Case Studies
Traffic Management from the Sky Tower
With 1.5 million people, thousands of kilometres of roads, and countless traffic lights, crossings, and intersections, managing Auckland’s traffic is a huge job.
Although most Aucklanders don’t know it, traffic in the city is monitored by a network of cameras and sensors that sends information back to a central management hub. When this centre moved to modern, high-tech premises, many of the city’s cameras and sensors needed an upgrade as well.
One major project involved upgrading and reinstalling the cameras in a complex, hazardous location – Auckland’s iconic Sky Tower.
CSL Infrastructure partnered with The Auckland Transport Operations Centre (ATOC) to source, test, and install the new equipment.
New location, new technology
ATOC’s central traffic management hub used to be housed in the old Auckland Harbour Bridge administration building. Earlier this year 2017, they made the move to larger premises with more modern equipment at Smales Farm.
More than 450 CCTV cameras and a number of sensors send live video and traffic data from all over Auckland to the Smales Farm hub. Technicians working at the centre use this information to control traffic lights and onramps for optimal traffic flow. The footage is also used by the NZ Police and other local entities when accidents or natural disasters occur.
Some key cameras are located on level 61 of the Sky Tower. These cameras give traffic management staff a unique bird’s eye view of the city. When these particular cameras needed to be replaced, CSLI’s vast traffic management experience and knowledge of Auckland’s systems made them an essential partner on the job.
Sourcing a solution
CSLI’s roles in the upgrade project were sourcing new cameras and building custom brackets to fix them to the outside of the tower.
The cameras – Hikvision 4K Laser PTZ – are the latest model, and include 36x zoom capability. They integrate with ATOC’s video management solution, so there was no need to upgrade that equipment.
To hold the cameras in place, CSLI designed and manufactured custom brackets to fit. Building brackets to hold expensive equipment in a location exposed to the elements meant extensive testing. They used a wind tunnel to assess the brackets, testing with wind speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour to ensure they were ready for anything.
Finally, CSLI managed the installation of the brackets and cameras – and it was no ordinary job. Because the project involved workers on the outside of the building, handling heavy, valuable equipment 61 storeys above the ground, an extremely thorough safety plan was put in place to manage risk.
High risk, great results
After an extensive, high risk project, the new brackets and cameras on the Sky Tower are now in place, and the Smales Farm ATOC team couldn’t be happier. The new equipment delivers better quality video and pictures to the team, which helps them make better traffic management decisions throughout the day.
Other stakeholders who use the data – like the NZ Police – have also been impressed with the results.
As Auckland continues to grow, traffic will increase, and ATOC’s traffic management needs will change. And CSLI will be there to find, test, and install new technical solutions whenever and wherever they’re needed.