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

  • ‘Just the beginning’ for Cyprus’ smart traffic management
    February 26, 2014
    Transport ministry officials in Cyprus have launched the Channel programme, a real-time traffic monitoring system that aims to alert motorists through smart technology of delays, traffic jams, accidents, road works and parking spaces. Part of the Cyprus-Greece Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2007 to 2013, the channel programme is 80 per cent EU-funded. The objective is to improve traffic conditions on major roads in Cyprus. Drivers will be able to access the system via internet, mobile phones and t
  • Melbourne to ‘increase non-car road space’ over 10 years
    November 5, 2019
    The Australian city of Melbourne is proposing a 10-year plan to deliver more space for pedestrians, public transport users and cyclists.
  • ITS instrumental in reducing Texan congestion
    September 4, 2018
    ITS projects in the Houston area have seen costs crunched – and even a system failure has proved valuable in analysing performance. David Crawford reports on developments in the Lone Star state Savings by Texan public agencies are major factors in the recent ITS Texas awards, recognising beneficial initiatives in bridge strike prevention and traffic intersection control. In the first, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)’s Houston District, covering the state’s most populous city and its surround
  • Aeye has eyes on the lidar prize
    September 20, 2022
    AEye and its system integrator partners are showcasing the unrivalled flexibility of software-configurable Lidar to support any ITS application and improved 3D perception. Demonstrations include long- and short-range detection capabilities for automated tolling, incident detection, pedestrian traffic flow and smart intersection safety, powered by AEye’s 4Sight perception solution.