For the second consecutive year, Q-Free has played a pivotal role in a project recognized by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) with the prestigious Transportation Achievement Award.

This year’s recognition goes to the CV Sync Regional Traffic Signal Synchronization Smart Region Project in California’s Coachella Valley—one of the nation’s top smart traffic management upgrades featuring Q-Free’s Kinetic Mobility ATMS—in the Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) category. ITE’s Transportation Achievement Awards honor excellence in advancing transportation to meet human needs and are presented yearly at the ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibition.

The CV Sync project is a pioneering initiative that is transforming the Coachella Valley into a premiere smart region through the deployment of state-of-the-art Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). It involves upgrading traffic signal controllers, enhancing detection capabilities, and improving communications networks so nearly a dozen communities can collaborate on signal synchronization and traffic management, all using Q-Free’s Kinetic Mobility ATMS as the central hub to coordinate activities. As the project moves into its second phase, Q-Free’s Kinetic Mobility continues to play a crucial role in scaling and advancing the region’s traffic management capabilities.

The Coachella Valley region presents unique transportation challenges as it hosts several large music, entertainment, and sporting events each year including the Coachella Music and Arts Festival and the Indian Wells Open tennis tournament. With large influxes of tourists and residents sharing the region’s roads, it was crucial for the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) and ADVANTEC Consulting Engineers, the project’s lead consultant, to develop and implement the CV Sync project to address escalating traffic challenges.

Because Kinetic Mobility is technology agnostic, it’s the only system available that is powerful enough to connect the project’s complex network of nine Traffic Operation Centers (TOCs) and one Regional Traffic Management Center (RTMC), using closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems, Bluetooth/Wi-Fi arterial management systems, and enhanced detection systems for vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. A key component for the project was the ability to manage signals locally but also through the RTMC via center-to-center interfaces within the ATMS. But most importantly, the project required systems to be scalable and upgradeable, and Kinetic Mobility’s open standards and modularity positions the initiative for future success.

The CV Sync project is currently reducing traffic congestion, travel delays, and greenhouse gas emissions in the Coachella Valley. Traffic managers are using Kinetic Mobility’s tools to communicate in real-time to efficiently coordinate traffic flow during large events, emergencies, and daily operations that enhance every road user’s quality of life.

Last year, Q-Free was also part of the Division Transit Project which received the 2023 Transportation Achievement Award in the same category. Being part of the award-winning teams for two years in a row underscores Q-Free’s unwavering commitment to delivering smarter, safer, and more flexible transportation solutions worldwide.