step you take—they'll be watching you.

The beginning of Lansdale Borough's new state-of-the-art GIS implementation via its IT report recommendations comes in the form of an Automated Red Light Enforcement state grant.

Lansdale was awarded a $216,000 PennDOT grant to enhance, upgrade and control the traffic signal lines in the borough.

Lansdale must match 10 percent of the total $240,000 grant award—or $24,000.

"We have some good news to announce," stated Lansdale Police Chief Robert McDyre during the public safety committee meeting Wednesday. "We applied for (the ARLE grant provided by PennDOT) in June last year. We have successfully received funding."

The purpose of the project is to improve connectivity of the traffic signal system among many administrative facets.

"(The traffic signal system) is currently connected by twisted copper wire," McDyre said. "It's been there roughly 20 years. It's outdated, failing, and we can't do any modern updates to it."

The grant, he said, would allow for a fiber optic network through Main and Broad streets. It would also give interconnectivity to the borough complex, police station and public works building, he said.

"It will all be computer-controlled, cutting edge stuff," McDyre said.  

McDyre said that since the borough leverages in on the utility poles and sewer lines, it can add a fiber optic network to the lines for more bandwidth.

"It will give us a gigabit bandwidth for us to have a huge network that is unheard of in this area," McDyre said. "It will be a very cool project."  

McDyre said the bandwidth will allow interconnectivity for the borough-owned buildings and substations.

"And, at some point, our hub stations or cameras to stream video back to the police station and wherever else we need it to control the signals," he said. "It’s a great thing for Lansdale."

The signals could be controlled during parades and processions, McDyre said.

Borough Manager Timi Kirchner congratulated McDyre, Pennoni Associates traffic engineer Earl Armitage and borough IT manager Brian Poster for being instrumental in putting the grant requirements together.

"Earlier (in the meeting), we were able to show GIS maps that showed just how well connected we will be as a borough," Kirchner said. "It's very big that we got this grant. It will take us a long way. We are activating these studies. It will take us a huge leap forward."

McDyre said the IT steering committee addressed a major problem in its discussions: there is no interconnectivity in the buildings.

"We can't control the signals," he said.  

McDyre estimated it would take the borough eight to 12 months to complete the project.

"It's our contract. We need their approval," he said.  

Kirchner said the borough was "proud" that PennDOT was authorizing it to move forward.

"It's a good thing for Lansdale," she said.  

Councilwoman Mary Fuller said, "It's not just the grant; it's what this means."   

Philadelphia is a city which uses the ARLE system, with 21 intersections under the ARLE program. According to PennDOT, if someone runs a red light in Philadelphia, for instance, the signal has the capability to take a photo of the scene, the back of the vehicle, one or more red light signals, and of the license plate of the offending vehicle. The system also photographs the vehicle as it passes through the intersection.