Knowing about road closures is critical for emergency services. Delays caused by construction and special events can cost valuable time in life-threatening incidents such as fires and medical emergencies.
In August 2017, Perth County and its partner municipality St. Marys began using the Municipal 511 system to reduce the chance of delays. Perth County is the first county in southwestern Ontario to utilize this innovative, map-based approach. This system allows users to click on a location to indicate different types of incidents and closures. Not only does this appear on the map, but it also is capable of sending emails out to public safety dispatch centres, emergency responders, municipal officials, school bus companies and the media. That communication includes a map of the location with precise details. That is invaluable information when personnel are responding to emergencies.
The general public can view Perth County closures and provincial road conditions at municipal511.ca
At the same time, it provides a responder portal (Responder 511) showing these closures at a glance to system users on a secure web page. That map also brings in other pertinent information that may impact their response:
. MTO road conditions and construction
. MTO Cameras and Official Weather Stations (ie. London Airport)
. Environment Canada (snow and rain radar, winds, temperature, humidity layers)
. High quality Google satellite maps and Street View
. Google traffic and incidents
. Waze Reports (January 2018)
Municipal 511 now provides a common-operating picture of what is happening in the County. This is valuable on a day-to-day basis but can be extremely valuable in major storms and community emergencies. This view is available to responders, emergency dispatch centres and municipal officials.
In January 2018, Perth County joined the Waze Connected Communities Program. This means Municipal 511 sends information to the Waze mobile application. Travelers now receive up-to-date closure information along their route through this smartphone app. Check out the Waze tab on this page for more information. Waze also posts relevant information to Google Maps.
This partnership between the municipalities and Municipal 511 provider Transnomis Systems is an example of how we can work together to improve services in Perth County in a very cost-effective way.