A new smart device has been developed in conjunction with Glasgow City Council to allow a local bike bus team to control the traffic lights at a busy junction in order for children to pass through it safely.
The device, created by Sm@rt Technologies Ltd, allows the lead bike in the group to stop the traffic for a period of 45 seconds so that the whole group can get through the busy section together.
The Shawlands Bike Bus group have called it a “game changer” and several other similar organisations have expressed an interest in getting some sort of tech like this for themselves after seeing it in action on Twitter.
Sharing a picture of the smart device alongside a video of children safely cycling to school this week, they said: “It’s a game changer, and a UK first?! We still want safe segregated infrastructure but until then this will help so much.”
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Scottish Greens councillor for Edinburgh city centre Claire Miller echoed the sentiments shared by the Shawlands Bike Bus group and said they needed them in action as well. The tweet was also picked up by several similar bike bus groups in Ireland and the UK who were impressed by the technology and wanted something similar created in their locality as well.
The smart device uses a military encrypted signal to pause the traffic lights for a period of 45 seconds and is set up to work at a specific junction during a certain time slot every week.
The Shawlands Bike Bus group is in operation every Friday during term time, so it allows them to control the traffic at the junction between Kilmarnock Road and Moss-side Road between 8.30am and 9am on Fridays.
The Sm@rt Technologies Ltd was specifically developed for Glasgow City Council and is believed to be unique within the UK. However, given the reception it has received online already it is likely we’ll see similar devices in operation around the country before too long.
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