{"623248":{"#nid":"623248","#data":{"type":"news","title":"One Year Later: North Avenue Smart Corridor","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJust over a year ago in September 2017,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ipat.gatech.edu\/news\/city-atlanta-georgia-institute-technology-launch-north-avenue-smart-corridor-project\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ethe City of Atlanta and Georgia Tech launched the North Avenue Smart Corridor\u003C\/a\u003E. It\u0026rsquo;s the most connected corridor in Georgia and a living laboratory for traffic management through technology. The\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/renewatlantabond.com\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ERenew Atlanta infrastructure bond\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;is funding the approximately $3-million project and over the past year, the corridor has seen significant technology changes.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nHigh definition video cameras mounted at approximately 20 intersections detect how many cars are on the road, how fast they\u0026rsquo;re going, and the number of occupants. Thermal cameras recognize pedestrians and give them priority over vehicles to safely cross intersections. And, a smartphone app connects pedestrians, motorists, and cyclists to smart city technology and each other, sending out safety warnings about impending red lights and other dangerous traffic situations.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Renew Atlanta, the technology is paying off; the corridor\u0026mdash;stretching from Northside Drive to Freedom Parkway\u0026mdash;has seen improved travel times and a 25-percent reduction in vehicle crashes. \u0026ldquo;Ultimately it\u0026rsquo;s improved safety for everyone,\u0026rdquo; said Keary Lord, deputy program manager, Renew Atlanta Bond and TSPLOST Programs. \u0026ldquo;When you\u0026rsquo;re able to reduce crashes, you\u0026rsquo;re certainly going to reduce injuries and fatalities at the same time. So, it\u0026rsquo;s the safety benefit that\u0026rsquo;s the most significant.\u0026rdquo;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Tech is the City\u0026rsquo;s official research partner on the North Avenue project. Michael Hunter, associate professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, is leading Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s work on North Avenue and is developing a real-time model of the corridor. Sensors along the corridor connect to the model and send operation and vehicle location information to researchers and city officials. The goal: improve signal timing and energy use, and reduce emissions. \u0026ldquo;One of the major concepts of smart cities is this idea of turning data into actionable information. How do I take data and do something useful with it?\u0026rdquo; said Hunter.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHunter and his colleagues have spent the past nine months building the model and getting all of the data streams to work together consistently. They\u0026rsquo;re now calibrating a working version of the model and preparing to integrate it into the corridor, taking into account varying traffic conditions. \u0026ldquo;You want to be able to respond dynamically and in real-time to traffic conditions,\u0026rdquo; said Hunter. \u0026ldquo;Monday is not the same as Tuesday is not the same as Wednesday.\u0026rdquo;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nThe next phase of the project is the introduction of an autonomous shuttle in early 2019 which will run a route along North Avenue and Ponce de Leon Avenue and have two stops\u0026mdash;the North Avenue MARTA station and Ponce City Market, a popular destination in Midtown Atlanta. The City is also exploring other areas of Atlanta to deploy smart city technology; Campbellton Road is now the site of a smart transit corridor in partnership with MARTA.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJust over a year ago in September 2017,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ipat.gatech.edu\/news\/city-atlanta-georgia-institute-technology-launch-north-avenue-smart-corridor-project\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ethe City of Atlanta and Georgia Tech launched the North Avenue Smart Corridor\u003C\/a\u003E. It\u0026rsquo;s the most connected corridor in Georgia and a living laboratory for traffic management through technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Just over a year ago in September 2017, the City of Atlanta and Georgia Tech launched the North Avenue Smart Corridor. It\u2019s the most connected corridor in Georgia and a living laboratory for traffic management through technology."}],"uid":"27980","created_gmt":"2019-07-11 19:52:38","changed_gmt":"2019-10-07 14:41:45","author":"Alyson Key","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"69599","name":"IPaT"},{"id":"594329","name":"Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"167987","name":"smart cities"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAlyson Powell Key\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMarketing Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute for People and Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["alyson.powell@ipat.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}