City prepares for next-gen transportation technology

Local officials are launching a suite of pilot projects to get Edmonton ready for a revolution in transportation technology.

That includes a plan for smart traffic signals near South Edmonton Commons and downtown — traffic lights with a built-in computer to shift their signal cycles in real time. The city is also helping to test up to 10 electric vehicle charging stations at on-street parking spots, and is hosting a visit from a self-driving electric transit shuttle in November.

The shuttle test will be open to the public and tour through four different locations across the city, city officials said Tuesday at city council’s urban planning committee meeting, in discussion about their multi-pronged approach.

“It’s going to evolve much quicker than a lot of us expect,” Coun. Andrew Knack said, predicting a rapid shift toward seeing transportation as a service rather than a physical vehicle each person owns.

These little self-driving shuttles will be able to drive deep into Edmonton’s residential neighbourhoods to serve residents near their door step, then likely link together to provide frequent mass transit on the key transit avenues being established through Edmonton’s current bus route rethink, he said.

There’s a lot unknown about the future of transportation, but these tests should help Edmonton officials and residents better understand the technology now available. Much of the funding is from partner organizations.

“This is about climate,” said Coun. Michael Walters. “This is about reducing congestion, which has a major economic impact. It’s about cost and the movement of goods and people.”

The pilot project for the smart traffic signals is scheduled to roll out in early 2019, using mostly existing city signalling technology. City officials simply need to push the capacity further, identifying computer hardware and programming a stretch of signals to start changing cycles in real time.

They’ll add cameras and inductive loops embedded in the roadways to help the signals detect numbers of vehicles and pedestrians in the area, general supervisor Darryl Mullen said. Then each signal will also be able to share that intelligence with other signals in the corridor.

The south location will be 23 Avenue between Calgary Trail and 91 Street and the South Edmonton Common network. The downtown test will be focused on the exit route for Rogers Place patrons — 101 Street from 103a Avenue to 111 Avenue.

If these work well, they could tackle other congested locations and hope to test newer technology if funding is available.

Atco will be using a federal grant to install up to 10 electric charging stations on public land. Those will go in starting this fall, said Mike Mellross, the city’s program manager for energy transition.

City officials also are talking with Epcor to introduce charging stations at city facilities. Edmonton’s first electric buses arrive next year.

In other jurisdictions, the availability of charging stations has been key to encouraging more people to buy electric vehicles, said officials. Widespread adoption in Edmonton would mean better air quality, reduced noise pollution, fewer greenhouse gas emissions and annual savings for residents who own them.