Mississauga (QEW) COMPASS System
The Mississauga COMPASS System, constructed on the Queen Elizabeth Way in 1975, was the first system installed in Ontario. It was designed to smooth the flow of traffic between Erin Mills Parkway and Hurontario Street, where large number of vehicles entering the freeway during morning rush hours created stop-and-go driving conditions.
The Traffic Operation Centre for the Mississauga COMPASS System is located at QEW and Highway 10. The major components of the system are similar to those used in other systems.
As of December 2002, the Mississauga COMPASS system consists of 18 CCTV cameras, two LED changeable message signs, 11 ramp metering stations and approximately 76 mainline vehicle detector stations.
Traffic Management Strategies
The Mississauga COMPASS System employs five traffic management
strategies that complement each other:
- Detection and Confirmation
- Incident Management
- Motorist Advisory
- Congestion Management
- Demand Management (see below)
Demand Management
Unique to the Mississauga COMPASS System is the use of Ramp Metering as a demand management strategy. Vehicle access to the freeway is regulated through the use of ramp metering signals on interchange ramps. These computer-controlled signals, which look like standard traffic signals, allow vehicles onto the freeway at a specified rate to maintain optimum traffic flows. At the same time, queue detectors prevent backups on the access ramps. Experience shows that ramp metering shortens overall trip times for motorists, even though there are short waits at the ramp signals. On the QEW, ramp metering has been placed on eastbound access ramps between Ford Drive and Cawthra Road. It only operates for about three hours in the morning on weekdays, yet makes a significant contribution towards improvement of traffic flows on the freeway.
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