Aspen, Nashville, Omaha, and West Palm Beach will team with kerb management company Coord on “smart zone” programmes tailored to their individual mobility challenges.
Four US cities have been chosen for the inaugural Digital Kerb Challenge, a mobility competition announced by the Sidewalk Labs-backed Coord, earlier this year.
The cities of Aspen, Nashville, Omaha, and West Palm Beach will team with the kerb management company on “smart zone” programmes tailored to their individual mobility challenges. Reducing congestion, improving safety, and supporting local economic activity are all cited as goals of the pilot.
According to Coord, cities are increasingly looking to kerb management to help meet communities’ changing needs, such as growing delivery, ride-hail and shared micro-mobility activity, and the need for more dedicated space for recreation and commercial activity.
Smart zones, powered by Coord’s technology, enable commercial drivers to use their mobile devices to locate nearby available loading zones and to hold, book, and pay for time in them. Coord reckons this creates opportunities for cities to better manage their kerb space, while improving the loading experience for both delivery companies and local businesses.
“We were delighted at the outpouring of interest in the Digital Kerb Challenge from across the US and Canada,” said Stephen Smyth, co-founder and CEO of Coord.
“We look forward to working closely with Aspen, Nashville, Omaha and West Palm Beach to develop and launch smart zone pilot programmes that address critical mobility challenges in these cities and to demonstrate the power of the kerb in creating significant, tangible impacts in their communities and local economies.”
In addition, by providing cities with information about when, where and how long drivers are loading, the Coord platform also supports data-driven operational changes. For example, cities can use this information to create more loading space where it is most needed, or they can manage demand for it through pricing and time limits.
“We look forward to working closely with Aspen, Nashville, Omaha and West Palm Beach to develop and launch smart zone pilot programmes that address critical mobility challenges in these cities”
Because smart zone availability, rules and prices are digitally communicated to drivers, Coord claims, cities can adjust rules for zones in response to policy changes, special events or emergencies without the hassle and expense of modifying signage on the street.
About the Digital Kerb Challenge cities:
Due to high levels of interest, a cohort of nine other cities from across the US will have been a “front row sea” to the work that pilot cities are doing as part of the challenge. The selected cities – Vancouver, Baltimore, Sarasota, Bend, Norwalk, Fort Smith, Halifax, Portland, and Walnut Creek – will also form a community for city leaders and staff to share best practices, learnings and resources across kerb management.
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