sensors

Some upgrades to traffic lights could speed up your trip over the Macdonald Bridge in rush hour.

The provincial government plans to spend $700,000 to upgrade three intersections along Nantucket Avenue and five along North Street, according to a news release.

Minister Fred Tilley says the sensors will help get people through faster

“We’ve all sat at that red light, when it is green in the opposite direction, and there’s no traffic, and it can be frustrating as traffic lines up behind us,” says Tilley.

The sensors can detect which side has more traffic and, on the fly, switch the light to prioritize which side has more cars lined up.

The city will take care of the installation, implementation, and ongoing monitoring, the release says.

Those new sensors are coming to intersections at:

• Nantucket Avenue at Victoria Road
• Nantucket Avenue at Zatzman Sportsplex
• Nantucket Avenue at Wyse Road
• North Street at Gottingen Street
• North Street at Agricola Street
• North Street at Robie Street
• North Street at Windsor Street
• North Street at Oxford Street.

Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore says this is a practical way to improve the transportation infrastructure we already have.

“Not every improvement requires years of construction or major disruption — some of the most effective changes come from using smarter tools and better coordination,” wrote Fillmore in a news release from the mayor’s office.

He adds that people in the Halifax area expect multiple levels of government, like the municipality and the province, to work together on projects like this one.