Abstract Manager

Travel demand driven by population growth is adding to the number of vehicles on the road and generating traffic congestion. As this trend continues, the quality of community life in major cities across Canada will be negatively impacted. Critical traffic congestion leads to economic loss and causes poor quality of life because the commuter’s daily routines and lifestyle are disrupted.

 There are many roads in Canada where the available capacity is limited because there is no possibility of widening to alleviate congestion.

 This presentation aims to increase the understanding of emerging Smart City technologies and identify general insights and guidance for their application based on our current project for the City of Kirkland. This project consisted of an initial traffic study for a corridor of 9 intersections with a six-lane cross-section and 2500 vehicle per hour in the peak direction. The existing traffic controllers and detection were limited in functionality and therefore an automated traffic management platform was investigated. The options reviewed allow agencies to digitize any intersection and transform it into a Connected and Smart intersection improving traffic flow and safety.  As part of our investigation, we assessed various existing technologies or pilot projects in various municipalities across Canada, whether implemented as part of a new subdivision or as a retrofit. In this presentation, we will identify design elements and the traffic context (where applicable) at these locations to find trends and discuss the specific elements from the project in the City of Kirkland.

 GHD is currently supporting our client with the transition to cloud-based, real-time data collection and optimization of their infrastructure to increase safety for users (motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists) and improve planning and operation. The system connected vehicles, an emerging key technology on our roads.  We will also discuss the many available features as well as upcoming ones.

 Our solution allows the City of Kirkland to improve the traffic flow and safety on an arterial road that is built to capacity in a continuously growing community and provides lasting community benefits such as reductions in CO2, reductions in travel delays and decrease in queue length.