Green light for Australia-first pilot of AI-powered traffic signalling
Published 06 July 2026
- Council will embark on an Australia-first pilot of next generation traffic signal systems that can reduce the amount of time motorists spend unnecessarily waiting at red lights
- A collaboration with industry to pioneer the new technology, ensuring better traffic flow across the City’s road network
- The new technology enables traffic lights to be better managed and has the ability to prioritise traffic based on road user type such as buses and cyclists
City of Moreton Bay is pioneering new traffic signal technology with the potential to ease motorists’ frustrations over excessively long wait times at red lights.
Council will soon embark on this Australia-first pilot, with an AI-powered traffic signal control system analysing vehicle movements to substantially reduce unnecessary wait times and improve traffic flow.
The new method of managing traffic signals is a major shift from Australia’s long-standing signal control methodology of phase-based control, dating back to the 1980s. This old method operates on a pre-determined sequence and grouping of traffic lights, prioritised via a ‘first come, first served basis’.
The next generation (next-gen) traffic signal hardware instead runs on a ‘movement-based’ control system and manages individual movements without being tied to a pre-determined sequence or fixed grouping of traffic lights. The system is designed to reduce delays and wait times at signalised intersections.
Mayor Peter Flannery said Council was proud to be pioneering what promised to be a gamechanger for motorists and pedestrians.
“We’re excited to be the first in Australia to trial technology that has the very real potential to improve the flow of traffic around our road network,” he said.
“The technology effectively uses both AI and advanced algorithms to inform optimised traffic operations under a new traffic management approach.
“This means that higher traffic flows of vehicles including public transport can be prioritised dynamically throughout the day.
“There is the potential to substantially reduce the time motorists spend unnecessarily sitting at red lights, which is often constrained by legacy traffic control methods, and this can be extremely frustrating especially when there are no cars in sight.
“This presents the opportunity to reduce emissions as vehicles will idle less at traffic lights.”
“Plus, for the first time, traffic signals can be adjusted by individual movements using advanced traffic detection sensors so congestion can be better managed including when vehicles flood our local road network.
Importantly, Council is reducing the transition time between conflicting traffic light sequences while maintaining safe margins. This means drivers will spend less time waiting during the ‘all-red’ interval when an intersection is empty.
The new traffic technology is being tested at the intersection of Moreton Parade and Paper Avenue in Petrie and will be implemented at the intersection later this year.
Installation of the technology involves replacing existing traffic signal controllers at intersections with next-gen traffic signal hardware. This hardware instantly makes decisions about the most optimal way to control traffic even with in-ground loop detectors which is the existing method of vehicle detection.
To support the system, Council will also install advanced vehicle detection sensor technology to collect high-quality traffic data that will support traffic optimisation by classifying road user types (cars, trucks, pedestrians, cyclists) and predict traffic flow.
If the pilot at Moreton Parade and Paper Avenue, Petrie proves successful, Council will then move to test the technology at a more complex intersection.