Locals have been noticing that the traffic has been flowing better this season in Gulf Shores. The west bound lane, south of the bridge on Hwy. 59 was one reason but a big reason was the new software and devices installed at intersections.

During a Gulf Shores City Council meeting Jenny Wolfschlag, a city engineer, explained how the system is operating and making traffic flow better for tourist and residents in the community.

Using rich data analytics, Gulf Shores utilizes Centracs software to control signal systems. The signal control system can dynamically adjust signal timings based based on real-time traffic, leading to faster travel times. It also uses historical data to predict varying traffic patterns.

The system also prioritizes emergency vehicles. The official Gulf Shores emergency units have preemptive devices so that the signal will detect if a fire truck is coming and automatically turn a light green for the emergency vehicle. It will also communicate to the next signal for fast and safe passage.

To provide the data for the system locals may notice small radar boxes at an intersection. There are typically two at an intersection and each has a 110 degree field of view. The EVO radar can detect vehicles up to 900 feet away.

Gulf Shores was selected as the first city in Alabama to utilize DERQ. The AI platforms not only helps with vehicle traffic, it can also recognize pedestrian traffic and integrate them into the rest of the traffic configuration. In such a tourist driven destination this has become vital in pathway areas. DERQ's mission is to eliminate road fatalities and provide safer and smarter roadways.

This Next Generation traffic detection is designed to reduce accidents, record violations and provide data analysis to traffic engineers for better configuration.

The AI of these systems is constantly monitoring the roadways and logging the vehicle types and actions to better understand the patterns in Gulf Shores.

Best of all, these systems grow in efficiency each day with the data storage and analysis.