NAPLES, Fla. — Anyone who has driven on Southwest Florida roadways can tell you how crazy the traffic can get. The City of Naples will be getting some new technology that could help alleviate the congestion. Wednesday, city council approved the purchase of equipment that will update 40 traffic signals to calculate how many cars are at busy intersections.
"They're really trying to see how many cars are on the road and when the busiest times are, so they can maybe adjust the light timing," said John Benkert, a senior vice president of Cigent Technology.
Benkert said the high-tech traffic equipment is used all over the world, especially in areas with heavy traffic. Since the new tech would sync with the Bluetooth in vehicles - to determine data such as how long it takes to get from one traffic signal to another - he said that the while potential for security issues is low, but not impossible.
"If you plug in a connect Bluetooth to your phone, for instance, your contacts could be downloaded," Benkert said.
But as long as city staff keeps the software updated, Benkert said that the information cars send over Bluetooth should be safe from hackers.
"Bluetooth has its issues just like every other transmission protocol does," he said. "It's up to the end user, in this case the city, to make sure everything is updated for security purposes."
The City of Naples will use a $129,000 grant from the Florida Department of Transportation to pay for the new traffic technology, which should be installed in the next several months.
