Hamilton partners with Microsoft on Vision Zero traffic initiative

The City of Hamilton is partnering with tech giant Microsoft in a bid to improve road safety.

The company has jumped on board Hamilton’s Vision Zero initiative as it has in other jurisdictions across Canada and the U.S.

The goal is to bring the number of fatalities and serious injuries from motor collisions to zero.

According to the Vision Zero website, Hamilton averaged more than 7,900 motor vehicle collisions per year between 2011 and 2015.

Five per cent involved vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

For that same period, the city had an average of 16 fatalities per year and 1,824 injuries.

David Ferguson, superintendent of Traffic Engineering with the City of Hamilton says a review of traffic collision patterns over a 10-year period shows little change.

“I think recently with some of the things that have been out in the headlines, identifying that speeding is a major concern, distracted driving is a major concern, I think we’re at a point here where there needs to be further movement,” Ferguson said.

The city is hoping that Microsoft can help create that movement through the development of a computer program that will analyze intersections.

The third partner in this process will be the public.

Residents are being asked to participate in an interactive video at hamilton.ca that will assist in its development.

“They will identify all the objects that move through the frame,” said Ferguson.

“What that will do is help the computer system to learn and understand the movements of pedestrians and cyclists and vehicles.”

In the future he says, the program will automatically monitor intersections for near-miss situations.

He adds, this will allow municipalities to implement changes to roadway geometrics, implement curb bump-outs or other designs that would improve safety.

The Vision Zero video analytics project will run for three months.

Ferguson says the more people engage, the faster the program will be developed.