Skip to main content

Smart Surrey invests in traffic management

The City of Surrey in Vancouver, British Columbia has released its ‘Smart Surrey Strategy’ which will serve as a guide for how technology and innovation are considered in decisions made for existing and future City plans, programs and infrastructure. The Smart Surrey Strategy comprises numerous current and future initiatives including the City’s state-of-the-art traffic management centre, an innovation boulevard, the district energy program, and plans for the City to operate the only fully-integrated clo
July 9, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
The City of Surrey in Vancouver, British Columbia has released its ‘Smart Surrey Strategy’ which will serve as a guide for how technology and innovation are considered in decisions made for existing and future City plans, programs and infrastructure.

The Smart Surrey Strategy comprises numerous current and future initiatives including the City’s state-of-the-art traffic management centre, an innovation boulevard, the district energy program, and plans for the City to operate the only fully-integrated closed-loop waste management system in North America.

Traffic congestion is a problem in British Columbia’s second-largest city, which is home to the Fraser Surrey Docks, railway lines, two US border crossings and many logistics companies.

The city council is tackling the issue with high-tech solutions as more drivers use the city roads to avoid paying tolls on the new Port Mann Bridge. The traffic management centre, which city staff have described as the most advanced in BC, is expected to increase its 178-camera closed circuit television network to 178 cameras, allowing staff to monitor traffic patterns and adjust signals in real time to reroute traffic around accidents.

The city also plans to expand its traffic signal co-ordination network along 29 corridors each year, while all 340 of its traffic signals will be updated by December 2014 to provide round-the-clock traffic count data every day.

“Several exciting innovative initiatives are already underway in Surrey,” said Councillor Bruce Hayne, Chair of the Innovation and Investment Committee. “A good example is the traffic management centre, which will begin operating in the fall; this system allows adjustments of traffic signals based on real-time traffic flow. It is the most advanced municipal centre of its kind in BC.”

Related Content

  • Mayor unveils expanded traffic-busting plans to keep London moving
    September 30, 2015
    The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has unveiled the new measures Transport for London (TfL) is introducing to ease traffic in the capital and minimise disruption on the roads as major work to improve the network continues as part of the Mayor’s US$6 billion Road Modernisation Plan. The innovations include: Trials of new technology - for the first time on the TfL road network a new generation of digital road signs will provide people with real-time information on journeys using major routes into London.
  • Report: Priority funding for rail projects drives investments in Turkey
    January 22, 2015
    Turkish railways have undergone a complete overhaul due to significant investments over the last five years. In the majority of rail projects currently under way, investment is directed towards the construction of new high-speed rail (HSR) lines, electrification, extensions and upgrading of existing infrastructure. With u$18 billion allocated for the rail sector as part of the Turkey Vision 2023 plan, the country is expected to have a total conventional rail network length of 25,940 kilometres and a HSR net
  • Trust AI – it knows more than we do
    January 14, 2020
    There’s no shortage of data – but making the most of it is the problem. Andrew Bunn examines how AI will be able to support and influence the development of advanced transportation strategies
  • SwRI uses AI on Tennessee integrated corridor
    April 22, 2021
    SwRI is developing machine learning algorithms to help coordinate traffic management