NewsLocal News

Actions

What's happening in those traffic study trucks?

Posted at 2:02 PM, Nov 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-15 15:02:21-05

Have you been wondering what those marked cars with the City of Omaha are doing? They're traffic study cars and they are collecting data on the city's roads with the goal of making it better and safer. 

Omaha street engineer Jeff Reisslemn said the people manning those vehicles are tracking every movement vehicles are making on the road to collect as much information as possible. 

Each year, counters collect data for about 300 intersections around Omaha and that is just a portion of the work needed. 

"We have about 11-hundred intersections in the city, so we, on average get to each of them every 3 to 5 years," Reissleman said. 

The data is used to see if traffic and turn lights are needed, to follow trends and to slow traffic in certain areas.