Dive Brief:

• The City of Dallas selected Stockholm-based communications technology company Ericsson to install and host an Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS), based on the company's Connected Urban Transport solution. The system will include a central dashboard for monitoring, key performance indicators to track goals and a degree of automation, where systems can trigger or notify each other when certain conditions are met.
• With the system, city officials will be able to monitor real-time data from traffic sensors and cameras, and also control traffic lights, school flashers and message signs. Some intersections will come equipped with cameras and sensors that automatically dial 911 and allow dispatchers to select an appropriate response, according to the Dallas Business Journal.
• Ericsson started implementing the system at the end of 2017 and plans for the system to be operational by 2020, according to ZDNet.

Dive Insight:

In addition to synchronizing traffic signals and automating emergency response to accidents, the Ericsson system would allow Dallas to share data with adjoining cities to improve traffic conditions in the entire region. Implementing the technology on existing roads and at intersections is likely to be a much cheaper — and quicker — process than adding lanes to existing roads or other similar physical infrastructure projects would be.

Congestion has been a long-term struggle in the city, and the Dallas Innovation Alliance is already working in the West End to improve multi-modal transit and accessibility. Logistics companies list traffic congestion as one of their top concerns and traffic has been shown to cost consumers hundreds of billions of dollars each year — and $2.9 billion in Dallas alone.

In Pittsburgh, an AI system that allowed traffic lights to adapt to traffic conditions was shown to reduce travel time by 25%, braking by 30% and idling by more than 40% — and that was only in a pilot area. Given that Dallas is implementing a system in a wider swath of the city, and that the Ericsson system allows for automation and dynamic, real-time intervention, the city seems well-positioned to implement a system that makes traffic smarter and increases mobility for many of its residents.