Smart Cities

Jacksonville, FL – WGI Inc., the award-winning national design and professional services firm, in partnership with Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) and the Vision to Reality (V2R) team, is proud to announce the completion of the highly anticipated Autonomous Innovation Center (AIC), a cutting-edge research and development facility located in Jacksonville, Florida that is envisioned to place Northeast Florida as the national hub for autonomous vehicle technology advancement. The state-of-the-art command facility was designed by WGI as part of the Bay Street Innovation Corridor (BSIC), Phase 1 for JTA’s Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C) program. WGI provided full-service transportation engineering, architecture, structural engineering, MEP engineering, civil engineering, environmental services, and geospatial technology expertise to the project. “The AIC represents a bold step into the future of transportation, automation, and smart cities,” said Eric Luttmann, Director of Architecture at WGI Inc. “Our design was guided by the goal of creating an agile space that not only supports cutting-edge research but also fosters meaningful collaboration between sectors. We’re proud to have partnered on a project that will shape the next era of innovation in Jacksonville and beyond.” The AIC, located in Jacksonville’s growing innovation corridor, will serve as a collaborative environment for startups, academic researchers, and major technology firms focused on autonomous vehicles, robotics, AI systems, and smart infrastructure. This transformational project is expected to drive job creation, foster public-private partnerships, and catalyze regional economic growth. The design by WGI Inc. reflects the Center’s forward-looking mission, combining sustainable architecture with highly adaptable command center, operations, and workspace environments. The facility’s modern design and efficient layout were crafted to support testing, innovation, and scalable development. The Bay Street Innovation Corridor is now operational and actively welcoming partners from industry and academia to join in shaping the next generation of autonomous technology. Tours and partnership inquiries are being coordinated through the V2R team. Please reach out to Eric Luttmann for more information. About WGI Founded in 1972, WGI is an award-winning national design and professional services firm leading in technology-based solutions for the construction of public infrastructure and real estate development. With 18 offices throughout the United States, the firm is a leading provider of civil engineering services, electrical engineering, environmental consulting, geospatial and land surveying, planning, landscape architecture, MEP engineering services, new mobility, parking solutions, restoration engineering, structuring engineering, subsurface utility engineering, transportation engineering, water resources, architecture, and project delivery. WGI can be found online at wginc.com.

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This March issue of Parking & Mobility explores innovative strategies for implementing smart parking concepts.

stock.adobe.com / Jamo Images The other day I was commuting to my office in Vancouver on one of the transit lines we have here, the West Coast Express (WCE). We approached the final station, and the train stopped; many of us were standing, ready to exit when the doors opened. But they didn’t. Typically, the doors open immediately to allow all the eager beavers to get to work. I think it was in the first few seconds that I subconsciously put my hand out to steady myself on the side of the train, as I instinctively knew that we had overshot (or undershot) our position and that the train was going to jolt in movement to readjust for us to exit. I didn’t realize I had done it until the next day when it happened again, and I noticed that most people very quickly did the same thing as I had done without thinking—two days in a row. We were all a bunch of trained train riders! It got me thinking about the first time this happened to me. I can’t remember it precisely, as it was not that impactful at the moment, but I suspect it goes something like this: the train stops, and I expect the door to open, but it doesn’t; I wait, wondering what is going on; the train jolts to move into the correct position, and I stumble, maybe bumping the person next to me, maybe multiple people collide like falling dominos, maybe someone even falls over. Ok, probably not, as I would have remembered that, but you get the picture. This is a quick, otherwise unimportant moment. Still, we instinctively file this away in our subconscious so that the second or third time it happens, we naturally move to accommodate the previously learned experience. What is the point of this story? Cities around us are changing rapidly. We see advancements in parking, transportation, and mobility from a technological, policy, and behavioral standpoint. These changes may make us uncomfortable, thinking, “What does this mean for me?” Some may have stronger feelings, fearful even, thinking, “How am I going to cope in this new way? Will I get left behind?” Some of us may be excited, but this thought piece isn’t meant for you… The wonderful thing about the human inherent ability to not only survive but thrive is that we both consciously and unconsciously adapt to change very quickly. One or two experiences can shape how we react to the next encounter we may have of the same kind. We often put little to no conscious effort into accommodating change around us. Think of your childhood neighborhood. Let’s assume you don’t live there anymore, and you go back to visit 20 years later. It will look wildly different, and you will likely immediately notice. You may not be able to place the specific differences, but you will absolutely know it’s different from what it once was. You weren’t part of the change; it happened without you, and you notice it’s different. Now think of where you live now, or perhaps where you lived for many years. Think of the building on the corner that is only two years old. What was there before, do you remember? Do you remember how the highway entrance and exit ramps were directing traffic five years ago before significant improvement? I would put money down that you don’t remember and that something that likely created a decent amount of impact in your life many years ago has become almost entirely forgotten because you adapted to the new building, the new roadway, the new payment method at the grocery store, the new app on your phone, the new… you get the point. Let’s go back to the first story I told and ponder the rapid evolution of our cities. It’s more likely that with one or two interactions with the change around us, we will naturally learn to not only cope but thrive in our new environments. Our lives will be enriched with new services, efficiencies, or enhanced protections we are all working to achieve. The old ways and what we used to do will be forgotten or replaced with a new, maybe just as good, maybe even better, way. And yes, perhaps along the way, we may “stumble” like we did on the train, but we will accommodate and evolve. Being part of the change will make it seem less disruptive, like our existing neighborhoods’ unnoticeable evolution, versus an unvisited childhood neighborhood dramatic change. As part of the IPMI Board of Directors, I’m excited to be part of this month’s magazine. I want to learn more about what is happening around us right now and what we can expect to see in our own neighborhoods and cities in months or years to come. If you know of something cool and innovative in a city near you, please get in touch with me. I’d love to hear about it! Happy reading, IPMI friends! ◆

How Smart Cities Are Transforming the Parking Industry

As our urban areas transition to the smart cities of the future, traditional inefficient and limited parking systems are evolving into smart parking operations. How are smart city parking innovations reshaping urban centers, increasing sustainability, and improving the quality of life in our communities?