White House Smart Cities Initiative Uses Connected Vehicle Technology

On September 14, "the Administration announc(ed) a new 'Smart Cities' Initiative that will invest over $160 million in federal research and leverage more than 25 new technology collaborations to help local communities tackle key challenges such as reducing traffic congestion, fighting crime, fostering economic growth, managing the effects of a changing climate, and improving the delivery of city services," reads the White House Office of the Press Secretary Fact Sheet.

DOT is announcing awards today of up to $42 million in its first wave of Connected Vehicle Pilots, including $20 million for the installation of this technology in midtown Manhattan, and $17 million to address congestion in downtown Tampa.

Transportation was but one of many issues targeted to improve cities using the latest technological advances. "The efforts were also showcased at a Sept. 14 "White House Smart Cities Forum" in Washington, D.C.," reports the GCN staff. [Watch on YouTube.].

According to the press release by the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office of the Department of Transportation (DOT), Secretary Anthony Foxx "revealed that New York City, Wyoming, and Tampa, FL 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, reducing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, and cutting the unimpaired vehicle crash rate by 80 percent."

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.

The press release describes how the program will be applied in Tampa and Wyoming and includes the history of the Connected Vehicle Pilot Program, one of which is the Safety Pilot Program. "Research from [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)] shows that connected vehicle technology has the potential to address a very significant number of light vehicle crashes and heavy truck crashes by unimpaired drivers," notes the safety program's fact sheet.

Hat tip to Jennifer Scholtes of Political Morning Transportation.