FROM CQ WEEKLY – VANTAGE POINT
Oct. 26, 2009 – Page 2431
Is Technology a Way Through the Traffic?
By Colby Itkowitz, CQ Staff
When she was secretary of Transportation, for the final 27 months of the Bush administration, Mary E. Peters angered Congress by using some discretionary highway money at her disposal for a program that aimed to apply advanced technology to reduce congestion — rather than by just building more roads.
Now, after almost a year in her new role as transportation consultant, Peters is preparing to lobby Congress for similar technology in the next highway and transit authorization bill. Specifically, the one-time Arizona transportation director is promoting an advanced traffic-light system that adjusts for conditions — allowing cars through intersections, for instance, when no traffic is coming the other way. The sensory cameras are being developed by Aldis Inc., where Peters is a board member. (more…)