The crosswalk, near Pinckneyville Middle School in Peachtree Corners, is also equipped with “vehicle-to-everything” (V2X) technology, allowing the crossing signal to communicate with nearby vehicles, alerting them to pedestrians.
“This means that vehicles equipped with cellular V2X (C-V2X) technology can receive warnings about pedestrians or cyclists in the crosswalk ahead,” Brandon Branham, the city of Peachtree Corners’ assistant city manager and chief technology officer, said via email. “While most standard vehicles on the road today are not yet equipped with this technology, V2X is increasingly being integrated into new models, and as adoption grows, more drivers will benefit from these real-time alerts.”
The project in Peachtree Corners, a suburb of Atlanta and a leader in smart city technology deployments, is a pilot partnership with ConnVAS, a maker of intelligent signal and traffic management technology.
The technology deployed in Peachtree Corners is an artificial intelligence-powered traffic detector integrated into the flashing beacon seen on crosswalks, Danny Frydman, CEO and founder of ConnVAS, said.
The AI capabilities make the crosswalk able to detect pedestrians and cyclists “intending to use the crosswalk, and vehicles that are approaching the crosswalk,” Frydman explained via email, citing federal data showing 95 percent of drivers react to activated beacons and stop before the crosswalk — but only 30 percent of crosswalk users actually push the button to activate the beacons.
“With the ConnVAS system, the beacons are activated in 100 percent of the events,” Frydman said, underscoring the obvious safety benefits of having the beacons in operation when the crosswalk is being used.
The system also tracks “anonymous data” related to traffic violations near the crosswalk, such as failing to yield to pedestrians, along with near misses and general crosswalk usage, to help city officials analyze safety risks and identify patterns of dangerous driving behavior, Branham said.
“This information can be used to inform roadway improvements,” he added.
The information gathered from the pilot project will help to evaluate the system’s effectiveness in improving pedestrian safety and driver awareness, officials said.
“If the results continue to be positive, Peachtree Corners will explore expanding the technology to other high-risk pedestrian areas, including additional school zones and high-traffic intersections,” Branham said. “The city is also analyzing how the collected data can inform broader infrastructure improvements, such as optimizing crosswalk placement and adjusting traffic control measures based on real-world usage patterns.”
Peachtree Corners is also home to the Curiosity Lab, a smart city testbed, and has established itself as a leader in the development and advancement of transportation technology. In this capacity, the city announced in September it will transition a pilot program to develop an autonomous mobility service. The program was developed as a partnership between Peachtree Corners and its Curiosity Lab, and May Mobility, using Toyota Sienna vehicles — each of which accommodates up to five passengers. Riders can book trips using the May Mobility app.
The service zone includes eight stops serving restaurants, retail locations, City Hall and other destinations. Peachtree Corners will serve as May Mobility’s third driverless operation, said Edwin Olson, CEO and founder of May Mobility.
“Curiosity Lab’s real-world smart city ecosystem has provided May Mobility with a unique environment to both continue to develop and improve their operations over the past six months, which has only further prepared the May Mobility team for its third driver-out operation and first commercial operation in the U.S.,” Brian Johnson, Peachtree Corners city manager, said in a statement.
