Designed to improve safety and traffic flow, artificial intelligence technology will gather traffic data along Mission Boulevard and Towne Avenue in Pomona .
“The goal of the project is to create a smarter, safer, and more efficient urban transportation system,” according to a March 3 city report.
The areas were chosen due to the relative high volume of vehicles, speeding, high truck traffic, and regular emergency vehicle use, said City Engineer Arnold Dichosa.
Pomona City Council unanimously approved the $10.6 million project in early March, to launch the “Pomona Emerging Transportation Technologies Project.”
Visible video cameras will be installed along Mission Boulevard and Towne Avenue to track traffic, detect congestion, and monitor where accidents happen most frequently. Other major roads like Holt, Garey, and Temple could be next, Dichosa said.
This system will also speed up emergency response times, he said, and reduce energy costs through real-time monitoring of streetlights and signals.
“This project sets Pomona up as a future Smart City,” Mayor Tim Sandoval said in an email. “It will give Pomona opportunities to share transit information for public transportation at transit shelters as well as increase energy savings.”
Funding comes from a Federal Highway Administration grant through Caltrans’ Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation program.
The project is also focused on upgrading street lighting.
New streetlights will be able to communicate with city engineers and adjust their energy usage. This change could extend the lifespan of the lights from 20 to 30 years, saving costs and reducing energy consumption, Dichosa said.
The new system will also feature a “state-of-the art” control center inside City Hall. “We won’t have to wait for a call that a streetlight is out anymore,” said Dichosa. “We’ll know which light is out, and we can fix it right away.”
When the project is complete, Dichosa said residents could have the chance to tour the control center.
We would like to do tours, “so people could see where the money went and what we’re trying to build and bring to this city,” he said.
The project is still in the early stages, however the city is preparing to bring designers on board, which will take a few months. The design phase will take around two years, with construction likely starting in 2027, Dichosa said. It’s expected to be completed in 2029.
The general plan for the design is for the AI system to work in two ways, Dichosa said. It will monitor traffic at each intersection, while also gathering data from all intersections along the roads for AI to adjust traffic flow patterns.
The new technology will also help emergency vehicles communicate with traffic signals, improving response times. This will help reduce the risk of accidents at intersections, Dichosa said.
“We want to make sure emergency vehicles can get through intersections safely and quickly,” he said. “Right now, cars often don’t have time to react when an emergency vehicle approaches, but with this technology, drivers will have more time to move over safely.”
Mayor Sandoval says this city project is “just the beginning.”
“It will help us collaborate with the tech industry, increasing the ability to interface with infrastructure, people, businesses, first responders, and the environment,” Sandoval said.
“We’re trying to bring the city up to par with other cities in L.A. County that are in the technology and innovation phase,” Dichosa said.
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