Everyone knows what to do when they see the yellow caution light, but crossing guards and parents can tell you when school lets out early those lights aren't on and safety becomes more of an issue. But, all that's changing.

Caution lights are critical to the safety of school children and the crossing guards that act as the buffer between children and traffic. But outdated traffic systems have prevented the city's public works traffic division from timing traffic signals with school schedules when times vary.

Until now, programming traffic lights required workers to manually change settings, but a $18 million upgrade to the city's traffic management system means engineers like Matthew Weisman can monitor roadways remotely. There have already been cameras installed at eight traffic lights.

Although not all repairs will be fixable remotely, the state funded project is just the first phase of implementation. By 2012, all the traffic controllers will be replaced, monitoring cameras installed and coordination with emergency services will be in place to respond to traffic accidents even faster.

But for now, parents can rest easier knowing that picking up their children from school will be timed with traffic signals.

Gainesville's Public Works plans to have their website up and running soon so residents will be able to see what the traffic looks like on the roads before heading out the door.