Pub. 2 2019-2020 Issue 2

36 The two organizations are working, usually independently, to create an Integrated Corridor Management system that includes the following: • Managed lanes • Heavy rail • Light rail • Buses • Traveler information channels Howmight theseprograms involve asphalt? Data collection is a key part of the plan. Someof thedata comes fromradios embed- ded in buses and newer cars, which use short-range radios to share data with the cars’ manufacturers but can also be used to transmit anonymous data. Sensors can alsobe installed in the asphalt roads. Having communication between the road and the vehicles on it can be used for useful pur- poses such as keeping buses on sched- ule and snow plows moving (instead of idling at stop lights) when they are clear- ing roads of snow. UDOT has partnered with Panasonic to install sensors and to use a man- agement-system product called Cirrus. According to an online article on KSL.com by Liesl Nielson, the five-year partner- ship has been given $11.54 million under contract to install sensors along I-80, Big Cottonwood Canyon, and other sections of Utahhighways. Right now, theplan is for the sensors to communicate with connected vehicles belonging to the state so that the drivers can be alerted to issues such as traffic congestion. The central data platform known as CIRRUS will collect data, analyze it, and use applications that will make rec- ommendations. Recommendations will include suggestions about possible actions such as rerouting traffic or creating alerts. Utah isn’t the only state making fresh use of new technology. InToronto, a company called Sidewalk Labs, headquartered in London, has come up with crosswalks that use some of the tech- nology from self-driving cars in an attempt to reduce the number of pedestrian fatali- ties around theworld. That might not seem like an important problemto solve until you realize that the current number of annual fatalities is more than 270,000 people. Those deaths only take place because those people crossed a road. The high-tech crosswalks use cameras located on streetlights to track cars, cyclists, and people. Data is processed by a neural network. If the network realizes something dangerous is about to happen, it lights up road surfaces to warn anyone in the area. For example, a child who runs into traffic creates a red buffer zone. Drivers might not see the child, but they can’t ignore the color signal. Suppose someone who is looking at a smartphone crosses the street when the signal is red. Again, the sidewalk under their feet lights up as a warning to approaching cars. The system can even tell whether a cyclist is able to see a pedestrian or not, and create a warning for the cyclist if necessary. The system can create crosswalks when pedestrians step into the road, and disap- pear again when only cars are on the road. Size and shape can change, too; after sport- ing or cultural events, the crosswalk can increase to accommodate a larger-than- usual crowd, or stop lines can move in bad weather to allow cars the extra distance they need to stop their cars. You can easily find other projects on the internet. For example, NBCNEWS had an online article by David Cox dated June 25, 2018 about smart road technology. At that time, the Department of Transportation for Colorado had decided to do a five- year test that involved install sensors on Highway 285, approximately 80 miles southwest of Denver, for half a mile. Factory-made interlocking concrete slabs with Wi-Fi connectivity and pressure