Guest Op/Ed: What Manatee County’s Advanced Traffic Management System Means to You

Over the past few years Manatee County's Public Works department and the Florida Department of Transportation have been implementing a State-Of-The-Art traffic management system that covers most major roadways in the County. Once fully operational, this system will save County businesses, residents and visitors time and money. A hallmark of this system is its ability to detect, predict and react to constantly changing traffic patterns then modifying the timing of traffic signals to improve traffic flow. The reduced transit times and fuel consumption will benefit both businesses and individuals. The value of this system to the public will far exceed its implementation and operations cost.

Everyone knows the impact of stop-and-go driving on automobile fuel consumption, city versus highway miles per gallon. Imagine the impact of reducing the number of time you have to stop at traffic lights by 50% or more. This could easily reduce your fuel consumption by 10%. For a household paying an average of $50 a week on gas, that equates to an annual saving of $260. Assuming a community of 100,000 households, as much as $26 million dollars a year is staying in the pockets of County residents.

The value to businesses could be even greater. In addition to the fuel savings they would also benefit from the reduction in transit time. This would enable their mobile workers to complete more tasks at lower cost. These savings and increased productivity would go directly to their bottom line.

By reducing transit times, the road system would be able to handle more traffic and help defer costly road expansions and the ATMS will also benefit public safety in a number of ways. Fewer stops mean fewer accidents. Most traffic accidents occur at intersections when drivers fail to stop in time. By coupling the ATMS with the emergency vehicle 911 dispatch systems, intersections can be preemptively cleared allowing those vehicles to more quickly respond to calls and possibly saving lives that would otherwise be lost.

Manatee County’s ATMS is a shining example of how thoughtful use of taxpayer dollars can provide value that far exceeds the cost. My hat is off to Manatee County’s Public Works department.

Mike McLaughlin was the Director of the Information Technology Department for Manatee County Government from September 2009 until January 2012.