The New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) is rolling out AI-powered street activity sensors to approximately 100 locations across the five boroughs, building on a pilot programme that began in 2023 at 20 intersections.
The sensors, supplied by Viva – known as VivaCity outside North America – are mounted on existing street infrastructure and anonymously track pedestrians, cyclists, buses and vehicles in real time. Video is processed on-device and immediately discarded; only anonymous aggregate data is retained, with faces and licence plates obscured from any footage.
“Safer street design starts with understanding what is actually happening on the street,” says NYC DOT commissioner Mike Flynn. “These high-tech sensors will help us evaluate how people are walking, biking, and driving so we can design safer streets and encourage safer behavior.”
The initial 20-sensor deployment replaced traditional manual traffic counts, which have historically relied on short-term, labour-intensive field surveys. The expanded network will capture continuous data across a diverse range of corridors – from busy commercial streets to residential neighbourhoods – reflecting the full range of conditions across New York City’s transport network.
In addition to counting road users, the sensors measure speeds, record turning movements and map movement trajectories. One application cited by NYC DOT is the identification of locations where pedestrians regularly cross mid-block, which could inform decisions about where to install new crosswalks.
The sensors also capture how travel patterns shift by time of day, season and in response to changes in street layout, enabling more dynamic evaluation of infrastructure projects.
NYC DOT says it plans to use the sensor data to:
The London-headquartered company says its sensors have been deployed by more than 260 authorities across North America, the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Tom has edited Traffic Technology International (TTi) magazine and its Traffic Technology Today website since May 2014. During his time at the title, he has interviewed some of the top transportation chiefs at public agencies around the world as well as CEOs of leading multinationals and ground-breaking start-ups. Tom’s earlier career saw him working on some the UK’s leading consumer magazine titles. He has a law degree from the London School of Economics (LSE).
Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.
Leave a Reply