New technologies for a smarter city – Le Journal de Montreal

MONTREAL – The City of Montreal would benefit from further automate its transport and surveillance systems if it is to improve traffic flow and better secure the population

. This is what many think speakers took the floor at the Smart City exhibition in Montreal last week, where several experts and companies have offered ideas and technologies that enable cities to manage smarter infrastructure and services.

Although the City has just opened its first Urban Mobility Management Centre (CGMU), which will have 500 cameras and real-time management of many traffic lights, Martin Rivest, responsible and Technology innovation at the company Thales, believes that Montreal could do more.

As did the French city of Strasbourg there a few years ago, he proposed including the installation of sensors in the new cameras of CGMU and in the roadway to detect the traffic flow. With this data, the City can analyze the habits of motorists and make the necessary adjustments on the road network to reduce congestion.

Other sensors can be used to monitor the condition of its structures and identify weaknesses, allowing city departments to make repairs preventively before the infrastructure is deteriorating too.

“These instruments can even be used to locate vacant parking spaces, which is difficult in almost all major cities. The more information we have among the most hands that can optimize the flow, “Mr. Rivest said.

Securing the city

In 2009, Mexico City has launched a $ 400 million project to automate a number of public safety tools and tackle crime.

Thanks in 15 000 new cameras security sensors shots, license plate readers, and five new command centers, the response time of emergency services from 12 minutes to two minutes and the crime rate fell more 12% in the Mexican capital.

According to experts, similar technologies in Montreal allow service order to better manage security at major events such as sporting events or outdoor concerts.

With cameras equipped with incidents recognition systems, a command center can pinpoint problems faster and immediately alert the police on the ground, for example.

“Securing activities such as the Jazz Festival requires a complex logistics, sometimes it looks like crisis management,” said Mr. Rivest.

It also believes that the City could benefit from major savings as a better automated management of public security would reduce the number of agents assigned to monitor the field.