On October 19th and 20th, the City Forum & Urban C-ITS Contest events took place at the Almeida Garrett Library in Porto, organized by Armis in partnership with the Porto City Council (C.M. Porto), IMT, and TIS, with the sponsorship of the European Commission. This gathering brought together leaders from various European entities actively collaborating on the European C-Roads Platform in a variety of projects. Giving an opportunity to discuss, exchange and highlight the deployment of C-ITS in Europe as well as its impact on urban environments. Notable attendees included Martin Boehm, Pierpaolo Tona, and Pedro Baganha, representing the C-Roads Platform, CINEA, and the City Council of Porto's Department of Urbanism and Public Space, respectively.
City Forum & Urban C-ITS Contest
Recapping the Highlights of the City Forum and the Urban C-ITS Contest in Porto, Portugal.
CITY FORUM
During the forum on 19th of October, participants discussed the development of best practices and the impact of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) in urban environments. Throughout the event, the speakers emphasized the numerous benefits of harmonization and interoperability, with a focus on concrete solutions implemented. Topics covered included "C-ITS services in urban environments: European state of practice," "C-ITS Impact on traffic management and efficiency," "The road users' perception of C-ITS," and "Challenges for improving C-ITS services in the coming years," providing various cities with the opportunity to showcase their projects.
The event featured around 100 engaged registered participants representing several European cities and other organisations, who had the opportunity to discuss relevant Urban C-ITS-related topics, which emphasized practical solutions and knowledge sharing. The event fostered networking, collaboration, and forward-looking discussions on challenges and innovation, leaving attendees inspired to tackle future C-ITS issues, and making it valuable for the progress of Urban C-ITS.
URBAN C-ITS CONTEST AWARD CEREMONY
As for the Award Ceremony, held on the 20th of October, it marked the successful end of the Urban C-ITS Contest, which aimed at presenting and promoting European cities' C-ITS deployments, highlighting the characterisation of their systems and architectures. By the end of the submission period, 21 cities from 10 member states (listed below) submitted their applications. There were – in total – 115 applications, which attests to the increasing interest from European municipalities in deploying C-ITS. The submissions included information related to the C-Roads documents released, communication plans, and stage of deployment.
| Member State | City |
|---|---|
| Austria | Graz |
| Austria | Salzburg |
| Austria | Vienna |
| Czech Republic | Ostrava |
| Czech Republic | Plzen |
| Czech Republic | Hradec Králové |
| Finland | Tampere |
| France | Bordeaux |
| France | Paris |
| Germany | Dresden |
| Germany | Hamburg |
| Germany | Kassel |
| Hungary | Gyor |
| Italy | Trento |
| Italy | Torino |
| Italy | Verona |
| Netherlands | Helmond |
| Portugal | Lisbon |
| Portugal | Porto |
| Portugal | Vila Nova de Gaia |
| United Kingdom | West Midlands |
After a meticulous evaluation process, the responsible committee decided upon the winning cities for each award. In total, 11 awards were presented to distinct European cities:
| Number | Award | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Frontrunner on ensuring the accessibility of jobs and services to all | Helmond |
| 2 | The Frontrunner on improving safety and security | Turin |
| 3 | The Frontrunner on reducing pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption | Trento |
| 4 | The Frontrunner on increasing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the transportation of persons and goods | Porto |
| 5 | The Frontrunner on enhancing the attractiveness and quality of the urban environment | Paris |
| 6 | The Frontrunner of Long-Term C-ITS strategy | Hamburg |
| 7 | The Frontrunner on implementing the Highest numbers of use-cases | Hradec Králové |
| 8 | The Frontrunner of Geographical coverage | Bordeaux |
| 9 | The Frontrunner on urban-interurban integration | Salzburg |
| 10 | The Frontrunner supporting the automation of vehicles | Dresden |
| 11 | The Best contributor in WG 4 or for C-ITS dissemination | Graz |
The Award Ceremony, where those awards were delivered, marked a significant milestone in urban development and smart transportation, as it recognized the efforts of the cities in their implementations, with remarkable levels of development. Besides taking over the awards, the winning cities’ representatives had the opportunity to present their C-ITS visions, which fomented discussions regarding the progress of EU-wide urban C-ITS.
AWARD CEREMONY - Highlights
Boosting dimension of urban C-ITS
The presentations from the awarded cities made it clear that urban C-ITS came to stay. Increasing investments in C-ITS infrastructure and the expanding number of use cases implemented were observed. The cities of Bordeaux, Helmond, and Salzburg – which contain the largest C-ITS geographical coverages – attest the expansion of the C-ITS infrastructure in European cities. Similarly, the city of Hradec Králové is a role model of the versatility and the increasing use of C-ITS in urban environments, as the 40 installed RSUs and 130 PT vehicles equipped with OBUs allow for a huge number of different C-ITS services and use cases implemented (and planned for the future as well!).
Urban C-ITS & Automation
The ability of C-ITS to foment automation also became evident. The city of Hamburg – which aims to become a digital mobility model – by 2030, is poised to embrace an automated future with up to 10,000 self-driving vehicles set to streets. As outlined during the ceremony, C-ITS plays a central role in pursuing this goal, as part of the development paths of their digital mobility strategy. The city has equipped over 160 traffic lights with RSUs, supporting several services to foster automated driving.
The City of Dresden, in turn, is at the forefront when it comes to automated driving, which was attested by the award granted. By providing I2V information, infrastructure-based assistance and enabling remote driving and loud-based scenario, C-ITS presents valuable contributions for the city’s automation goals. The relation between C-ITS and CCAM was also highlighted by the city of Turin, which mentioned several challenges for going after automated mobility, and how the city is using C-ITS as a manner to overcome those.
Those examples are evidences of the growing dimension of Urban C-ITS, and allow one to verify that this is still the beginning.
C-ITS as a crucial part of the city’s urban and mobility plans
Throughout the deployments presented, it becomes evident that the C-ITS policies are firmly integrated into the city’s mobility plans. In the city of Paris, where one of the main goals within their urban planning strategy is to accommodate the mobility of Vulnerable Road Users (VRU), the use of C-ITS policies is clearly incorporated as a main element that allows for the integration of these users and their inclusion in the mobility system. Such an effort contributed for Paris to receiving the award of enhancing the attractiveness of their urban scenario.
Another good examples of incorporating C-ITS in the urban planning strategy can be observed in the cities of Trento, Graz and Porto. In the case of Trento, which has sustainability as an important urban target, the degree of relevance of C-ITS is evident in the deployment of SI-GLOSA, as this use case allows for reducing stops and fuel consumption, which contributes to their sustainability goals by reducing CO2 emissions. Porto and Graz, in turn, are deeply committed to enhancing road safety and traffic efficiency. In that sense, their C-ITS deployments are mainly focused on safety-related services, such as Road Works Warning, Hazardous Location Notification and services that have direct impact on reducing congestion – as Traffic Light Prioritization, which clearly reflect the goals of their urban and mobility strategy.
Award Ceremony
The awards symbolized more than just recognition, they represented a shared commitment to enhancing the urban experience, making cities more efficient, safe, accessible and sustainable. The ceremony brought together around 90 registered participants, who collectively strive to make urban environments smarter, safer, and more enjoyable places to live and work. The Urban C-ITS Contest awards were a reminder of the power of collaboration, innovation, and dedication towards connected mobility in European Cities.
The European C-Roads Platform thanks the organizers and all participants for making both events so successful!
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