The grant pays for cameras that use artificial intelligence to monitor<\/a> vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, learn patterns and adjust the timing of lights in real time to improve traffic flow and safety at collision-prone roads, Mayor William Cogswell said in February<\/a>.<\/p>\n City Council is expected to give after-the-fact approval on Aug. 18 for an application the traffic and transportation department submitted to the USDOT. It seeks more than $2.25 million in federal funding to expand the technology to eight intersections on the Septima P. Clark Parkway and 11 intersections on Folly Road.<\/p>\n If the application is approved, the grant would scale the Calhoun Street effort to create \u201ca fully integrated\u201d and \u201cregional smart network across Charleston\u2019s roadways,\u201d according to a summary of the application provided by city spokesperson Bay Sheehan.<\/p>\n File image of S.C. 171. The city has applied for a federal grant that would bring artificial intelligence to Folly Road as part of an effort to improve traffic flow and safety.<\/p>\n File\/Staff<\/p>\n She declined to provide a copy of the complete application, which has not yet been approved.<\/p>\n The performance period for the Calhoun Street grant concluded at the end of July. The city has until the end of November to complete an analysis of what impacts it may have had.<\/p>\n The hope was that it would reduce collisions with pedestrians and cyclists by half, the newspaper previously reported. It\u2019s not yet clear if that goal was achieved.<\/p>\n Even so, research generally shows that using real-time information to alter traffic signals creates more-efficient roads than when signals are solely pre-timed, Sheehan said.<\/p>\n \u201cApplying this technology is expected to produce similar improvements,\u201d Sheehan said. \u201cThis application continues the City’s data-driven approach to traffic safety, targeting two corridors already identified as strong candidates for traffic responsive signal technology.\u201d<\/p>\n The city\u2019s vendor would provide a match of more than $450,000. No city money would be used, Sheehan said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n