WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 - Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said last week that Congress must provide the funding needed to deploy transportation technologies now, calling on lawmakers to dedicate at least $1 billion a year in the next surface reauthorization bill for congestion busting high-tech solutions to the nation's traffic woes.

She said technology can be deployed much faster than crews can build roads, and suggested that even a small amount of funding dedicated to installing technology on the nation's roads and highways could lead to immediate returns in the fight to reduce the time people and products spend sitting in traffic.

"We have made significant gains in technology development, but there isn't enough funding to advance and implement these innovations as fast as commuters need the help," she said.

Peters said she knows of no funding for deployment of intelligent transportation technologies included in current drafts of the reauthorization package, noting an effort to dedicate funding for ITS deployment was authorized as part of SAFETEA-LU, but was stripped in conference, delaying by years any hope for a federal technology push.

The former transportation chief said technology like that being developed by Oak Ridge, TN - based Aldis, Inc. could have a significant impact reducing congestion on freeways and at intersections.

Peters, who now serves on the company's Board of Directors, said Aldis has commercialized the GridSmart product line, a single camera with an ultra-wide angle lens that tracks all movement in its field of view. The technology allows for real-time management of intersections, tracking cars, trucks, bicycles and pedestrians while recording turning movements, vehicle counts, types of vehicles and pedestrians.

Peters added much of the new technology, like the Aldis GridSmart, is cheaper to buy and maintain and does a better job of reducing congestion, pollution and delays. But deployment is slow because communities don't have enough cash on hand to convert older systems as fast as they would like.

"Technology leads the way in every other aspect of our daily lives," Peters said. "Yet we have left it by the side of the road when it comes time to set our federal transportation spending priorities," she added.

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