Kirkland says AI traffic light system has improved traffic congestion on major artery

The City of Kirkland on Montreal’s West Island says AI has alleviated traffic congestion on one of its major arteries.

The city said in a news release that it installed the NoTraffic AI mobility traffic management platform at every intersection on Saint-Charles Boulevard.

Kirkland follows Quebec City, which recently became the first Canadian city to partner with Google’s Green Light project and use AI to synchronize traffic lights.

Kirkland says that Saint-Charles Boulevard operates at 40 per cent over capacity, with a daily traffic volume of around 42,000 vehicles.

“In considering solutions to this growing congestion problem, the city turned to solutions that could improve traffic flow, as eliminating traffic was not an option,” the city said.

The NoTraffic system has been implemented in Arlington, Texas, Tampa Bay, Florida, Kelowna, B.C. and other cities in the U.S. and Canada.

It uses AI-driven cameras and radars to monitor and manage traffic at intersections.

“The sensing devices installed at each intersection fuse information from the camera and radar, which is then processed by computer vision algorithms to identify various types of road users, including pedestrians, trucks, buses, cars, bicycles, motorcycles and emergency vehicles,” the Kirkland news release reads. “The system can detect vehicles at both the stop line and approaching from up to 220 metres (720 feet) away.”

Kirkland says that since the system was installed this year, “significant improvements in traffic flow” have been observed.