10 Cities Raise Tech IQs In IBM Challenge

By Doug Henschen 11/27/2012 IBM's Smarter Cities Challenge helps 100 cities around the globe improve education, infrastructure, public safety and economic development. Look how 10 winning cities are tackling tough problems.

Edmonton Applies Analytics To Traffic Safety

As part of its 2009-2018 strategic plan, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, has adopted a "Vision Zero" goal for fatalities and serious injuries related to traffic accidents. The goal is ambitious given that this sprawling city had 27 traffic-related fatalities in 2010. The city won a Smarter Cities Challenge Grant in 2011 to develop ideas to improve the integration, analysis and dissemination of traffic-safety data. IBM's team recommended that the city create an analytics center of excellence and improve data governance within the city's Office of Traffic Safety. IBM also recommended ways to simplify safety performance measures, improve public access to traffic-safety and transit information with social media, and step up collaboration with industry and academia.

Edmonton has since responded to the report by engaging IBM to study integrating data on weather, road closures, road maintenance and police-enforcement activities. The goal is to create a real-time feed to inform traffic routing and traffic safety decisions. Edmonton is also working with Siemens on sensor-equipped transportation infrastructure and with analytics vendor PTV America on traffic-data monitoring and traffic-flow simulation.

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