Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

QIAOXIANG Road in Futian and Nanshan districts was partially closed recently for upgrading and will become Shenzhen’s first smart road after an eight-month renovation.

Upon completion, which is scheduled for around the 2019 Spring Festival, the road will be equipped with smart traffic lights that automatically adjust traffic signals according to the actual pedestrian and vehicle flows, as well as screens on lampposts displaying bus information, according to a release by the Shenzhen transport commission yesterday.

Smart road is a term for the intelligent traffic facility that adopts new-generation technologies, like IoT (Internet of Things), big data and AI, to improve the operation of autonomous cars, and to illuminate and monitor the condition of the road.

At the 12 intersections along the road, cameras will be installed with additional functions capable of capturing violations, such as vehicles failing to give way to pedestrians and drivers or passengers failing to fasten safety belts or follow traffic directives.

In areas that are crowded with pedestrians, such as squares of office buildings, business facilities and residential compounds, the lampposts will transmit Wi-Fi signals for free use.

On the lampposts near housing estates and bus stops, liquid crystal display (LCD) screens will be installed to display bus information, as well as slow-traffic guidance and community maps. The screens on the lampposts will also be used as traffic signs or monitoring cameras, and are expected to reduce the number of traffic signs on roads by a third.

Qiaoxiang Road often sees traffic violations by heavy vehicles as it links trunk roads like Beihuan Boulevard, Shenyun Road and Fulong Road. A sensory system will be built on the surface of the entrance to Beihuan Boulevard, where the weight and speed data of vehicles can be detected and sent back to the monitoring center. With the data, law enforcement units will be able to impose punishments on heavy trucks and dump trucks that are operating against the rules, overloading, speeding, spilling or causing noise pollution.