The Institute of Transportation Studies Berkeley is helping shape Bay Area congestion management and beyond as part of an $11 million federal grant with the City of San Francisco to create and test pilot projects that have the potential to be replicated around the country.
ITS Director Alexandre Bayen joined Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx of the U.S. Department of Transportation and City of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee Friday, Jan. 6, 2017 to announce the federal funding for six innovative projects in San Francisco aimed to reduce traffic congestion and creating a safer and more efficient transportation system.
“We are excited to participate in this exciting endeavor to spur innovation in the area of advanced transportation technologies to improve lives,” says Bayen.
Projects include:
• New connected high-occupancy vehicle lanes for public transit and car pools
• Dedicated curb space for pick-up and drop-off by carpools
• Smart traffic signals to reduce congestion and improve safety
• Connected Vision Zero Safety Corridors to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists
• A connected, electronic toll system for the congestion pricing program at Treasure Island
• The deployment and testing of electronic, autonomous shuttles serving intra-island trips on Treasure Island.
UC Berkeley research, led by Transportation Sustainability Research Center Co-Director Susan Shaheen, will focus on developing a data dashboard and visualization tools for San Francisco, including data warehousing and analytics for the Congestion Management projects and beyond.
“We plan to leverage and grow our wide range of research expertise in the areas of urban data science and behavioral understanding across numerous disciplines on our campus and within ITS,” says Bayen. “We will document essential understanding, develop educational programs and curriculum, and connect and share the knowledge with external partners, im order to advance cities of the future.”
In addition, ITS researchers will help advance the city’s deep commitment to a “Vision Zero” corridor and increasing public transit travel time efficiency through a focus on smart traffic signals and conduct research on “pooling” and extend the research of pooling options through regional High Occupancy Vehicle lane network, as well as access to curb side infrastructure
Foxx, who experienced San Francisco traffic congestion during the morning commute prior to the press conference, is a strong proponent of encouraging local and regional governments to create innovative partnerships, like the City of San Francisco, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, San Francisco County Transportation Authority UC Berkeley, Superpublic smart city incubator partnership, to create their own traffic management solutions, which can then be replicated and adapted across the nation.
“Technology is transforming the way we move around our country and the most exciting innovation is happening at the local level,” says Foxx. “This grant will help San Francisco pioneer the transportation of the future — and share those innovations with the rest of the country.”
The award comes from the USDOT’s Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment program, a competitive grant program for the development, large-scale installation and operation of advanced transportation technologies to improve transportation safety, efficiency, system performance and infrastructure return on investment.
Projects funded with this grant build on the partnerships and ideas developed for USDOT’s original Smart City Challenge, and the goals remain the same: To harness emerging technological innovations to make transportation smarter and more equitable.
“San Francisco is pioneering advanced transportation technologies that will address traffic congestion, protect our environment and allow for a smarter and more equitable transportation system for all of San Francisco,” says Lee.