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Why Frisco says it’s a national leader in transportation innovation

Chief innovation officer Jason Cooley said no other North Texas city is operating at the same level.

City engineers have been working for years to prepare Frisco’s infrastructure for growth and development, and chief innovation officer Jason Cooley said no other North Texas city is operating at the same level.

“It’s really just part of our culture. We want innovation, and we welcome innovation,” Cooley said. “In every aspect of Frisco, we are looking at how we can do things in more innovative ways. It’s really the foundation of our city’s equilibrium.”

The city has become a major test hub for transportation innovation, according to the Frisco Economic Development Corporation, and has tested many technologies through pilot programs to determine the best solutions.

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Here are some examples of what Frisco has tried:

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Signal timing at intersections

Cooley said Frisco was the second city in the nation to use connected-vehicle technologies, which automatically adjust signal timing at intersections to control the flow of traffic.

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The city’s traffic signal network shares data through platforms such as Audi Connect, Traffic Technology Services and CUBIC’s Trafficware.

Waze Connected Citizens Program

Drivers who use the Waze mobile app are able to adjust their routes based on information the city shares about vehicle crashes, traffic hazards and road closures through the Waze Connected Citizens Program.

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The city can also use data from drivers on Waze to optimize its traffic system and decrease emergency response times.

Driverless vehicles

Frisco has also been at the forefront of autonomous vehicle tests, becoming the first city in Texas to test-drive autonomous shuttles in July 2018 through an eight-month pilot program with Drive.ai. The driverless shuttles successfully carried nearly 5,000 passengers on a fixed route between Hall Park, The Star and Frisco Station, according to the city website.

Robots

Frisco was also one of the first five cities in the U.S. to pilot autonomous deliveries through FedEx’s Roxo in 2019, according to the Economic Development Corporation. The on-demand delivery robot was designed to automate the last mile of package deliveries, which is often the most expensive length of travel for transportation companies.

Last year, the city partnered with Starship Technologies, which deployed 35 devices to test food and grocery deliveries.

During the 10-week pilot program, the robots delivered groceries across major roads and intersections, traveling a total of 4,621 miles, averaging 59 miles per day.

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