Canadian cities are grappling with growing traffic amid the return-to-work shift – some are turning to technology for help.Getty Images
Drivers in major Canadian cities spend an average of 174 hours stuck in rush-hour traffic every year – and it’s only getting worse.
That’s according to data from digital mapping company TomTom, which found that large, urban centres Montreal, Vancouver and Winnipeg all saw increased traffic wait times in 2023. Toronto, for its part, came third in a global ranking of the worst cities to drive in.
This October, Toronto’s director of traffic management, Roger Browne, announced he was bringing in new technology to help alleviate gridlocked roads. Among the innovations were QR codes that give users up-to-date information on current construction projects and traffic lights powered by artificial intelligence (AI), which use real-time data on road users and conditions to adjust the flow of traffic.
As cities around the world grapple with new levels of gridlock, brought on by return-to-office orders and more flexible working hours that cause rush-hour traffic to spill out beyond traditional hours, some cities, like Toronto, are looking to big data and AI as a potential solution. Experts say these tools offer better insights into the condition and flow of roads, and a chance to react more quickly to accidents, weather and unexpected events.
Across the country, in Vancouver, NoTraffic, an Israeli startup that provides AI-powered sensors for traffic lights, recently led a successful pilot program at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
By deploying its mobility platform at five pedestrian-heavy intersections on campus, the company minimized vehicle wait times by 4,700 days over the course of one year. Reducing wait times, and therefore vehicle idling times, also eliminated approximately 75 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, per NoTraffic. Globally, transport accounts for nearly one-fifth of global CO2 emissions – that includes shipping and freight, but road transit makes up the bulk of it.
Tal Kreisler, co-founder chief executive officer at NoTraffic, says when he started the company in 2017, he was surprised at how primitive traffic management really was. “These systems haven’t changed in 100 years,” he says. “Traffic lights [still run] on timing plans, and the majority are not connected to anything.”
Mr. Kreisler says his technology allows intersections to communicate with each other in real time. If an accident occurs, a large event is happening, or if a traffic light breaks and starts flashing, data can be instantly shared between intersections, which can then adjust their timing to better manage traffic flows.
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Autonomous or driverless vehicles are another key to the roadway problem, says Dr. Anjali Awasthi, professor of connected sustainable mobility systems at Concordia University. Not only could their connectivity with a wider, symbiotic traffic management network help cull crowded streets, they also fill a big gap for populations in need.
“People with limited mobility, or those without access to vehicles … need these kinds of solutions,” she says.
Mr. Kreisler agrees, noting that while driverless technology is still in its early stage, NoTraffic is already equipped to fully connect with the smart cars of the future. “Part of our goal, our mission, is to prepare the infrastructure for the [automated vehicle] transition phase,” he says.
Another Canadian company, Edmonton-based RUNWITHIT Synthetics (RWI), is approaching congestion from a public transportation angle. RWI offers synthetic twin modelling, that is, creating simulated living models of cities that can be used to map and predict future scenarios. “It’s like a real-life SimCity,” says Myrna Bittner, RWI’s CEO and co-founder.
Using localized data, collected from surveys and city knowledge repositories, RWI can help cities plan street upgrades, new public transportation networks and even calculate greenhouse gas emissions decades in advance.
In 2021, the company was a finalist in the City Architecture for Tomorrow Challenge (CATCH) in Kuala Lumpur, which mapping company TomTom ranked 169th for its traffic in 2023. The goal was to help the city map out its aggressive 2040 “Traffic Master Plan,” which includes a 70:30 split between public transportation and private vehicles. “Kuala Lumpur is the true meaning of gridlocked,” Ms. Bittner says. “Their traffic data is just red.”
Through its synthetic modelling, RWI helped city officials map the benefits of transportation features to encourage pedestrian journeys, such as shaded boulevards, street lights for safety and last mile bike racks. “We’re helping people look up and look forward,” Ms. Bittner adds.
To date, most of RWI’s Canadian projects have centred on housing and disaster preparation, but they hope to help more cities transform their traffic problems. Cost remains a barrier for many Canadian cities looking to upgrade road infrastructure, with some like Winnipeg reporting infrastructure deficits of nearly $7-billion in 2023. However, Ms. Bittner believes her technology could pay for itself, given the opportunity.
“We can actually measure on our models the amount of GDP you’re losing sitting in traffic, or the emissions generated,” she says. “I don’t think there are a lot of policy makers that have access to that [data].”
NoTraffic’s UBC project similarly had an estimated economic lift of $165,000, something that could help city agencies offset the cost of implementing new systems.
Still, Dr. Awasthi believes congestion is a complex problem, and tackling it will take more than a few promising, out-of-the-box solutions. “Technology is a tool, and the more technology-oriented we are, the more sound decisions we can have,” she says. If technological solutions are to work, they need to engage multiple stakeholders at once, including transport agencies, citizens and environmental groups.
“We have significant challenges in front of us, and a group of young people that are hoping we build a better future for them,” Ms. Bittner says. “And I think it’s really important we get it right.”