September - 20218 PropTechOutlookOPINIONIN MYWhy Smart Mobility is the Future of TravelBackgroundWith road traffic forecast to grow at alarming levels in the UK and elsewhere across Europe, council planners and transport authorities must keep our towns and cities accessible and people moving while also facing the challenges of improving the environment and making communities a healthy place to live.By combining new communications technology with the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to crunch vast amounts of data in real-time, the international firm Royal HaskoningDHV has demonstrated how it is possible to improve travel conditions on our clogged roads; not just for motorists but for all travellers. This article discusses the revolutionary Flowtack system which does just that!Congestion ­ A Blight In Modern LifeWe've all been there; stuck at traffic lights that never seem to change to green. Sitting in queues of cars that stretch on for miles or delayed by a glut of slow traffic that suddenly disappears. Traffic jams are a blight on our modern, fast-moving lives. But we've been dealing with them in a very unmodern way.Traffic management systems have struggled to keep pace with the dramatic changes in how we travel. Existing jam-busting measures are often slow to react to changes on the road and many traffic lights still work on timers that are often out of synchronisation with the current traffic demands, preventing free-flowing movement.Moreover, cyclists and pedestrians are often an after-thought in the planning and coordination of these systems.A Smarter Way AroundAs we witness a distinct shift in how people travel, here at Royal HaskoningDHV, we believe there is a smarter way to plan and manage our transport networks.So we have developed a new solution for traffic optimisation, called Flowtack, which optimises traffic flows at the local network level, also in situations where traffic flows change or deviate from normal conditions. This keeps traffic moving and offers urban transport managers more control.Flowtack detects areas with peak demand or congestion and changes the control of traffic lights to eliminate or prevent bottlenecks and to optimise the network.It can also prioritise emergency services, public transportation, and even pedestrians and cyclists. However, what sets it apart, is it uses existing traffic lights, thereby avoiding any new substantial on-street infrastructure and hence minimises costs to authorities and the local tax-payers.By Dr Marwan AL-Azzawi, Sector Lead Director ­ Mobility & Strategic Planning, Advisory Group UK, Royal HaskoningDHVIt is a cloud-based software that puts the traffic manager in control of the network and optimises the running in a coordinated plan to provide real-time responses to the travel demands at specific locations along a route or network area or even across an entire city.This reduces excess delays, maintains safety for the most vulnerable road users and maximises the capacity of the network for the greater good of all users, thereby improving accessibility and also managing air quality.
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