Don’t Overlook the Most Vulnerable Road Users in Your Smart City Data Rush

John Lower explains why smarter cities opt for traffic signal detection solutions that account for all users of their street networks, using data to make the invisible visible.

Until 1848, California’s gold was hiding in plain sight: invisible until the California Gold Rush created the largest mass migration in American history – bringing 300,000 people to California and resulting in the hasty development of roads and towns built to accommodate an influx of gold-diggers.

As we reflect on the significance of this historic event, which celebrates its 170th anniversary on January 24, 2018, there are some parallels to be drawn with the mass urbanization now driving smart cities and the need for mining of a similarly in-demand resource today.

Data is the New Gold

With global spending on smart cities projected to exceed $34 billion by 2020 in the drive to prepare cities for rapidly urbanizing populations, data will need to be extracted and leveraged in much the same way as gold was almost two centuries ago.

Indeed, as a growing number of cities begin their smart journeys, there is a new rush to install the hardware and technologies that will allow city officials to directly tap into civic infrastructure in a bid to monitor their communities and gauge what effect population growth is having. Smart cities usually begin by dealing with the major pain point of traffic congestion, and trend green by welcoming pedestrians and bicyclists – vulnerable road users (VRUs) – as growing and essential participants of smart communities. If your traffic signal detection does not detect, distinguish, and count pedestrians and bicyclists, you do not have these important data points – they are not made visible.

Less Haste, More Data

A major topic of discussion at Iteris’ sales meeting, held in Austin, Texas last week, was that the haste resulting from this smart-city data rush may in fact be clouding the judgment of agencies that are in the process of selecting their traffic signal operations technology.

To be consistent with the truest intentions of any smart city, signal systems must be equitable to all travel modes. But, unfortunately, some agencies are overlooking multimodal detection in favor of vehicle-only signal control.

They largely do so on the presumption that the product is easier to install and so is the obvious choice for getting smarter faster. The unavoidable downside to this line of thinking, however, is that vehicle-only detection does not harness multimodal data and so have very little, if any, public benefits for non-vehicle road users. This isn’t smart by any measure.

Another smart city tenet calls for transparency in the sharing of data with residents. If motorists expect to see pedestrians and bicyclists they will look for them, and the invisible become visible. The exponential innovation in smart cities is leading to vehicle-to-infrastructure advances for communicating VRU locations to connected vehicles. Cities that can’t distinguish VRUs also can’t communicate their presence, and can’t deliver the prosperity of health, safety and welfare to all modes of their traveling public.

The Shadow Factor

A true smart city’s selection of traffic signal detection will address all modes of travel, and deliver the most reliable detection through discernment between various kinds of shadow.

Having spent the best part of a decade working in teams that have been making continuous, industry-leading improvements to video detection algorithms, I can tell you that overcoming shadows cannot occur simply by recommending settings based on zip code. Rather, the four types of shadows – clouds, buildings, trees and adjacent vehicles – must be machine learned at each location and ingrained into ongoing detection operations. This is a key subtlety that the “quick to install” products cannot account for.

As a cyclist, I am thankful for the many sources of inspiration out there that serve as shining examples of progressive and equitable multimodal traffic signal systems.

A Beacon of Inspiration

Austin is one of 10 cities selected to take part in the Big Jump Project – a program designed to radically reimagine bicycling infrastructure while at the same time inspiring other communities nationwide to work towards a better future for bicyclists.

The initiative aims to double or triple bike ridership in Austin’s central core by convincing residents to ditch their cars for short trips – where cycling is faster, healthier and cheaper – and prove that when cities make smart changes more people ride bikes and communities become better places to live, work, play and learn.

Smart changes made to increase bicycling in Austin’s core include the use of Iteris’ VantageNext cameras at traffic signals along the protected bike lanes of 3rd Street. The detection system identifies bicycles no matter where they are positioned within the protected bikeway and makes the cycling experience safer and more convenient for users of all ages.

Austin’s BCycle bike share program kindly facilitated a group excursion for Iteris sales team members to experience firsthand the cameras’ detection of bicycles. And after a joyful ride through the Texan metropolis, subsequent conversation identified some interesting takeaways of opting for this multimodal approach:

• Using the same equipment that provides vehicle detection to also identify and count bicycles is a logical and seamless integration in and of itself, but will also measure progress on the Big Jump Project’s goals of doubling or tripling bike riding.
• Data on bike and pedestrian activity, which is provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week, will improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians when both are present, while also making vehicle traffic flow more efficient by reclaiming unused green signal time when neither are present.
• This data can also be communicated to connected and autonomous vehicles, and serve as a way to supplement on-vehicle detection to enhance the safety of vulnerable road users.
  

The Bottom Line

Just as the winners of the gold rush were equipped with the right tools at the right locations so many decades ago, so smart cities must deploy the right detection for all road users.

If your city’s traffic signal detection only recognizes vehicles then vital pedestrian and cyclist data are not being collected. And as the numbers of vulnerable road users inevitably grow, themselves becoming essential participants in smart communities, it is vital to ensure that your city is defined not by how many vehicles pass through but as a place where active people and socially responsible businesses want to be.

About the Author

John Lower is associate vice president, Roadway Sensors at Iteris.

Connect with John on LinkedIn.