Smart Columbus seeks volunteers for traffic technology test

New vehicle technologies to be tested along Morse Road, Cleveland Avenue and North High Street that will warn drivers about potential collisions and changing traffic lights.

Smart Columbus is looking for 500 volunteers to test new technology along North High Street, Morse Road and Cleveland Avenue.

The technology installed in cars will alert drivers to traffic signal changes, detect potential collisions with other connected vehicles, and alert them when they enter school zones.

“It’s designed for safety and mobility, said Columbus City Council member Shayla Favor, who leads the council’s public service and transportation committee. “It allows vehicles and traffic signals to talk to each other.”

Those participating will be eligible for up to $315 in incentives for completing surveys about the program. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and drive at least three times per week within the study corridor.

The seven-month study — from September 2020 through March 2021 — will analyze data collected to determine how the technology affected driver safety.

It will look at anonymous data collected from vehicles traveling along North High Street between 5th Avenue and Morse Road; Morse Road between North High Street and Stygler Road; and Cleveland Avenue between East 2nd Avenue and Morse Road.

Those interested can go to ColumbusConnectedCars.com to take a questionnaire.

Another 500-750 public vehicles will be similarly outfitted, including Columbus fleet, fire and police vehicles, Central Ohio Transit Authority buses and supervisor vehicles, Franklin County fleet vehicles, and ODW Logistics freight trucks.

Also, Smart Columbus is looking for up to 10 people interested in becoming connected-vehicle technicians in training during the study. That will include 200 hours of training at $14 an hour. Go here for more information.

The connected vehicle technology program is one of three pilot programs by Smart Columbus. Another is the Linden LEAP driverless shuttles, which were shut down this year and will now be used just as food delivery shuttles.

Just weeks into running the two self-driving, 12-passenger shuttles in Linden in February, one stopped abruptly. A passenger who had been sitting fell to the floor.

The new shuttle service will transport food boxes from St. Stephen’s Food and Nutrition Center on East 17th Avenue to the Rosewind Community Center, 1400 Brooks Ave.

A trained operator will be on board but no riders will be permitted because there’s not enough room on the shuttle for distancing for coronavirus, said Mandy Bishop, Smart Columbus program manager.

Families can receive a full box of food including grains, meat, fresh vegetables, fruit, and dairy. Anyone in Franklin County is eligible for one box each week and can pick it up between noon and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday starting Wednesday, July 29.

Also, six “smart mobility hubs,” kiosks with WiFi where people can find different transportation options to plan trips, are operational.

The locations, at Columbus State Community College, the Linden Transit Center, St. Stephens Community House, the Columbus Public Library’s Linden branch, Northern Lights Park and Ride and the Easton Transit Center, will have combinations of CoGo bikes, scooter parking and charging docks, electric vehicle charging, and ride/hail pickup and drop-off points.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik