Committee sets May interviews for AI traffic-signal RFP and commissions quick timing study for Palm Boulevard connector

The Isle of Palms Public Safety Committee voted April 6 to interview all three proposers for an AI traffic-signal software request for proposals and to forward the committee’s recommendation to City Council. Committee members said one proposer could not attend the vendor session and that the interviews will be captured on video but not livestreamed so competitors do not see one another’s live answers.

Consultant Jennifer Beal, who has a retainer agreement with the city and joined the meeting to review the connector intersection, said the vendor proposals share a common “backbone” of timing and that many vendor approaches focus on detection and updated timing plans. “The backbone of these is going to be some sort of, you know, timing plan, timing system,” she said, adding vendors also differ in how they detect queues and switch plans based on conditions.

Beal recommended a separate, limited scope study—focused on timing and phase changes such as converting a protected/permitted left to a protected-arrow-only movement—so the city could pursue quicker, targeted improvements for the busy Palm Boulevard-to-connector movement before a full AI installation. She said a narrow timing-and-phasing scope could be implemented into the summer if the city acts quickly; the full AI vendor installation, she said, is likely to be completed in the fall once a contract is in place.

Committee members also discussed longer-term options the Department of Transportation would need to approve, including removing or rerouting a left-turn phase. Beal cautioned that eliminating a phase is an area study that affects traffic across the surrounding network and requires detailed coordination with DOT. “If we decide to remove that phase, we would have to have some really detailed discussions with the district traffic engineer,” she said.

The committee asked staff to bring one or more scope and fee proposals to Ways & Means for a time-sensitive timing study, and to begin vendor interviews on May 5 so the committee can recommend a most favorable respondent to City Council for contract consideration.