Updated bike detection signal system operating at Northfield intersection

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – A new bicycle detection system at a Highway 3 intersection in Northfield was installed this month to replace the old system that had successfully been piloted since 2016, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The video system detects bicycles waiting at an intersection and triggers the signal at Highway 3 and Second Street West in Northfield. The system detects bikes at the intersection on Second Street West waiting to cross or turn onto Highway 3.

The system serves a route that sees steady, regular bicycle traffic through the day. The system can detect bicyclists and alert the traffic signal, much the way a vehicle is detected, to activate the system’s cycle to green and turn movements.

Weather, wind and visibility can affect the signal’s detection performance. The best chance for detection is when riders center themselves in their lane and stop on the bike symbol painted at the intersection. If they do not get detected and there are no vehicles with them to call the green, they will need to activate the pedestrian pushbuttons.

MnDOT and the city of Northfield have worked on this system through the years to improve service for the community’s bicyclists.

For a number of years, a loop system in the pavement activated the signal, but not all bikes could activate it. Approximately 10 years ago, MnDOT utilized a pilot study of a radar bicycle sensor that improved the responsiveness to bikes. The system eventually wore out and MnDOT sought funding for the video detection system that was installed recently.

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