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New project to help reduce suburban traffic congestion

A new smart cities project being delivered by the University of Wollongong and Liverpool City Council aims to help inform transport and urban planning decisions as well as reduce congestion.

A new smart cities project being delivered by the University of Wollongong and Liverpool City Council aims to help inform transport and urban planning decisions as well as reduce congestion.A new smart cities project being delivered by the University of Wollongong and Liverpool City Council aims to help inform transport and urban planning decisions as well as reduce congestion.

Funded under the Australian Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs Program, the Smart Pedestrian Project is being used to help Liverpool City Council in Sydney’s west to make better transport and urban planning decisions by measuring real-time pedestrian and vehicle movements around the CBD.

The project will use data collected from pedestrian smartphones and cutting-edge traffic-counting technology to track patterns of movement in a bid to better plan cities and build infrastructure where it is most needed.

Liverpool City Council worked with the University of Wollongong’s SMART Infrastructure Facility and IT integration company Meshed to carry out the $240,000 project.

“We call Liverpool the seven-minute city because that is how quickly you can walk between major landmarks,” Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller said in a statement.

“Council’s Civic Place redevelopment, which will include the new University of Wollongong campus, is expected to lead to 30,000 extra pedestrian movements per day,” she said.

“We will be using the data to plan future pedestrian and vehicle movements throughout our city to ease congestion, provide better transport options and improve health and safety.”

University of Wollongong Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Wellings CBE said it was very satisfying to be able to bring the university’s academic and technological expertise to the partnership.

“The University of Wollongong prides itself as an institution that sits right at the top of world rankings, but also retains a strong focus on the communities in which it operates,” Professor Wellings said.

“The collection of data that gives an accurate picture of pedestrian movements will allow the Council to plan effectively and enhance the liveability for all in the CBD.”

The Smart Cities and Suburbs Program has already seen $27.7 million allocated to 49 projects that support the delivery of innovative smart technology solutions that improve the liveability, productivity and sustainability of cities and towns across Australia.

Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities Paul Fletcher in a statement that the project is a great example of how technology and data can be used to make cities better places to live and work.

“The data Liverpool City Council and the University of Wollongong collect for this project will make a big difference in how we plan transport and pedestrian networks for this city. It’s also a great opportunity for other cities to see how the project rolls out, with a view to adapting the technology to their needs.

“This project is a great example of how the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program encourages collaboration between local governments, research organisations and the private sector to deliver a solution that can be applied locally and shared around the country.”


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