Toronto will use AI software to reduce congestionToronto city council has approved an updated traffic congestion management plan, which includes calls for hiking certain traffic fines and a pilot project for using new AI technology. Nick Westoll reports. https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/03/21/toronto-traffic-congestion-management-plan/?
As part of that direction, officials with Rogers Communications—the parent company of CityNews—said the company, in partnership with NoTraffic, is installing a 5G-driven artificial intelligence system at five intersections. The cameras will be on University Avenue and York Street at Adelaide Street West, King Street West, Wellington Street West, Front Street West, and Bremner Boulevard.
The system will capture real-time data about traffic volumes, speeds and congestion levels at the intersections.
The pilot project will begin with a months-long phase focusing on data collection. The City of Toronto will then use the AI software to determine what improvements could be made to help ease congestion at the intersections. Rogers staff said the technology would eventually be able to analyze and manage traffic in real-time, including through AI-powered traffic signal adjustments.
During a visit to University Avenue and Adelaide Street West on Thursday, Dayal explained the cameras anonymize faces and capture vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. He said the only data captured is how people are travelling.
“Having that bird’s eye view of the intersection, you can have a real appreciation of the conditions in real-time,” Dayal told CityNews.
“What happens is these (traffic signals) are on a fixed timeline and now what you have the ability to do is to control the intersections more dynamically.
“The idea here is being able to monitor what’s happening in the intersection … to adjust to where the queueing is happening, or where the traffic is flowing from, will obviously then give you an opportunity to improve the idle time which obviously is contributing to loss of productivity, but also greenhouse gases.”