City of Arlington Continues Coupling Vehicle-to-Infrastructure, Connected Vehicle Technologies to Enhance Regional Mobility
By Susan Schrock, Office of Communication
Posted on February 04, 2021, February 04, 2021

Courtesy of Audi

A data sharing agreement with Traffic Technology Services, Inc. (TTS) is the latest example of how the City of Arlington is collaborating with private companies to Enhance Regional Mobility through vehicle-to-infrastructure and connected vehicle technologies.

As part of this collaboration, TTS provides real-time information from the City’s 360 traffic signals directly to automotive original equipment manufactuers and app developers to help drivers adjust their speed for optimal travel time, safety and fuel economy. This information service allows applications to inform the driver a recommended reduced speed to avoid stopping at the intersection ahead, or how many seconds remain until a red light will turn green. Currently all newer Audi vehicles, and other select Volkswagen Group model vehicles, sold in North America support the feature Traffic Light Information. In addition, on Apple and Android stores is a mobile app, Sygic GPS Navigation, which provides an add-on feature utilizing the TTS service for red light countdowns.

“Arlington joins six other cities in the greater Dallas metro supporting our services for connected vehicles. While this is still an emerging technology, we have been providing this service since 2016 supporting thousands of drivers in the Dallas region. When multiplying the potential benefits when not stopping at red lights, that equates to thousands of gallons of fuel saved,” said Kiel Ova with TTS.

The benefits to the City of Arlington are in the form of reports about the City’s signalized operations and anonymized drivers’ experiences, such as arrivals on red. These reports can then lead to timing or other improvements at trouble intersections which can benefit all drivers. The TTS system is free to the City.

TTS has similar data sharing agreements across the country and the state, including several in the Dallas and Houston metro areas.

The City of Arlington’s Public Works and Transportation Department has also implemented smart technologies on 31 traffic signals and two school zone flashers to enhance traffic safety along Cooper Street between Lamar Boulevard and Harris Road. The innovative project, which aims to improve travel time and reduce traffic collisions, delays at signals and emergency vehicle response time, was recognized nationally last year as a 2020 Smart 50 Awards winner.

Enhance Regional Mobility, Put Technology to Work
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