The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) has approved a plan to install McCain Inc.’s Transparity Traffic Management System (TMS) to control more than 500 signalized intersections across Canada’s most populated province.
Developed by McCain Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Austrian Swarco Group and a leader in the supply of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and equipment, Transparity TMS is a centralized software platform that proactively manages traffic flow and promotes mobility with real-time traffic data collection and management tools. The Transparity TMS software already has a successful track record in Canada, including a similarly-sized deployment in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Located near Hamilton in Ontario, McCain’s longtime Canadian partner and distributor, Innovative Traffic Solutions Inc., secured the agreement with the MTO and the rollout of the new software is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2019.
The modern design of the Transparity software architecture provides a simple, yet powerful means of gathering and displaying information for all system components, granting users access to data anytime, anywhere. The TMS platform will allow the MTO to:
- Monitor system-wide traffic conditions and devices
- Command innovative control strategies;
- Analyze performance and trends;
- Enable proactive management;
- Centralize documentation and inventory control;
- Ensure system integrity through data validation;
- Boost accountability through user security, controller and activity logs;
- Connect communities and jurisdictions;
- Enable connected vehicle applications.
The entire network will primarily be controlled from the MTO’s traffic management center in St. Catherines, Ontario, but the Transparity TMS software also enables each district to manage the system from their own locations. The flexibility of Transparity TMS plays perfectly into Ontario’s unique traffic management needs. With approximately 13 million residents, more than a third of Canada’s total population, Ontario covers a land mass 1.5 times the size of Texas. While much of the population is centered around major cities in the GTAH (Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton), Ottawa, and Windsor, the province also includes sparsely populated regions, all of which will be controlled by the Transparity TMS platform.
“The Ontario package showcases the best of Transparity TMS. In designing the Transparity platform, we recognized that adaptability to dynamic environments is critical to our customers,” explained McCain’s chief operating officer, Greg McKhann. “With the pace of technological innovation in traffic management, we are committed to creating products that not only outlive the current cycle but thrive well into the future.”
Innovative Traffic Solutions’ president, Frank Rao, said, “Transparity TMS will position the MTO’s five regions for the coming wave of transportation technology. The MTO is a forward-thinking agency and we’re excited to be working with them on this project,” he said. “Upgrading their current traffic management software will allow the MTO to continue to support their legacy controllers and transition to the new ATC controllers they are deploying, while future-proofing the agency for additional smart city functions as well as connected and autonomous vehicles.”
