City of Kirkland: Managing urban transportation networks in the era of Smart City technologies

St-Charles Boulevard is a vital corridor for economic development and urban mobility in the City of Kirkland. It connects to Highway 20 and 40, leading to the downtown core and outside Montreal Island. As a highly transited artery, it is plagued with traffic that exceeds the road’s maximum capacity, resulting in congestion issues. Severe traffic congestion has a high environmental cost, with increased Greenhouse Gas Emissions. It also triggers feelings of anxiety, stress, aggressiveness, and nervousness, impacting the quality of life for daily commuters. 
 
However, the City of Kirkland does not have a road network large enough to have a traffic control centre to monitor and manage the traffic flow, which is heavily impacted during peak hours. 

Therefore, the client asked for a system that would encompass: 

- New controllers compatible with the latest technology 

- Multimodal detection

- Real-time detection 

- Pre-emption at fire station

- Increased safety for pedestrians

- Decrease in traffic delays and traffic jams

Our team completed the traffic study and detail design phase for an improved Level of Service (LOS) for 10 of St-Charles Boulevard’s signalized intersections. The study proposed implementing an optimized traffic signal controller system and modifying the traffic signal controllers and existing traffic signals along the main boulevard to improve traffic flow.   

By integrating technology-based solutions into the design and implementing Smart City technologies—integrated communication systems utilized to optimize traffic signal timing and improve traffic flow—we are supporting the City of Kirkland with its transition to cloud-based, real-time data collection and optimization of its infrastructure to increase user safety and improve planning and operation. This system will enable traffic management with less city staff involvement and empower city officials and traffic engineers to make informed and near-real-time data-based decisions to improve sustainability and traffic efficiency. This installation will be a first in the province and a second in Canada. The first installation was the subject of a research study at the University of British Columbia in collaboration with Rogers.

Commuters in the City of Kirkland can expect to benefit from an improved experience, enjoying consistent traffic flow. Implementing the traffic management system using Smart City technologies will provide a more constant travel speed for drivers on St-Charles Boulevard, positively impacting drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, emergency vehicles, and public transport users.

The retiming of pedestrian signals and assignment of turning lanes will significantly improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow, making it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross the road and effectively managing traffic volumes.

By reducing traffic congestion, the route will also be more sustainable with lower CO2 emissions.