UKIAH, CA – On Oct. 19, the Ukiah City Council signed off on the purchase of a traffic pre-emption system for fire department vehicles, directing staff to bring back the item for final approval at the Nov. 1 council meeting, according to the Ukiah Daily Journal.

The Opticom GPS (Global Positioning System) Priority Control System, manufactured by 3M Corporation, uses GPS technology to clear a path for an emergency vehicle by calculating its speed and location and then sending a signal to all upcoming traffic lights. According to Fire Prevention Capt./Deputy Fire Marshal Terry Israel, who presented the system to the council, its intent is to not only provide green lights for the fire engines, but also to clear intersections of congestion prior to their arrival.

The $100,020 price tag, which will be paid for by Measure S tax revenue, includes equipment for 10 vehicles and signals at all 14 of the city’s traffic light intersections, software to control the system, installation, and training according to the Ukiah Daily Journal. The system’s cost is a more than 50 percent discount from 3M’s usual price, available by special promotion through the end of the year.

The City Council also discussed the potential to share the system with the Ukiah Valley Fire District and Ukiah Ambulance, both of which respond within city limits. Should they be interested in equipping their vehicles with the GPS transmitters, the cost would only be $3,000 per vehicle since the city will have already paid for equipment at the traffic signals.

If purchase of the system is approved at the Nov. 1 meeting, it would likely be installed for full operation by early-2007, according to the Ukiah Daily Journal.