via City of Falls Church Office of Communications
Monday, August 12, 2024 — Today, the City of Falls Church, in collaboration with Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute (VTTI) Division for Technology Implementation, officially kicked off the first phase of the Smart Cities Program. Smart Cities will leverage advanced technologies to address the City’s and community’s transportation needs.
The $10 million technology investment for intersection modernization and smart intersection deployment will implement innovative technologies from VTTI and be administered by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the City.
The grant will be strategically utilized to:
- Conduct a comprehensive analysis of the City’s and community’s specific needs.
- Identify and select cutting-edge technologies that can effectively address these needs.
- Implement these technologies in a real-world environment within the City.
- Evaluate the impact of these technologies on the environment, safety, and quality of life from the residents’ perspective.
- Develop foundational standards for future Smart City initiatives.
Being a testbed for Smart Cities technology is an exciting opportunity for the City of Falls Church to gain capabilities like signal timings that change based on real-time roadway conditions, smart intersections that can detect pedestrians, and adaptive street lighting that dims based on twilight hours, environmental conditions, and motion.
“This innovative technology will improve pedestrian safety, reduce conflicts between vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists with cars, improve traffic flow and congestion, reduce energy usage, and lower maintenance costs. Innovations like these come at a pivotal moment for Falls Church as we continue making big investments in a more walkable, bikeable, and safer City,” said Letty Hardi, Mayor of the City of Falls Church.
To learn more about how Smart Cities will ensure a safer, more efficient, and sustainable urban environment, visit fallschurchva.gov/SmartCities.
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About Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute: The Division of Technology Implementation (DTI) participates in the investigation of transportation-related requirements, selection of vendor solutions, development of hardware and software solution components, systems integration, data collection, data analysis, performance analysis, and cost/benefit estimation.
