The Herndon Town Council has approved a resolution whereby the town has entered an agreement with Vivacity DC, Inc., to install “smart city” technologies, including centrally-controlled LED lights, free WiFi, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensor equipment, in downtown Herndon. The pilot program runs from Dec. 31, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2020.
The pilot project includes the replacement of approximately 10 existing street light poles with LED smart poles, with LED lighting upgrades to approximately 30 additional street lights. These enhancements will enable remote monitoring and management of the lights. Additional elements of the program include a public Wi-Fi network downtown; installment of an electric vehicle charging station; and IoT sensors for other smart city services.
Through the pilot project, Vivacity and the town will evaluate
Cost savings of LED lights and centrally-controlled management system;
Potential reduction in carbon emissions;
Impact of improved mobile coverage in the downtown;
Public safety impacts from the lighting and blue button emergency calling feature;
Data on bicycle and pedestrian flow on the W&OD trail; and
Cost and usage of the electric vehicle charging station.
Vivacity will design, engineer, construct and manage the integrated fiber optic cable and wireless network capable to deliver the smart city services. The town will allow access to infrastructure including existing street lights, conduit, power facilities and electrical services, as well as required authorization for Vivacity to sell services to third parties.
“We are excited to pilot this program with Vivacity and to explore how these cutting-edge technologies may benefit citizens, businesses and visitors to our downtown,” said Mayor Lisa C. Merkel. “The metrics developed through this program will provide a baseline upon which we build, as we work toward our vision for Herndon’s downtown.”