Executive Summary: City of Surrey and City of Vancouver, British Columbia

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Vancouver and Surrey's #SmarterTogether program is a bold vision to create Canada's first two collision free multi‑modal corridors. Our Cities will introduce a suite of smart city technologies in two different urban contexts that will transform city infrastructure and establish new, connected ways for residents to travel safely, connect socially, and enjoy an increased quality of life.

The two collision‑free corridors — Vancouver's South False Creek Innovation Corridor and the Surrey Innovation Corridor — will achieve a number of outcomes for our residents. The corridors will result in improved safety, reduced emissions, healthier communities, increased availability of mobility options, more socially connected communities, increased accessibility to the community, higher people‑moving capacity, and an enhanced travel experience.

These ambitious aims will be achieved through the implementation of a portfolio of advanced smart city technologies that will work in concert in real time. A collection of 81 project proposals from 55 vendors – including those from four top telecommunications firms, two global software leaders, one major global automaker, and three autonomous vehicle shuttle suppliers — will be further refined to create the optimal mix of technologies that will bring our corridors to fruition.

Among these integrated technologies will be:

• The Smart City Integration Hub, a software platform that represents the cornerstone of corridor security, privacy, and interoperability.
• Autonomous vehicle shuttles and last mile mobility vehicles that ensure safe travel and provide abundant and accessible mode shift opportunities for all residents.
• Intelligent traffic system devices, including sensors and controls embedded in traffic infrastructure, that collect data and enable real‑ time responses to specific traffic situations.

The combined operation of these technologies will improve our residents' lives in a multitude of ways. The availability of new mobility options will provide accessibility to community amenities and will reduce social isolation and feelings of loneliness in our communities. Conflict and collision‑reducing technologies like dynamic crosswalks and adaptive traffic signals will make travel safer, especially for those people in groups disproportionately involved in accidents. Wayfinding applications for smartphones will enable residents to plan the safest multi‑ modal routes through the corridors. Intuitively‑ designed digital kiosks placed at popular spots will ensure everyone has access to corridor services and information, even if they do not have a smartphone.

To help us deliver these benefits, vendors have offered nearly $36.5 million in private sector contributions that our Cities can use to leverage Smart Cities Challenge funding. Our Cities will contribute an additional $15 million at least to support corridor development.

The #SmarterTogether program is the result of unprecedented joint engagement. Our Challenge Statement was crafted from insights distilled from over 149,000 interactions with our residents. We spoke with residents, experts, and leaders of communities to explore how the corridors could be designed to be appealing and accessible to all. We arranged corridor technology demonstrations, including autonomous vehicle shuttle ride demos in Vancouver and Surrey that provided over 4000 passenger rides to residents who are enthusiastic about the technology's promise.

We will continue to focus on accessibility and inclusivity, and will take an intersectional gender lens approach to designing our corridors, aligning our efforts with other federal investments, and further cementing Canada's commitment towards achieving greater gender equality.

Our progress toward realizing the promise of the corridors will be measurable. Our Cities consulted renowned academics at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University to develop a robust model that links our implementations and activities to #SmarterTogether outcomes. This model employs multiple clear performance indicators that will track the trajectory toward safer, greener, healthier, and more socially connected communities.

The privacy and security of our residents' data is a top priority for the #SmarterTogether program. All technology projects will be compliant with BC's Freedom of Information  and  Protection of  Privacy Act.

Collected data will be anonymized at the earliest opportunity and will remain under City control, to be used only for #SmarterTogether program projects. Our open‑by‑default approach will make non‑personal and anonymized datasets available to all. Robust information security risk management processes and a secure by design approach to project development will ensure that our residents' data remains safe.

With our two Cities creating smart mobility corridors in two distinct contexts — one urban and one suburban — our proposal is replicable by design. We intend the #SmarterTogether program to be a replicability resource for other Canadian cities seeking to duplicate our success. Our shared knowledge, technology roadmaps, and novel procurement and project evaluation tools are valuable resources that will be made available through our Learning Library. Key lessons learned about our successful long‑term collaboration will save other cities valuable time and resources in their pursuits to create smart mobility corridors, and ultimately, may save lives.

The #SmarterTogether program is ambitious and achievable. It is not a call for incremental progress. It is an opportunity to fundamentally transform our Cities' infrastructure in a way that will save lives, improve quality of life, and provide a replicable model for Canadian cities that wish to bring the same outcomes to their communities.