SideWalk Labs - Can Google make our Streets Safer for Cycling?
A report in the Times on 24 June 2015 states that recent DfT statistics show cycling is on the decrease and this is because people are scared to cycle.
Is it any wonder when yet another cycling fatality occurred last week and a young lady sadly lost her life following a collision with a tipper truck at Bank in London. The seventh female cyclist to die this year in a collision with an HGV.
As readers of this blog will know, we believe we can make the roads safer with greater use of technology, a view it would appear not shared with the likes of TfL and/or the government for that matter. So…. it falls to entrepreneurs and innovators once more to try and make a difference and who better than Google to step into the world of safer transportation systems?
The week before this tragic incident, the formation of Sidewalk Labs was announced. Sidewalk Labs is a google backed urban innovation company that will develop technology at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds, with a focus on improving city life for residents, businesses and governments.
‘…improving city life for residents …’ … our cities’ cyclists certainly need their lot improving.
Sidewalk Labs say their mission is to improve life in cities for everyone through the application of technology to solve urban problems. We can think of one urban problem that definitely needs solving! They went on to say:
‘… The announcement of Sidewalk Labs comes as the world is continuing a massive urban shift. At the same time, new technologies - including ubiquitous connectivity and sharing, the internet of things, dynamic resource management and flexible buildings and infrastructure - are emerging to allow cities and citizens to tackle problems in real time.
New technologies are already transforming commerce, media and access to information. However, while there are apps to tell people about traffic conditions, or the prices of available apartments, the biggest challenges that cities face — such as making transportation more efficient and lowering the cost of living, reducing energy usage and helping government operate more efficiently have, so far, been more difficult to address…’
They missed the word ‘safer’ after transportation, but I would suggest this is implied.
We intend to play a part in developing technology products for safer transportation that can integrate with platforms and advanced infrastructure and can be implemented in cities around the world.
