As Dallas-area cities grapple with growth-related transportation problems and reduce fatalities, several are turning to AI.
Cities like Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, and McKinney are already using AI-powered technology to extend yellow lights when approaching cars aren't slowing down, or give police, ambulances, and fire trucks a green light. They are starting to give some help.
The city of Arlington announced this month that it is expanding a platform called NoTraffic, which it has piloted at multiple intersections over the past year. Using sensors and cameras, signals can be synchronized in real time and adjusted to traffic conditions. Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland and McKinney have already started using the technology, according to NoTraffic, the platform's developer.
NoTraffic claims that using its technology will “improve safety, reduce travel time and save on fuel costs.” It detects unusual traffic events, such as extending yellow lights to maintain cross traffic when an approaching car does not slow down or a freight vehicle needs extra time to stop. It depends on your ability to respond. It also prioritizes emergency vehicle traffic and helps improve pedestrian crossing safety.
Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, changing traffic patterns are making it difficult for planners to identify peak times and predict congestion.
“Traditionally, transportation planning involves studying the traffic situation and sometimes having someone actually go out on a street corner and stand there and count the number of cars over a period of time,” said Vice President of Public Sector Sales. Tom Cooper said. For no traffic. “A few weeks later, they go back to the office and plug something into the timing plan software that spits out a plan that can be programmed into the controller. And then, maybe after a while, they actually program the controller. If next week If traffic changes on Tuesday, that whole model will start to break down.”
As North Texas' population grows and traffic increases at the city's intersections, new technologies such as sensors can now provide a more complete picture of the ever-changing flow of traffic. . That data can then inform split-second decisions, such as turning on your lights to avoid a collision.
Arrington plans to spend an estimated $1 million on NoTraffic over the next two years. The money will come from bond funds earmarked for traffic light improvements.
Between 50 and 80 signalized intersections on Arlington Route 372 will be renovated by 2026, according to Senior Traffic Engineer Chris Funches.
But the city will save money that would have been spent on maintaining the existing traffic lights, Funches said. The technology works in conjunction with existing systems without installing any hardware other than radar sensors or cameras, allowing old and new signals to have the same functionality.
“We can use this technology to bring transportation infrastructure from 40, 50 years ago back to modern standards,” Cooper said.
The city of Arlington is already testing the system along the Matlock Road corridor and plans to roll it out to remaining intersections in the area and Cooper Street by the end of the year. Transportation leaders regularly consider what they can do to innovate and improve safety and have considered several platforms for upgrading their signals.
Funches said improved access to data on exactly what types of intersections occur will allow planners and public safety officials to better plan and respond to changing conditions. He said it would be.
“Today, there are 100 pedestrians at this intersection, they are traveling in a certain direction, 5,000 vehicles passing by, 50 bicycles passing by, 20 buses passing by, 18-wheelers passing by, I would say there were four of them,” Funches said. “Our previous system could not provide that information.”
Improved traffic flow reduces idle time and reduces emissions. A case study in Redlands, California, showed that the platform reduced emissions by 11 tons in two months and shaved hundreds of hours off predicted delay times.
Pedestrians could also benefit from more sophisticated planning.
“Typically, transportation planning and transportation technology is set up to serve vehicles, but we also have other populations of pedestrians and cyclists, and we have underserved communities. , those aren't typically part of that plan,” Cooper said. “Transportation equity is also a major part of what most government agencies want to achieve, and these technologies can help achieve those goals.”
