Feb. 16-22, 2025, is Engineers Week. Join us as we spotlight some of the people behind the design, construction, and record-keeping of our city's streets, bridges, and water and sewer systems.
Meet Darren Campbell! A Rochester Adams High School graduate, Darren holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a specialization in Civil Engineering from Western Michigan University.
As a Professional Engineer licensed in the State of Michigan, Darren serves as the traffic engineering manager for the City of Battle Creek. In this role, he oversees the Signs and Signals Division, ensuring all city traffic control devices comply with current standards. Darren is also an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
What’s the best part of your job?
Using data and judgment to help guide the decision-making process.
What emerging technologies are you most excited about, and how do you see them impacting your work?
New intersection monitoring systems use artificial intelligence (AI) to help with detection and volume counts. Turning movement counts, used to help signalized intersections run efficiently, typically require pulling two people from other projects for an entire day to collect the data. These new systems are now capable of learning the vehicle paths and accurately acquiring that data in a format that can go directly into our models.
How do you see the theme "Design Your Future" reflected in your daily work and the projects you undertake? Can you share a specific example?
The oldest traffic controllers we have replaced are over 20 years old. When installing new equipment, we must ensure the technology best serves the intersection, corridor, and road network as a whole, knowing it will be in place for several decades. 