Smart move to monitor streets

Funded jointly with a $500,000 grant from the Federal Government received in 2018 and its own $500,000 contribution, Cumberland Council is rolling out the first round of sensor technology in the town centre as part of its Smart Cities initiative.
Mayor Steve Christou said the project gives the council “critical tools for town planning” through data collected by a series of 123 smart sensors and cameras being installed in a range of public places throughout the precinct.
“The first step is to deploy the technology and then use sensors to collect this information in a safe and secure way,” he said.
“These sensors will help us look at factors like traffic movement and pedestrian flow and give us a clear picture of how Granville ‘works’.”
Nine of the sensors will monitor how people move within the precinct but the council says they won’t capture images or private data.
Eighty on-road sensors will also monitor traffic and parking along South Street, and in the Granville library carpark and taxi rank on Russell Street, while 14 cameras installed in the two council carparks will monitor their parking movements.
Another 16 waste bin sensors will monitor waste generation and collection within the precinct; two environmental sensors will monitor temperature and humidity, with one in an open space location and one in a built-up location; and another two water stream sensors will monitor Duck Creek.