Atlanta Smart Corridor Project Aims to Improve Road Safety
by Team West
Cities like Atlanta developed fast in the 20th Century around the demands of the car. Their designers paid less attention to public transport, walkers and cyclists. This is changing thanks to projects like the Atlanta Smart Corridor Project that aims to make the city’s roads safer.
The project noted ITSInternational, is a partnership between the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the City of Atlanta and Georgia Tech.
Their smart city project is focused on the North Avenue Smart Corridor demonstration project. The initiative is funded by the Renew Atlanta Infrastructure Bond.
As Georgia area personal injury lawyers, we were interested to read about the promised safety enhancements.
The project will use the latest technology including adaptive signal systems. The idea is to create a more efficient and safer flow of transit, personal vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians.
Often when serious injuries occur in a car wreck the minutes after the crash before the victims get help are crucial. The project envisages an improved emergency response because fire engines and ambulances would be prioritized when traveling through the corridor.
Atlanta Smart Corridor Project aims to improve safety
The Corridor uses a feature called Surtrac to improve traffic flows. It’s an artificial intelligence-based signaling system with the potential to cut travel times by 25 percent.
However, safety is not compromised. The system aims to make travel more efficient by reducing wait times, not by increasing travel speeds. The reduction of stop and starts reduces wear and tear on vehicles and the road. It can reduce harmful emissions and improve air quality and cut accidents which may be caused by sudden stops.
Renew Atlanta said it is using a wide range of smart technology to improve traffic flows including video surveillance and detection, a connected vehicle system and Bluetooth travel time and origin-destination system. Renew Atlanta reported it restriped the corridor to improve and to make the road easier for self-driving vehicles to use in future.
North Avenue was chosen for the project because it’s a key east-west artery. It serves numerous destinations, institutions, and employment centers. The route connects to no less than 18 intersections and is served by numerous transit operators.
North Avenue experiences a higher than average accident rate. The city will be working with Georgia Tech to address accident rates on the Atlanta smart corridor project. Earlier in 2017, the City of Atlanta announced an expanded research partnership with Georgia Tech so as it could capture traffic data and turn into actionable information to improve operations.
Atlanta has a reputation as being a pedestrian-unfriendly city. However, the city is seeking to throw off this reputation via projects such as the Midtown Core Transportation Plan.
If you have been hurt in an accident in urban or suburban Atlanta or elsewhere in Georgia, please call the Law Offices of Michael West at (404) 913-1529.
