Mayor Walsh Announces Syracuse is Finalist for the Smart City Award
Published on March 10, 2022
Mayor urges community members to vote online for Syracuse in the Sustainable Infrastructure category
Mayor Walsh announced the City of Syracuse is a finalist for honors in a North American award competition that recognizes progress by municipalities in smart cities projects. The IDC Government Insights Smart Cities North America Award selected Syracuse among three U.S. cities as finalists in the Sustainable Infrastructure division.
The winners in each of the 14 award categories will be selected by an online public voting process. IDC invites members of the public to vote at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SCNAA22. Syracuse is included in category 11 for Sustainability Infrastructure programs in smart water, lighting, waste collection and environmental monitoring.
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“This is a major point of pride for Syracuse and will help bring even more positive attention and investment to our city. I urge people across Syracuse and Central New York to go online and vote for our program,” said Mayor Walsh. “Every day, people get the benefits of our smart street lights that deliver better quality lighting to our neighborhoods and business districts and improve our environmental sustainability. It’s a forward-looking infrastructure program that saves money and will make it possible for us to deliver other improved services, including sensor-enabled road temperature and air monitoring to assist with snow and ice removal.”
A major component of Mayor Walsh’s Syracuse Surge strategy for inclusive growth in the New Economy, the City of Syracuse converted is street light network to energy efficient LED lights in 2020. The City saves an estimated $3 million annually in energy and maintenance costs and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 8,500 tons a year—the equivalent of taking more than 1,660 cars off the road.
The New York Power Authority named Syracuse as New York State’s Flagship Smart City in 2019. The city’s streetlights are outfitted with SMART controls that provide programmed dimming ability, energy metering, fault monitoring, and additional tools for emergency services through on-demand lighting levels. The system will also deliver new capabilities in digital connectivity, environmental monitoring, and public safety.
In all, 38 cities in the United States and Canada are up for awards. Syracuse and Schenectady are the only New York State cities selected as finalists. Also recognized in the Sustainable Infrastructure division are the cities of San Jose and Riverside in California.
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