The City of Bellevue, Wash., has been awarded a $1.43 million grant from the U.S Department of Transportation to pilot the use of technologies aimed at making pedestrians safer when they cross intersections.
The Real-Time Traffic Signal Safety Interventions (RTSSI) project will test the use of intelligent sensors, video analytics, deep learning and edge computing to detect risks for vulnerable road users and immediately adjust traffic signals.
“Our traffic signal systems are really optimized for vehicle throughput,” said Laura Milstead, a public information officer with the Bellevue Transportation Department. “Those signals aren’t dynamic enough and remain static for people who are walking through intersections, cycling through intersections, using a wheelchair in intersections.”
The tech being tested would be able to detect and classify different roadway users and be able to speak to the traffic signal system in place. For example, it would recognize if a pedestrian has not completed a crosswalk within the allotted time.
“The technology would provide a notification to the traffic signal controller cabinet to extend the interval for the crossing phase and hold any conflicting vehicle phases or traffic lights until that person has actually completed the crosswalk journey,” Milstead said.
Bellevue’s grant is part of more than $50 million awarded by the USDOT to 34 technology demonstration projects across the country as part of the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) program. Established under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the program is designed to help governments leverage advances in technology to create safer, more efficient, and more innovative transportation systems.
USDOT received a total of 321 application submissions, with the average amount of funding requested at $1,495,300.
Washington state’s Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation also received a grant, for $1.5 million, to improve roadway and intersection safety for tribal and other communities using tech, specifically with a sensing and alerting system on U.S. Route 97 that would collect key safety and road condition data and send safety messages in real time.
The City of Bellevue reports that 53% of all pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries are related to motorists’ failure to yield. The RTSSI project is part of the city’s Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic deaths and serious-injury collisions on city streets by 2030.
The SMART grants program is a two-stage program, with the first awards focusing on Stage 1 activities, including planning and prototyping.
Bellevue will prototype the proposed technologies at intersections in the Crossroads neighborhood, including the pedestrian-focused area around the BelRed light rail station and nearby schools, parks and shops. The project area will prioritize older adults and those with a disability. More than half of people living in or near Crossroads are over 65 or under 18, according to the City.
Bellevue expects to begin public engagement opportunities related to the project later this fall, with initial testing of the technologies starting in the spring of 2025.
The City of Seattle is also leaning on technology to make an impact on roadways. Seattle’s Department of Transportation has partnered with Google on “Project Green Light,” an initiative that uses artificial intelligence and driving trends from Google Maps to model traffic patterns and make recommendations for optimizing existing traffic light plans. The goal is to make traffic flow more efficiently and potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles stuck in stop-and-go traffic.
