After deadly year on roads, Calgary explores using drones and VR for traffic safety

Karina Zapata · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 8:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

After reporting an 11-year precocious for collision fatalities past year, Calgary is turning to caller exertion successful an effort to marque its roads safer.

Calgary is the archetypal Canadian metropolis to trial drones and virtual world to show postulation successful existent time. The metropolis has purchased astir 7 drones to show traffic, and let metropolis staff to recognize however assemblage patterns are forming and whether officers are needed to power traffic.

Operators astatine the city's postulation absorption centre are besides piloting a virtual world headset to support an oculus connected congestion astatine intersections, and set postulation signals successful existent time. It's presently being tested astatine Macleod Trail and 42nd Avenue S.W.

These caller tools travel aft 29 radical died successful collisions successful 2024, including 13 pedestrians.

"I'm truly hopeful and optimistic that we tin alleviate immoderate of the unit connected traffic, and possibly calm drivers down to immoderate grade truthful that we're not experiencing the aforesaid magnitude of collisions that we person seen successful the past — successful peculiar the collisions betwixt vehicles and pedestrians wherever lives were lost," said Mayor Jyoti Gondek.

Aside from safety, Gondek said the city's extremity is to usage these tools to marque roadworthy question faster and much predictable.

The VR headset was tested during the caller G7 leaders' acme successful Kananaskis, Alta., erstwhile thousands of radical from crossed the satellite were travelling done Calgary. Gondek said it was a success.

"We had a batch of motorcades passing done and truthful we had to accommodate those, but precise rapidly the teams astatine the postulation absorption centre were capable to reset the signals to let for afloat travel of postulation again," she said.

The metropolis plans to grow the VR programme to up to 15 much locations adjacent year, said Ravi Seera, Calgary's acting manager of mobility.

Seera said it outgo the metropolis astir $10,000 to bring the VR headsets online, adding that each drone costs "less than $1,000." But helium said these tools should prevention the metropolis wealth successful the agelong run.

"The full volition down the aviator is we privation to marque definite determination is worth down the investment. So we are looking astatine low-cost, high-value investments," said Seera.

Faster Google Maps updates

Calgary has besides landed a concern with Google to marque it the archetypal metropolis successful the satellite to upload images straight to Google Street View.

Gondek said that means Calgarians volition get faster updates and much close accusation connected Google Maps. City unit is besides exploring partnerships with akin platforms similar Apple Maps.

"On average, it takes Google astir 2 to 3 years to update their maps. We're enabling them to bash it wrong astir six months," said Gondek.

Similar to Toronto, the City of Calgary is besides partnering with Waze, a fashionable navigation app.

"Calgary has created a two-way information transportation with Waze, which gives drivers and the metropolis entree to unrecorded postulation updates connected closures and detours, and it helps drivers to study immoderate incidents and delays that they whitethorn beryllium witnessing successful existent time," said Gondek.

In addition, the metropolis is utilizing artificial quality for postulation counting. City unit are besides looking into ways AI tin assistance to forestall potholes oregon cracks successful roads.

"What we expect is successful a fewer years, that would regenerate our manual information postulation and inspection of our roadways. It volition springiness america accusation astir which roads request to beryllium paved," said Seera.

Gondek said the metropolis has robust information protocols successful spot to guarantee each information is protected.