Columbus: Smart Cities Grant

[DarkandStormy]

^Not too shocking.  Until there is rail in Columbus, CU will always bring up the fact whenever possible.

[casey]

Some pretty wide media coverage of a potential collaboration between Columbus and Google as part of the Smart Cities win:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/27/google-flow-sidewalk-labs-columbus-ohio-parking-transit

http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/27/12048482/alphabet-sidewalk-labs-public-transport-columbus-ohio

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/06/28/google-spinoff-wants-to-help-shape-columbus-smart.html

[Columbo]

Well, this is either exciting or discouraging news - depending upon your point-of-view:

Columbus will 'leap-frog' light rail as transportation option after Smart City Challenge win
By Tom Knox, Reporter - Columbus Business First
July 14, 2016, 7:33am EDT

A wave of new transportation technology is coming to Columbus after the city won the federal Smart City Challenge.  The grant money will usher in driverless cars but could end the idea of rail as a mass-transit option.  “The City of Columbus plans to leap-frog fixed rail” by using new modes of transportation, Columbus says in the U.S. Department of Transportation application.

The city last month won a $40 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, besting cities like San Francisco and Portland, Oregon (who already have rail options).  Those cities are also larger and attract far more visitors to their cores.  The fact that Columbus is without rail might actually have helped its case in the smart-city competition, as it is the test case for new transportation methods that could scale to similar cities.

Columbus is the biggest city in the U.S. to not offer rail service – something like light rail, streetcars, monorail – as a mass transportation option.  Occasionally city leaders, like City Council President Zach Klein, murmur about finally figuring out whether the city needs it or not.  Questions surrounding who would pay for rail, how far it traverses and if rail is necessary for a spread-out city like Columbus typically dominate the discussion.  The Smart City application appears to put any hopes of light rail to rest, at least for the next four years of the implementation phase.

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/07/14/columbus-will-leap-frog-lightrail-as.html

[Stormy Daytons]

:roll:

[casey]

 :shoot:

[DarkandStormy]

Not sure how putting in smart cars (which don't even yet exist completely, if I'm not mistaken) in Linden/Easton area suddenly supplants the need for 2m+ people in the metro area to have a better public transit option besides COTA.

[ck]

9 awesome innovations coming to the very first smart city in the US

http://www.techinsider.io/closer-look-at-columbus-ohio-smart-city-2016-7

• Smart lighting will provide free WiFi throughout most of Linden, the northeastern part of Columbus, Ohio
• Sidewalk Labs could provide kiosks to provide transit information about the city's rapid bus service.
• A mobility app will give people real-time information of different transportation options they can use to get to their destination.
• Electric, self-driving cars will transport workers around Easton, a large shopping center in Columbus.
• Truck platooning will help transfer goods more efficiently and serve as a stepping stone to autonomous truck deployment.
• Residents can pay for all their transportation, from taking a bus to Lyft, on one convenient card called a Smart Pass.
• An app will let you know where the nearest parking spot is.
• Columbus will release more electric buses and spur the conversion to electric cars by setting up more charging stations throughout the city.
• Installing solar panels will help charge electric vehicles at night.

[Stormy Daytons]

Smart Columbus Update: More Funding Secured, New “Chief Innovation Officer” to Lead Effort



When Columbus was announced as the winner of the $40 million federal Smart City grant last summer, much was made of the additional $90 million in matching resources that were secured from local corporate and institutional partners.

The city announced last week that it has secured additional commitments, growing the total pot of monetary and in-kind contributions to over $350 million.

More below:
http://www.columbusunderground.com/smart-columbus-update-bw1

[DarkandStormy]

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/siemens-invests-385k-in-connected-vehicle-tech-in-columbus-ohio/

Siemens invests $385K in connected vehicle tech in Columbus, Ohio

[jmecklenborg]

9 awesome innovations coming to the very first smart city in the US

http://www.techinsider.io/closer-look-at-columbus-ohio-smart-city-2016-7

• Smart lighting will provide free WiFi throughout most of Linden, the northeastern part of Columbus, Ohio
• Sidewalk Labs could provide kiosks to provide transit information about the city's rapid bus service.
• A mobility app will give people real-time information of different transportation options they can use to get to their destination.
• Electric, self-driving cars will transport workers around Easton, a large shopping center in Columbus.
• Truck platooning will help transfer goods more efficiently and serve as a stepping stone to autonomous truck deployment.
• Residents can pay for all their transportation, from taking a bus to Lyft, on one convenient card called a Smart Pass.
• An app will let you know where the nearest parking spot is.
• Columbus will release more electric buses and spur the conversion to electric cars by setting up more charging stations throughout the city.
• Installing solar panels will help charge electric vehicles at night.

