City to test green light pilot project for emergency vehicles

A plan to get ambulances and fire trucks to emergencies faster in Winnipeg is moving ahead.

The city has put out a request for proposals for a one-year pilot project that would see emergency vehicles get priority when seconds count.

“It saves lives, pure and simple," said Protection Committee Chair John Orlikow.

It’s known as emergency vehicle pre-emption or EVP. Fire trucks and ambulances approaching a signalized intersection would trigger the lights to turn green.

"That traffic pre-emption is part of the solution of getting lights and sirens where they need to go," said Coun. Sherri Rollins.

The pilot would test the technology at 10 intersections on 130 ambulances and fire trucks, to see how reliable the system works, and if it can be done without significantly disrupting traffic.

The trial is also needed to determine if this is feasible on a larger scale, with 140 emergency vehicles and 800 intersections.

"We need the pilot to figure out what type of pre-emption we need," said Orlikow. “City-wide, regional streets, collector streets, so that's what it's for and testing out the technology."

The green light pre-emption is also seen as a necessity as the city has a plan to consolidate fire paramedic stations from 30 to 24, meaning in some cases, there could be more ground to cover.

A study last year concluded the EVP system could cut down on collisions involving emergency vehicles, and reduce the average response time to serious calls for first responders by 54 seconds or 20 per cent.

"My timeline as a city councillor is sort of the seven, eight-minute mark and when we're not hitting that it could be because traffic is stalled," said Rollins.

The RFP says the pilot project cost is $125,000.