CLARKSVILLE, TN − The Clarksville Street Department has begun to deploy Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) remote sensing technology in its pursuit of safer travel for the public throughout the City of Clarksville. The technology uses pulsed light not visible to the human eye to precisely measure distances to objects, creating detailed 3D models.

LiDAR technology is not to be confused with license plate readers, red light cameras, speed trailers, or other devices used in law enforcement that most motorists are likely more familiar with.

This LiDAR technology deployment comes as the result of a partnership that will allow the Street Department to study habits of all travelers (cars, pedestrians, cyclists, etc.) to better understand their behaviors, and how this factors into achieving safer streets and highways.

“Using this advanced technology, we will be able to achieve a much better understanding of how the varied travel habits and patterns within our city mesh with our over-arching goal of making transportation safer, and more efficient, as our city grows,” said Mayor Joe Pitts.

The remote sensor will rotate through various locations in the city every couple of weeks to study various street and highway intersections of interest, said Sonny Emmert, Assistant Director/Geographic Information System (GIS) Manager, Clarksville Street Department.

The LiDAR project is funded by a state grant that Vanderbilt University received, said City Grants Director Lauren Winters. Included in this grant are local universities that will provide critical data analysis for this project, such as Austin Peay State University. A morning demonstration of the relatively-new technology – led by Dr. William Barbour, Senior Research Scientist at Vanderbilt – was conducted at the intersection of Warfield Boulevard and Rossview Road.

The data collected can be used to better inform signal timings to optimize traffic flow and ultimately help reduce vehicle crashes, as well as assist the City with future planning for multi-modal pathways.

Safer and more-efficient travel are long-established goals of the Mayor’s Transportation 2020+ master plan specifying better streets and highways, improved intersections and traffic signalizations, and more and better sidewalks. For the full plan, visit https://www.clarksvilletn.gov/1043/Transportation-2020.