Touted as a new state-of-the-art traffic calming measure, the EARL smart traffic light system has been suspended in the city of Brossard.
Less than a month after installation, the Quebec Transport Ministry has pulled the plug on the city’s pilot project.
Said to be the first of its kind in the country, the Educational Awareness Reward Light, better known as EARL, now stands covered with a garbage bag stationed outside Académie Marie-Laurier school along Stranvinski Avenue.
According to the ministry, the project did not respect provincial protocols and could lead to confusion on the road and potential accidents. Ministry spokesperson Louis-André Bertrand said the traffic light did not comply with the provincial road sign standards.
“A red light should mean a stopping manoeuvre all over Quebec,” Bertrand said. “When a red light is used to slow down traffic, this can lead to confusion, hence create a security hazard.”
In addition, the installation of the EARL program did not respect the proper legal framework and process, Bertrand said.
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The city of Brossard, located just south of Montreal, never summited the engineering reports needed for the stamp of approval.
“There are a lot of pilot projects that we approve after analysis but it needs to be submitted first,” Bertrand said.
“Debacle is the right word,” said Brossard Mayor Doreen Assaad in regard to the situation.
Assaad claims the ministry’s guidelines for implementing pilot projects are too strict.
“There is an element of bureaucracy that for me is unnecessary. We’re not trying to implement something across the city. We’re talking about a test,” Assaad said.
“We’re are creating a file to demonstrate with data that it is worth proceeding to the next step.”
The city originally wanted to test the pilot project for a 90-day period.
When operational, the smart traffic light is red by default but turns green when drivers proceed at the permitted speed limit.
Legally, drivers did not have to stop at the red light; no penalties were or could be given.
Kalitech, the Quebec company behind the project, said the goal is to get drivers to instinctively slow down by reaching for the brake.
“This is a political issue between the city of Brossard and the MTQ,” Kalitech said in relation to the suspension.
The statement also said the company is waiting for a meeting with the ministry to evaluate the technology.
Assaad said her administration has not lost faith in the project, which she claims was inexpensive and did not incur any costs for the city.
Discussions with the ministry are ongoing.
In the meantime, the light will remain covered.
“There are 50 cities on a waiting list ready to buy the EARL system,” Assaad said. “I think that’s where there was a sense of, ‘We need to take a step back because it has gotten so popular, so fast.'”
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