KINGSTON, ON — As part of its Smart City pilot project developed in partnership with Bell, the city of Kingston, Ont., has launched a snowplow tracking application on the city’s website.
“The Smart City pilot is all about leveraging technology to improve residents’ quality of life. This pilot will give residents the opportunity to see our snow clearing efforts in a new and exciting way,” said Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson, in the city’s news release.
Kingston’s Snowplow Tracker is an online map showing a select number of plows clearing main arterial roads, such as Princess Street, Division Street and Gardiners Road. Different colours on the map indicate when a road was last plowed. When a plow is in motion clearing main roads, it will send frequent data that will be displayed on the map. Plows clearing residential areas are not shown on the pilot Snowplow Tracker map, but remain actively working during winter weather events, the city said in the release.
“Services like the Snowplow Tracker map delivered over Bell’s Smart City Platform illustrate how Internet of Things technology can improve City services for residents,” said Gary Semplonius, Bell senior vice-president, in the release. “We look forward to future opportunities with Kingston to implement a broad range of solutions that leverage Bell’s advanced fibre and wireless networks to enhance City operations.”
The Snowplow Tracker map can be viewed at CityofKingston.ca/Snow. The nine-month Smart City pilot, which runs until September 2020, will introduce smart technologies across Kingston. The city entered into a partnership with Bell for the Smart City pilot in February 2018, according to the release.
