Traffic War Rooms
The MTA is looking to create more centralized control for NYC Transit, which still operates with decentralized "towers" where rail traffic is directed through signals and over switches. NYCT is planning a central "war room" at a new facility at 53rd Street and 9th Avenue. From there, transit operators will be able to identify and locate every train in operation, which could help with needed service adjustments and in providing worthwhile information to riders. NYC DOT already has a central control center, but most its functionality is still limited by the lack of automatic street sensors and lights. Ongoing computerization of the city's traffic signals is included in the next five-year Transportation Improvement Program. Regional highway agencies will likely also develop control centers to monitor and direct traffic with their new closed-circuit cameras, traffic sensors, E-ZPass counters and variable message signs. Meanwhile, MTA is under fire for seeking new administrative digs in the highest rent part of Manhattan, instead of in cheaper business areas that could use office tenants, like Long Island City.
All this sounds futuristic (MTA offices excepted), and it is. NYC Transit, now selecting a contractor for the project, expects open the control center in 2002, and with full operations beginning in 2003.
