Mayor Bloomberg today unveiled a new, state-of-the-art traffic management system that gives city engineers the ability to manage Midtown Manhattan gridlock from a control room in Queens.

The first-of-it’s-kind anti-traffic system — dubbed “Midtown in Motion” — utilizes more than 100 motion detectors, dozens of cameras and even anonymous location data gleaned from drivers’ EZ-Passes to beam real-time info to city Department of Transportation engineers.

Those engineers — sitting in a windowless control room in Long Island City — will then be able to tinker with traffic lights to better move cars through the city.

“We are now using the most sophisticated system of its kind in the nation to improve traffic flow on the City’s most congested streets – Midtown Manhattan,” said Mayor Bloomberg.

“The technology will allow traffic engineers to immediately identify congestion choke points as they occur and remotely alter traffic signal patterns to begin to clear up Midtown jams at the touch of a button.”

The traffic management system has real time info for a 110-sqaure-block radius, from 42nd to 57th Streets, bounded by Second and Sixth Avenues.

After six months, the city will review the data and determine if they should expand the system.

The same info that the engineers are using will also be made available to the public to help drivers avoid clogged roads.

(Source: NY Post)