Yawn. 

Smart Cities is a Trojan horse.  This is all about Silicon Valley formulating privatization schemes that will send local tax dollars to San Francisco yuppies. 

[gaslight]

"9. Installing solar panels will help charge electric vehicles at night."

Solar panels work great at night.  :-D

[Pugu]

^A giant series of gigantic mirrors will be used to reflect the sun from the other side of the earth to the panels in Columbus.

[cbussoccer]

"9. Installing solar panels will help charge electric vehicles at night."

Solar panels work great at night.  :-D

They work great during the day to store the energy in order to charge the vehicles at night :-D

[GCrites80s]

Brougth to you by ABR.

ABR... Anything But Rail.

[surfohio]

Cities vie to become hubs of self-driving technology

The development of self-driving cars has pitched a handful of cities into a new gold rush, a chance to be at the forefront of a new technology that will give rise to billion-dollar companies and thousands of new jobs.

The stakes are enormous. Last year, Goldman Sachs projected the market for advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles would grow from about $3 billion in 2015 to $96 billion in 2025 and $290 billion in 2035.

In some cities, automakers, suppliers and technology companies are clustering to test their self-driving vehicles. In others, governors and mayors are beckoning the industry by changing laws or touting other inducements.

“I think it’s about being a part of the race,” said Alex Fischer, CEO of the Columbus Partnership, a group of top CEOs that helped the Ohio city beat out tech hubs such as Austin, Pittsburgh and San Francisco to win federal grant money through the government's Smart City Challenge.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/06/25/cities-vie-become-hubs-self-driving-technology/100963464/

[DarkandStormy]

A one year update from CU with an interview with Michael Stevens, Chief Innovation Officer, and Brandi Braun, Assistant Director for the Columbus Department of Public Service.

http://www.columbusunderground.com/what-to-expect-from-smart-columbus-in-year-two-bw1

[Stormy Daytons]

Changes Made to Lineup of Smart Columbus Projects

Changes have been made to the blueprint that has guided the city and its private sector partners since Columbus won the Smart City Challenge in June of 2016.

The original list of 15 Smart Columbus projects funded by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has been revised, with four of the projects being dropped all together, three being consolidated or changed in one way or another, and a new initiative added that’s meant to improve access to reliable transportation for expectant mothers.

More below:
http://www.columbusunderground.com/changes-made-to-smart-columbus-projects-bw1

[Stormy Daytons]

Study Asks: How Will Driverless Cars Change Downtown Columbus?

The 2016 Smart City Challenge win put Columbus at the forefront of a national conversation about autonomous vehicles, and plenty of people have since weighed in with opinions about what the technology will mean for the future of cities.

A group of City and Regional Planning students at OSU recently studied the issue for a studio class – specifically looking at how Downtown Columbus could be impacted by driverless vehicles – and presented their findings to the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District.

The students took a broad look at the many ways that even a partial transition to the new technology could transform Downtown.

More below:
http://www.columbusunderground.com/students-ask-how-will-driverless-cars-change-downtown-columbus-bw1

[Stormy Daytons]

Smart City grant: Columbus buys first electric vehicles, adding more charging stations



The Smart Columbus grant has helped the city buy its first batch of electric vehicles and start installing charging stations in a pledge to green its fleet.

City Council in November approved a $2 million lease-to-own deal for 93 electric vehicles that will replace aging cars in the fleet. City income taxes in a fund for fleet vehicles cover $1.7 million, while $273,000 is from the $10 million grant from Vulcan Inc. toward reducing fossil fuel consumption.

Bids are being evaluated for a $700,000 installation of charging stations at three city-owned sites, with $100,000 from the Vulcan grant and the rest from a Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission fund for easing traffic congestion and improving air quality.

“We’re proud to really be leading the way here,” said Brandi Braun, Columbus deputy innovation director and the city's liaison to the public-private Smart City initiative.

“We’re asking other public sector agencies and private sector companies to consider bringing electric vehicles into their fleet.”

More below:
https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/02/22/smart-city-grant-columbus-buys-first-electric.html