Advice For Smart Cities

Steudle headed up a department of 2,500 employees and oversaw a $4.7 billion annual budget. With a responsibility to maintain nearly 10,000 miles of state highways and more than 4,000 bridges, certainly the state has had its share of basic structural and funding issues. Michigan’s weather has taken a heavy toll on roads and infrastructure; the governor-elect, Gretchen Whitmer, made “fixing the damn roads” her major election pitch this year. But the state has also has an eye on the future.
Michigan’s Mcity, for example, has been attracting cutting-edge tech companies and global automakers alike to its 32-acre testing facility. It was one of the first major proving grounds for autonomous vehicle technology in the U.S. Since then, Toyota has opened its own research testing facility in the state, and the American Center for Mobility has christened a 500-acre site for autonomous vehicle research — where GM’s Willow Run plant once stood.Just before his retirement in October 2018, Steudle chatted with Digital Trends about what he’s learned, and he offered some words of advice for municipalities trying to upgrade their infrastructure for the digital age.

NO DUMB CITIES

“I hate the term smart cities,” Steudle said. “It implies that if you’re not promoting it, you’re being dumb. And it’s more than cities. It’s communities and a transportation network that isn’t just one geographical space.”

Steudle points out that planners need to emphasize the interconnectedness of mobility solutions with community goals, whether or not those solutions are perceived of as being high-tech.

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY MAY NOT COME

“Don’t deploy for technology’s sake,” Steudle said. “You should deploy only to solve a problem.”

You have to be able to answer the question of what problem you’re trying to solve, whether it be improving traffic safety or reducing congestion. It may be providing access to services in previously underserved areas, or it may be delivering infrastructure improvements to help local businesses. But whatever the goal, it should be clearly articulated before picking a technological solution, according to Steudle.

TAKE THE LONG ROAD

“You should take in information from a lot of different sources,” Steudle said. “Learn as much as you can about the technology.”

The former Michigan DOT director said public servants need to bring along a healthy dose of skepticism to any new project. There are plenty of technology companies willing to sell them expensive systems now, pitching the latest trends, but municipalities are in it for the long haul. So reach out to a variety of sources, including other cities, to develop realistic expectations.

USE YOUR ON-RAMPS

It’s essential to develop a base to work from, Steudle pointed out: “Once a network’s in place, then you can start adding things to it.”

A tangible example is replacing aging illumination, like sodium street lights, with LEDs with embedded network connections. The lighting system then becomes a mesh network that can support other infrastructure initiatives. (Detroit turned on 65,000 LED streetlights back in 2016.)

YOU CAN’T CHANGE EVERYTHING

Some technologies require impractical changes. One example, Steudle noted, was autonomous vehicle companies suggesting that if municipalities would just keep their road lines painted, everything would run perfectly.

“But 52 percent of state roads are gravel and will never be painted,” Steudle explained. So agencies have to pay attention to practicalities — what will work, and what won’t.

LOOK TO REGULAR MAINTENANCE

Transportation departments should continually reassess tasks they currently take for granted.

“Look at the traffic signals. We replace them every year. We ought to do that with a eye to the future” adding new technologies in the process, Steudle said.

In fact, Michigan has initiated several vehicle-to-infrastructure DSRC (dedicated short-range communications) installations so that cars can talk to traffic lights and receive warnings about weather and road conditions ahead. Initial costs may be steep, Steudle noted, but once you establish a standard for contractors to meet, the prices start to drop. It also minimizes the amount of equipment you have to change in the future.

“We’re actively watching what happens to that [wireless] spectrum, and keeping our eye on cellular V2X” Steudle said.

Michigan’s former transportation chief has some advice for wannabe smart cities [Digital Trends]

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