At its April 25 meeting the township committee authorized an agreement with the state for implementing the Opticom traffic signal control and emergency pre-emption system on three intersections in the township: Scudders Mill Road and Dey Road, Scudders Mill and Schalks Crossing Road, and Scudders Mill and Campus Road (WW-P News, November 18, 2011).
Sheehan says the Plainsboro Fire District was interested in implementing Opticom, but there was a holdup because “it’s a little bit of a bureaucratic thing with the state.”
“The state has asked that we sign an agreement with them to maintain the system. This is a fire district project, and we [the township] will work with the fire district on that,” Sheehan said. Implementing the system carries no costs to municipal government, according to Sheehan.
Opticom is used by emergency service vehicles nationwide to change traffic light signals as they approach an intersection. On three sides of a four-way intersection, the light will expedite its cycle from green to yellow to red, stopping regular traffic. The light the emergency vehicle is approaching would then change to green to allow safer crossing of the intersection.
