System to give green lights to emergency vehicles could improve response times: report

A new report at Winnipeg City Hall says giving fire trucks and ambulances green lights on the way to calls would improve response times.

The study done by MORR Transportation Consulting says an Emergency Vehicle Pre-Emption System (EVP), would cut response times by 20 per cent.

The system ensures emergency vehicles have green lights while they’re rushing to a scene

It estimated EVP would result in a 54 second decrease on the existing average time for vehicles arriving to the most serious calls. This would extend the coverage area of existing stations according to the report.

It also says the system could reduce collisions involving responding emergency vehicles, in particular at intersections where they are travelling through red lights now.

While the study says in some cases, EVP can cut down on traffic delays, in many instances it can increase traffic delays where a signal change throws off synchronization with nearby intersections.

The report says the next step is to study how much it would cost to implement this across Winnipeg.

The report looks at two options from other jurisdictions. One is where the vehicles are equipped with emitters and the traffic signals are fitted with corresponding receivers.

But is says a lot of those places are moving towards a central decision making facility to send communications, like Winnipeg’s Traffic Management Centre, which allows for city-wide service at a similar or lower cost.