Pitch and Pilot:
Fairfax County Innovation Challenge 2021

Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety
April 21, 1-3pm

Winner

Goal

To find innovative solutions to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in our increasingly multimodal transportation landscape.

Watch pitches

Finalists

Meet the Faifax County Innovation Challenge Finalists

Boulder Ai + AMAG

Derq

Ford Safety Insights

Sensagrate

Street Simplified

Transoft Solutions

Agenda 1-3 P.M.

Winner Announcement

John W. Foust – Dranesville District Supervisor and Chairman of Eco. Advisory Commission, Fairfax County

Pitch Competition

Presented by David Heyman – Chairman of the Board, Smart City Works

- Boulder Ai + AMAG
- Derq
- Ford Safety Insights
- Sensagrate
- Street Simplified
- Transoft Solutions

Judges deliberation and Networking session.

Panel Discussion

Rachel Flynn – Deputy Co Executive, Fairfax Co

Bruce Wright – Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling,

Moderator: David Ihrie – VA Center for Innovative Technology

Opening Remarks

Jeff McKay – Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Welcome and Kickoff

Eta Nahapetian – Eco. Initiatives Coordinator, Fairfax

Co Carola Mandelbaum – Executive Director, Smart City Works

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Confirmed Judges

01
Eric Teitelamn

Capital Projects and Traffic Engineering Division Chief, Fairfax County Department of Transportation

02
Yvette White

Board member, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling

03
Lisa Brown

Senior Director, Local Government – Global Markets, Johnson Controls

04
Heidi Mitter

Transportation Planning Specialist at Virginia Department of Transportation

Bio

Heidi is a graduate of UVA’s Urban and Environmental Planning program and has worked with VDOT in Northern Virginia since 2015. Her work as a multimodal transportation planner has included transportation demand management programs, multimodal studies and plans, park & ride lot coordination, and she currently serves as VDOT’s district bicycle and pedestrian coordinator.

05
Michael Fontaine, P.E., Ph.D.

Associate Director / Virginia Transportation Research Council

Bio

Mike Fontaine is the Associate Director for the Safety, Operations, and Traffic Engineering team at the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC), the research division of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). In that role, Dr. Fontaine manages VDOT’s research program in the areas of highway safety, traffic engineering, signal operations, performance measures, intelligent transportation systems, and connected and automated vehicles. Dr. Fontaine currently serves as the chair of the Transportation Research Board Urban Transportation Data and Information Systems committee and is a member of the TRB Highway Traffic Monitoring Committee. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia, where he teaches courses on transportation data analysis and highway safety. Dr. Fontaine received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia and is a registered professional engineer in Virginia.

Fairfax County Challenge
Background

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has made bicycle and pedestrian safety a priority by allocating significant federal, state and local funding to implement bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements in high-risk areas.

The coronavirus pandemic has substantially altered how people travel and use various transportation modes. While transit ridership is slowly recovering, bike sales have doubled nationally. The pandemic has also significantly reduced road congestion, and travel speeds have increased as a result. At the same time, crashes involving vulnerable road users who are disproportionally people of color and low income, have also increased.

As localities look to respond to these rapid mode shifts and protect vulnerable road users, Fairfax County, in partnership with Smart City Works, proposes to hold an innovation challenge event that focuses on bicycle and pedestrian safety. This event aims to find the best ideas and solutions to improve safety for vulnerable road users. The county hopes to implement a pilot project to evaluate the effectiveness of the winning solution(s).

Bike sales have doubled
nationally.

Road Congestion has been reduced, but travel speeds have increased.

Crash victims are disproportionately people of color and low income.

About the Competition

In partnership with Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives, Smart City Works will hold a regionally focused virtual Pitch and Pilot to find the best safety solutions to support Fairfax County’s goals, including increasing bike and pedestrian safety, promoting active living, and sustainability. Fairfax County hopes this process will result in a viable pilot project. The County is agreeable to partnering with participants who offer innovative safety solutions that are aligned with County goals and policies. There are no preconceived notions about the incorporation of any specific technologies, but we do ask that the solution further the County’s goal of being a leader in smart community innovation.

At least eight teams from around the world will virtually present their solutions to an audience of Fairfax government officials and other safety, innovation, and community stakeholders from around the region.

The winning proposal will:

- Align with both the County’s and VDOT’s guiding principles or goals;
- Align with the One Fairfax Policy to advance racial and social equity;
- Incorporate existing crash and safety data;
- Address safety challenges at a specific geographic location(s);
- Use an innovative approach to advance County priorities;
- Prioritize vulnerable populations and disadvantaged communities;
- Maintain data privacy and security;
- Have the potential to scale.

The winning solution will be considered for implementation as a pilot project in Fairfax County.

Requirements & Resources

Eligibility

Companies, entities, or teams of all sizes and from all over the world may submit a proposal.

Participants must:
- incorporate an existing or future technology product or program;
- be able to implement the solution within a year.

Criteria

A selection committee will evaluate and score proposals and select finalists. The selection and evaluation process will be based on the criteria identified below:
- Innovation
- Scalability
- Practicality of application Safety Equity and Inclusivity

Resources

Bike & Walk Fairfax
‍
‍Bike Map
‍
‍VDOT PSAP Report
‍
‍One Fairfax
‍
‍Other Resources