Sensor Tracking LIC Street Activity Installed For Study: DOT

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — The city’s Department of Transportation installed a sensor in a Long Island City light pole to measure street activity throughout the year as part of a study to see how people are using the roadway, the agency announced Wednesday.

The Transportation Department said the street sensor was installed at 11th Street and 44th Drive in Long Island City, as well as two other Queens locations, to help city officials collect data on street activity for future designs.

“One traffic fatality is too many, and New York City DOT is exploring new and innovative ways to use technology to prevent the next tragedy from happening,” said Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “Our street activity sensor pilot program will help us better understand how people use our streets, how those uses change over time – and what actions we can take to keep New Yorkers safe.”

The other two devices, created by software company Viva, will be posted in light poles on 34th Avenue and 77th Street in Jackson Heights, as well as Broadway and Vietor Avenue in Elmhurst.

The agency will use the data to analyze the “effectiveness and safety of programs and street designs,” as well as prioritize projects for areas officials deem in need of street improvements.

Through the sensors, Transportation officials said they want to learn how people access bus stops, use loading zones, visit businesses, prefer to cycle, and do other activities.

This type of data is currently collected by installing a staff member on a street or by having them review videos of traffic. Officials said this in-person process is “costly” and “limited.”

The street sensors have a camera that counts pedestrians, cyclists, e-scooters, and drivers in real-time, analyzing change with seasonality, speed of travel, and turning movements.

The Transportation Department said it will protect privacy by removing “identifying information of roadway users and discarding video frames after counts are collected on the device.”