City of Talladega Blog

(Talladega, AL) Two City of Talladega employees recently received funding to attend the U.S. Department Of Transportation’s 2024 SMART Grants Summit in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The summit included extensive networking and training to assist grant recipients from throughout the nation in administering SMART grants in their respective communities.

Ciara Smith, the executive administrative assistant to City Manager Derrick Swanson, and Public Information Officer Mary Sood participated in training sessions that covered reporting guidelines, project management and best practices for administering the City of Talladega’s $1,123,432.00 SMART DOT Grant.

The city will utilize the funds for several pilot projects, including the installation of 15 Accessible Pedestrian Signals. The potentially life-saving signals will utilize non-visual manners such as audible tones, speech messages, and vibrating surfaces to communicate to an individual when to safely cross the street. Another component of this project is an emergency vehicle preemption system, which will give emergency response vehicles a green light on their approach to a signalized intersection while providing a red light to conflicting approaches. This will not only aid in ensuring rapid response times, but also provide efficient emergency services. Additionally, the city will purchase and install twenty fish-eye cameras with four separate video streams at 20 key intersections connected to major activity centers.

“Talladega’s SMART DOT grant will aid us in our effort to become the most accessible city in the state of Alabama,” said City Manager Derrick Swanson. “I am thrilled that the U.S. Department of Transportation recognized the importance of our project and provided the funding and training we need to ensure its success.”

“As home to AIDB, the city is committed to making Talladega more walkable for all,” said Smith. “Smart buttons will allow the blind and visually impaired community to move freely and safely throughout the city by providing multiple forms of touchless detection and producing auditory signals to ensure that visually impaired individuals can cross streets safely. This technology will also enhance walkability for Talladega College students and others pedestrians.”

The SMART program was established to provide grants to eligible public sector agencies to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart community technologies and systems in order to improve transportation efficiency and safety. The City of Talladega’s grant will enhance safety and equitable accessibility in Talladega.