The US state of Nevada is calling upon traffic technology companies in the USA and around the world to help it reduce pedestrian fatalities, particularly in the southern half of the state, which has seen a marked rise in incidents.
The Nevada Center for Advanced Mobility (Nevada CAM) and its partners, including the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC), are calling on technology solution providers to submit, via a request for information (RFI), creative approaches, technologies and products to improve pedestrian safety in southern Nevada, where pedestrian fatalities are rising as the community grows. The RFI seeks to go beyond traditional approaches and investigate new technology options to improve pedestrian safety. The technology needs to be at or beyond prototype development stage and ready for deployment. These solutions will take advantage of existing and future connected infrastructure, and new vehicle technologies. Responses to the ‘Technology Solutions for Enhanced Pedestrian Safety’ RFI are required by September 28, and are for planning purposes only.
Nevada CAM, a unique collaboration of state, regional and local entities, partnered specifically with the RTC, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV), in this RFI to combat rising pedestrian fatalities. Pedestrian safety continues to be a problem nationwide, but especially in Las Vegas. It has been reported that pedestrian fatalities are up nearly 50% in Nevada in 2016 and, as of August 15, Clark County has seen a 25% increase in pedestrian deaths compared with the same time last year. The region’s safety challenges include wide streets (up to seven lanes), flat roadways, speed limits of 45mph (72km/h) or more, and fewer marked crosswalks due to long stretches of road between traffic signals.
Nevada CAM brings together industry, government and academia to develop and deploy policy standards and technology around advanced mobility, including electric, connected, autonomous vehicles and related infrastructure. Founding partners are the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and UNLV. Nevada CAM and its partners believe that solutions lie in state-of-the-art connected infrastructure and new vehicle technologies, such as connected vehicles. Southern Nevada already has the technology to communicate with connected vehicles at traffic signals to provide helpful feedback to drivers and pedestrians’ smartphones. Nevada has also become a prime testing ground for advanced mobility technology, such as Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), and is home to technology frontrunners such as Tesla, Hyperloop One, Faraday Future, and Local Motors, which will pilot its autonomous last-mile shuttle in Southern Nevada this autumn.
“Because of our unprecedented partnerships, cooperation and location, we are fertile ground for entrepreneurs and researchers to respond to this critically important RFI,” said Steve Hill, executive director for the GOED.
“For example, the RTC’s Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation (FAST) already has the technology to communicate with computer and internet-connected vehicles at traffic signals to provide helpful feedback, not only to motorists, but to pedestrians’ smartphones. I look forward to seeing what leading technology providers can offer as solutions to further these efforts, and ultimately keep our pedestrians safer.”
