Public Agencies Turn to Miovision to Create Foundation for Smart Cities
November 3, 2017
BUSINESS WIRE, KITCHENER, ON (NOV 1, 2017)
Miovision, a global leader in smart city technology, is helping hundreds of cities and government agencies around the world implement smart city technology at traffic intersections. The company today announced details of its work with four public agencies: the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the City of Stratford (Ontario), Orange County (Florida) and Pima County (Arizona).
Miovision’s smart intersection solutions improve existing traffic flow, commute times, public safety and urban planning while helping communities take the first steps toward a full-scale smart city. Because Miovision technology is open, cities can use it as the foundation for smart city innovation. More than 17,000 cities around the world have implemented Miovision technology.
“Intersections really are the perfect place to launch smart city initiatives because smart intersections provide immediate benefits for residents while setting cities up for future technology innovation,” said Kurtis McBride, CEO and co-founder of Miovision. “In the short term, drivers can get to their destinations more quickly and safely, and in the longer term, connected intersections create a network on which future innovation can be built.”
Massachusetts Department of Transportation: Using data to improve traffic flow
MassDOT improved commuter travel times and signal optimization after installing Miovision TrafficLink at several intersections around the state. As part of a Federal Highway Administration pilot program, the agency sought to implement automated traffic signal performance measures (ATSPMs) and use hard data to measure signal performance. By using Miovision technology to connect traffic signals to the network, MassDOT was able to remotely control signal timing, diagnose problems from a central location and proactively respond to problems before they got worse. With TrafficLink, MassDOT reduced split failures — instances where a line of traffic wasn’t able to clear an intersection during a single green light — by 44%.
“The data we collected with Miovision’s sensors enabled us to make real changes to improve traffic flow,” said Jeff Gomes, traffic engineer at MassDOT. “For example, we found multiple intersections where left-turn lanes were backed up during evening rush hours and blocking neighboring lanes. Thanks to Miovision, we had the data to know that lengthening the turn lane’s green light for just a few seconds would dramatically improve traffic flow for the entire intersection.”
Besides improving traffic flow at these intersections, implementing Miovision has enabled the agency to see all traffic data on a single platform and made it easy to share data between agencies so they can establish common data-driven goals and measure performance based on the same metrics.
Stratford, Ontario: Becoming Canada’s first connected car city
As part of a far-reaching smart city strategy, the City of Stratford plans to be the first city in Canada to not only embrace autonomous vehicles but build the connected infrastructure needed to communicate with the cars on the streets. The city’s economic development corporation, investStratford, tapped Miovision to build the network that will be installed at all of Stratford’s 24 traffic signals and the applications that will allow the vehicles and infrastructure to communicate with each other. When connected cars approach an intersection, the systems in the car will communicate with the intersection to know when the light is going to change, what is happening with the cross traffic, whether there are emergency vehicles to yield to, or whether there are road hazards such as construction or ice to avoid.
A big reason investStratford chose Miovision, which partnered with Escrypt on the project, is that Miovision’s software is based on an open architecture, which will allow other companies to build innovative applications on top of the system. The network will collect troves of data on how traffic moves and how infrastructure responds, which help the city optimize performance and could inspire future entrepreneurs to create new services to benefit residents.
“We have a big vision for the future of our city, and we know technology is going to be at the heart of it,” said Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson. “We also know that technology changes fast so we aren’t trying to build all of the solutions now. We want to create the infrastructure and put the supporting pieces in place to support the future ideas that haven’t even been thought of yet. That’s why Miovision was so appealing.”
Orange County, Florida: Remotely controlling signals for better traffic flow
In Orange County, some remote traffic signals had no connectivity, so traffic managers didn’t know when there was a problem with a light until a resident or police officer called to report. That meant a flashing or broken light could go for an extended period without being fixed. The lack of connectivity was not only inefficient but potentially dangerous for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
By installing Miovision’s SmartLink devices, Orange County was able to provide remote connectivity and communications at several intersections. Now, when there is a problem, the central signal controller is automatically notified so it can be fixed quickly. The county also uses the devices to collect traffic and signal data to make better operational decisions, maintain the network remotely and ensure that traffic keeps moving safely and efficiently.
“The implementation of Miovision technology has helped us solve the immediate problem of not knowing when we had a problem at an intersection,” said Hazem El-Assar, Orange County’s chief engineer. “Our technicians used to spend most of their days traveling back and forth to troubleshoot problems at those remote intersections. Now they can do most of their troubleshooting and timing adjustments remotely in minutes. More important, Miovision is helping us establish the network and data we need to make better long-term decisions that will improve life for our residents.”
Pima County, Arizona: Monitor intersections remotely to improve traffic flow
When the Arizona Department of Transportation launched a construction project along the Interstate 10 corridor last year, it required the closure of a freeway on and off ramp at a major east-west arterial through the Tucson metropolitan area for about two years. Knowing the closure would create huge ripple effects for traffic along several nearby roads, Pima County installed several Miovision devices to remotely monitor traffic signals, collect data and measure traffic patterns before, during and after construction.
The new data helped traffic managers not only mitigate the impact of the construction project but also uncover unexpected ways to improve traffic flows at other intersections where poor signal timing led to interrupted traffic progression, long waits at intersections and traffic lines that didn’t clear during the traffic signal cycle. Armed with that information and the new ability to analyze signal performance remotely, Pima County was able to resolve problems more quickly, improving the driving experience for residents, reducing congestion, improving safety and lowering emissions caused by idling vehicles.
“We’ve been able to make substantial improvements that have real impact on the quality of life of our residents – not only for the drivers who now spend less time in traffic and experience less frustration, but also for the surrounding neighborhoods and businesses who do not have to fight with the arterial congestion to access their properties,” said Michelle Montagnino, civil engineer at the Pima County DOT.
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