Roads And Traffic In Smart Cities

A major aspect of city life is the transportation network and the vehicular traffic they convey to and from various parts of the city. Naturally, they must be smoothly functional, regularly maintained, and integrated into an efficient network to achieve maximum potential.

A smart city should feature a highway and roadway system that connects formerly remote parts of the city – allowing people of all economic backgrounds to commute between their homes and public institutions such as hospitals, schools, and banks with ease.

Data is the core tenet of the Smart City, and it may be collected from various points across the metropolis through varied techniques such as roadside sensors and toll gate records. This data must be placed in the hands of efficient data analysts who can then discern crucial knowledge points and turn this into actionable items that contribute to a more effective city.  For instance, data gathered from roadside sensors can help data scientists learn that a certain part of the city is the most crowded area of the city every weekend. Using this piece of data, a decision can be made to deploy bigger numbers of law keepers into this area during the weekend to avoid untoward incidents. 

Monitoring traffic flow and high convergence points of traffic can help analyse and improve the current structure and organization of current roadways. For instance, if a beam-supported structure carries heavy traffic or large vehicles, then it could be decided to devote resources towards strengthening the supporting beams of the highway every five years or so. 

The simple concept of collecting road and traffic related statistics can lead to smart, practical changes that enrich the commute of a citizen. Smart and efficient execution of the above policies will continue the steady climb to smart-city greatness.