Local services
Deputy Mayor, Ákos Balázs responsible for city management and environmental protection announced that a new city management centre will be built in Debrecen this year, with 365 million forints earmarked in the budget, adding that there is no such complex system in Hungary. In Budapest there has been a management centre for Budapest Transport Centre for decades, but it does not have the same wide-ranging tasks as the one for Debrecen.
Ákos Balázs added that the centre will be established for sustainable urban development and modernisation, in line with the principles of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan and the Green Code.
The Deputy Mayor added that traffic management will be carried out through the creation of a new centre, where traffic will be regulated on the basis of real-time data from cameras and sensors. The aim is to collect accurate and reliable data to support decision-making, ensuring the smooth running of the city’s transport network.
As an example, he mentioned that in heavy traffic situations, for example, public transport vehicles can be prioritised in real time.
As a first step, in 2024, the computers at the interchanges will be replaced and the traffic lights will be replaced by LED lights. By the end of this year, the physical site of the city control centre will be ready, providing 24-hour surveillance. The centre will also monitor the “Green Guard” (In Hungarian: Zöld Őrszem) and the public CCTV system.
The centre acts as a data centre, monitoring and managing traffic, tracking energy data from institutions, ensuring public safety through CCTV cameras and managing data from the Environmental Monitoring System’s monitoring stations. The analysis will be supported by artificial intelligence, while the human infrastructure will also be a major challenge, as well-trained, experienced engineers will be needed, an area in which Debrecen does not yet have much experience
Ákos Balázs pointed out that the aim is to modernise traffic management, for which a dynamic system using real-time data is to be developed, replacing the old fixed control programmes.
This year, the infrastructure of the city control centre will be built, equipment will be purchased and engineering support will be provided. The physical site of the centre is expected to be ready by late autumn, and the human resources and technical infrastructure will be built in parallel.
Ákos Balázs also said that Mayor László Papp has agreed with Minister of Construction and Transport, János Lázár that the traffic lights not only on the roads maintained by the city but also on the main roads managed by Hungarian Public Road Nonprofit Ltd. will be managed from the city management centre, so that they will be under one control.
Debrecen Városüzemeltető Kft. will play a key role in the operation of the city control centre., The company’s Strategic Director, Miklós Kálmánczi said that if everything is in one hand, it will be much easier to create green waves. He also mentioned that the replacement of the computers at the intersections and the replacement of the traffic lights with LED lights were already helping to improve safety and energy efficiency. Miklós Kálmánczi added that a traffic awareness campaign is also planned to be launched in connection with the development of the new city control centre.
Deputy Mayor Ákos Balázs added to this that new regulatory instruments are also being considered, and that they will consult with chambers of commerce and interest groups, for example on whether there should be a rule to prevent goods transport in the city during morning rush hour.
Source and photo credit:dehir.hu
Photo is an illustration (mntransportationresearch.org).
