The Press Herald of Portland, Maine recently ran an article discussing efforts to ease traffic on Forest Avenue, one of the busiest roadways in the entire state of Maine. These efforts center around the Surtrac intelligent traffic signal control system, and local residents and businesses are already taking notice after its installation.

Traffic is a major concern for commuters in most major cities, including Pittsburgh where drivers sit in their vehicles for 81 unnecessary hours each year. A hilly, gridless area with more bridges than any other US city, Pittsburgh can be a pain to navigate.

The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article exploring the ways that artificial intelligence can be used to reduce traffic in busy cities and neighborhoods. The article dives into issues of congestion, but also how these new technologies aim to reduce auto emissions and prioritize emergency vehicles and public transit.

Rapid Flow Technologies was recently featured on the podcast Going Deep with Aaron Watson! CEO Griffin Schultz sat down with Aaron to discuss Surtrac technology, its role in reducing traffic congestion, the future of smart cities, and more.

For Immediate Release
Press Contact: Griffin Schultz

March 26, 2018
412-301-5508
info@rapidflowtech.com

Idling in rush-hour traffic can be mind numbing. It also carries other costs. Traffic congestion costs the U.S. economy $121 billion a year, mostly due to lost productivity, and produces about 25 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions, Carnegie Mellon University professor of robotics

Pittsburgh’s application for the $50 million Smart City Challenge grant calls for a series of transportation spines, traffic signals that give priority to transit and freight vehicles, and an “electric avenue” between Downtown and Hazelwood for driverless vehicles charged at solar power stations.

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has strong existing ties with local universities when it comes to transportation. At Carnegie Mellon, researchers affiliated with the Traffic21 Institute, and an initiative known as Metro21, work on technology that has already been tested in the city.

It’s green lights all the way baby in parts of Pittsburgh due to the implementation of a decentralized traffic system overseen by a Carnegie Mellon robotics professor.

An East Liberty company that helped reduce traffic delays in that busy East End neighborhood is being recruited to do the same on the North Shore, where major sporting events and concerts routinely tie up traffic.