U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced at the New York City Joint Management Traffic Center that New York City, Wyoming, and Tampa, Fla., will receive up to $42 million to pilot next-generation technology in infrastructure and in vehicles to share and communicate anonymous information with each other and their surroundings in real time. As part of the Department of Transportation (USDOT) national Connected Vehicle Pilot deployment program, the locations were selected in a competitive process to go beyond traditional vehicle technologies to help drivers better use the roadways to get to work and appointments, relieve the stress caused by bottlenecks, and communicate with pedestrians on cell phones of approaching vehicles. This program, according to Foxx, aims to reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, and cut the unimpaired vehicle crash rate by 80%.
“Today’s announcement is a big step forward for the future of how we move in this country, from our rural communities to our biggest cities,” said Foxx. “It has been a core mission of the DOT to support promising new technologies, and through these types of smart investments we are opening the door to a safer and cleaner network and expanding how future generations travel.”
New York City will install vehicle to vehicle (V2V) technology in 10,000 city-owned vehicles, including cars, buses, and limousines that frequently travel in Midtown Manhattan, as well as vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) technology throughout Midtown. This includes upgrading traffic signals with V2I technology along avenues between 14th Street and 66th Street in Manhattan and throughout Brooklyn. Additionally, roadside units will be equipped with connected vehicle technology along the FDR Drive between 50th Street and 90th Street.
U.S. DOT also awarded $17 million to solve peak rush-hour congestion in downtown Tampa and to protect the city’s pedestrians by equipping their smart phones with the same connected technology being put into the vehicles. Tampa also committed to measuring the environmental benefits of using this technology.
In Wyoming, the focus will be on the efficient and safe movement of freight through the I-80 east-west corridor, which is critical to commercial heavy-duty vehicles. Approximately 11,000 to 16,000 vehicles travel this corridor every day, and by using V2V and V2I, Wyoming DOT intends to collect information and disseminate it to vehicles not equipped with the new technologies.
Following this announcement, Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s (ITS America) President and CEO Regina Hopper issued a statement in support of the measure.
“ITS America is thrilled to recognize New York City, Tampa, and Wyoming as the latest pioneers in the deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems that promise to save thousands of lives on our nation’s roads and revolutionize mobility as we know it,” Hopper said. “These projects will be critical for advancing the adoption of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication and putting innovative technologies to work preventing vehicle and pedestrian fatalities, moving freight more efficiently, and reducing traffic congestion which is stifling our cities and communities.”
The New York City DOT is a member of ITS America’s Leadership Circle.
