Pittsburgh is one of the most innovative and forward-thinking cities in the United States. In 2022, the city will break ground on a smart city plan that will make it the most developed city in the world.
This new initiative includes plans for a high-speed fiber-optic network, autonomous vehicles, and energy-efficient projects. The goal is to make Pittsburgh more efficient, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of its citizens.
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What’s Happening?
Pittsburgh is anticipated to emerge as a global leader in smart city technology in the years to come.
The Department of Transportation launched the Smart City Challenge shortly before President Obama left office, offering a $40 million prize to the mid-sized American city with the best vision for how it might transform into a smart city. Only Columbus, Ohio, was chosen among 80 cities with their romantic plans for their US metropolises, with only one success.
The Loser—Maybe Not
What became of the losers, particularly Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of the six finalist cities in 2015? Well, Pittsburgh recently launched its smart-city initiatives nearly six years after the competition ended and on the heels of the federal government greenlighting a larger amount of smart-city cash.
The city pressed ahead with its proposals after failing to win the top prize instead of combining millions in local, state, and federal cash to implement portions of the plan, which focused on improving transportation efficiency.
With a city of around 300,000 people finally starting to dig for one of the critical aspects of its initial mission, a traffic management project dubbed “Smart Spines,” building a smart city is no simple job.
Time Machine
Pittsburgh’s city leaders were ecstatic in 2015 when they learned that the award would provide $2 million to transform their reputation as a post-industrial steel town.
In Pittsburgh, many people felt that the challenge was tailormade for them. The requirements were looking for a city that was positioning and concentrating on innovation and technological partnerships, which Pittsburgh adequately represents.
In its transportation plan, the city of Pittsburgh called for deploying an autonomous vehicle network. It includes the following:
- Creating sensor and CCTV-monitored traffic routes
- Conducting pilots to link people with transportation to healthcare-related appointments automatically
- Acquiring a new municipal electric car fleet (including charging stations)
- Establishing a smartphone app to report traffic issues and accidents
To summarize, the amount requested was approximately $100 million. The plan was that half of the money would come from the prize purse, with the city responsible for the rest. For comparison, Pittsburgh’s entire budget in 2015 was $505.9 million.
The Smart Spines
The city’s Smart Spines, a traffic-management system that will use technology to improve congestion and traffic flow in high-priority traffic corridors, is one of the first components of the original plan to be realized. The goal is to combine CCTV cameras and sensors with real-time traffic data to enable city officials to remotely adjust things like traffic signal timings.
The 3 Phases
In the first phase, city planners planned to construct 15 “advanced signal systems” in three phases, but the revised plan only includes eight corridors in two stages. The city has also started revamping its 40,000 street lights with LEDs, but it has not yet fitted them with the original plan’s light, environmental, and air-quality sensors.
The Smart Spines initiative is expected to start phase one of construction, with three routes initially built out. The remaining five will be built in a second phase. The project is currently underway, which is expected to cost $28.8 million and a further $11 million paid in federal funds, city money, and the remainder from the state.
The Impact
The initiative will upgrade approximately 150 intersections in total. The concept for Smart Spines is derived from an earlier—and yet ongoing project known as Scalable Urban Traffic Control (Surtrac). This intelligent traffic-control system began in 2012 to speed up road traffic and lower vehicle idling times.
The technology was created and has since been commercialized by Rapid Flow Technologies, a firm that specializes in wastewater treatment. The platform has been sold to 18 cities to date.
After installation, the Surtrac corridors reduced traffic bottlenecks by 40% and pollution by 20%. As of 2020, the Surtrac system is installed in 50 of the 610 traffic crossings in Pittsburgh, according to city officials. According to previous statements by city officials, they want to cover at least 200 crossings by Surtrac.
The Surtrac is the foundation for Smart Spines, which advocates for moving swiftly which would not be possible without the Smart City initiative.
Here’s Looking at You, (Kid) Pittsburgh!
We’re rooting for Pittsburgh and hope the initiative trickles forward to other cities. There’s no loser here, just winners and a bright future.
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