digital infrastructure – Transport Innovation Alliance

Cities including Los Angeles, Miami and Atlanta are using camera-verified, real-time kerb data to inform how parking, loading and passenger pick-up space is allocated and priced, as transport teams look to move away from static kerb rules based on infrequent surveys.

The cities are among 13 where block-level kerb occupancy data is now live through an integration between INRIX and Automotus, covering nearly 400 continuously monitored kerb segments. The data provides minute-by-minute visibility into how individual kerb spaces are used, including turnover, duration and violations such as double parking.

Michael Schwartz, General Manager for City Software Solutions at INRIX, told Cities Today that traditional kerb surveys often leave cities making long-term policy decisions based on limited snapshots of behaviour.

Michael Schwartz, General Manager for City Software Solutions, INRIX

“The traditional method of surveys only gives you a point-in-time analysis and cannot provide any certainty on how the spaces behave more thoroughly,” he said. “Cities are essentially making all their policy decisions with limited information and assuming that what they collect on a given day makes sense.”

Schwartz said surveys remain the best option available to many cities, but are labour-intensive, costly and poorly suited to capturing how kerb demand fluctuates by time of day or day of week. By contrast, combining predicted occupancy data with camera-verified observations allows cities to see patterns continuously across the network.

“With the cameras, cities can understand minute-by-minute use of specific spaces, including things like turnover, duration and violations,” he said. “It essentially does the work of an always-on survey.”

According to Schwartz, this level of visibility allows cities to test different kerb allocations more quickly, shifting space between general parking, commercial loading and passenger loading in response to observed demand. Pricing changes can also be evaluated in near real time.

“They can quickly make decisions about the right mix of kerb by time of day and day of week, and then get immediate feedback on the effectiveness of those changes,” he said. “That makes it possible to evaluate and iterate, rather than waiting months to see if something worked.”

Schwartz said the longer-term aim is to support a shift from static kerb rules toward more dynamic, demand-led management, underpinned by a shared digital view of the kerb that cities and third-party services can rely on in real time.

“We are building the ecosystem where there is a digital source of truth that can be relied upon the way people rely on signs and meters today,” he said.

Main image: Radu Razvan Gheorghe | Dreamstime.com

Cities in North Texas are preparing to pilot new mobility and energy-efficient digital services on existing street infrastructure as part of a programme that will test traffic analytics, pedestrian and cyclist safety tools, EV charging enablement and connected mobility support.

The pilots, expected to take place in 2026, will involve Portuguese start-up Omniflow working with local authorities following its selection as the winner of the 2025 Smart Cities Global Startup Challenge run by the North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA).

The initiative is intended to help cities assess whether new digital services can be delivered using assets such as streetlights and street furniture, rather than through new infrastructure deployments.

Pedro Ruão, Founder & CEO, Omniflow

“For our first pilots in North Texas, we are prioritising mobility-focused use cases such as traffic flow analytics, pedestrian and cyclist safety, EV charging enablement, and support infrastructure for connected mobility services,” Pedro Ruão, Founder & CEO of Omniflow, told Cities Today. “These use cases are highly relevant for US municipalities because they deliver fast, visible value while leveraging existing street infrastructure rather than requiring new deployments.”

The system combines wind and solar generation with energy storage and a grid connection, allowing digital services to operate while drawing less power from the grid. The company says installations typically involve minimal retrofitting and avoid major civil works, enabling pilots to be deployed without disrupting existing street operations.

“By combining renewable generation with grid connection, Omniflow reduces grid energy consumption for lighting and digital services by more than 90 percent,” Ruão said. “From a data governance perspective, Omniflow processes data locally at the edge whenever possible, giving cities control over data flows while minimising bandwidth usage and privacy risks.”

NTXIA will support participating cities as pilots progress, helping assess results and determine whether deployments can be expanded across the region. The alliance works with public agencies and private companies to align technology pilots with defined community needs and to encourage collaboration beyond individual projects.

Jennifer Sanders, Executive Director, NTXIA

“At NTXIA, our goal is to support both public and private entities in the smart cities space and to encourage these entities to come together for the long-term benefit of our communities,” said Jennifer Sanders, Executive Director of NTXIA. “Once the match is identified as a fit and initial piloting and testing begin, NTXIA can then help promote the pilot to cross-regional partners and additional private and public entities.”

Planning, travel and engagement activities are expected to continue through 2026 as North Texas cities evaluate how renewable-powered street infrastructure can support mobility and digital services using existing assets.

Main image: Christopher Liao | Dreamstime.com

Tag Archive for: digital infrastructure

Cities move beyond surveys with live kerb data

North Texas to pilot mobility data using street assets