AI identifies Calgary's 50 riskiest pedestrian intersections, council eyes $6M fix

An artificial intelligence system scanned more than 17,000 Calgary intersections without traffic signals to rank which are most dangerous for pedestrians. Among the data collected, 28 of the intersections had risk scores above 95, and 137 had risk scores above 90.

The analysis went into a council presentation Tuesday that included a specific ask: roughly $6 million in the upcoming four-year budget to implement safety upgrades at 26 of the 50 locations. If approved, design work could start in 2027, with construction potentially finished by 2028 and 2029.

The AI model fed in collision data, roadway geometry, census information, proximity to schools and transit stops, weather, and time of day. The model runs monthly and takes a week to process — data updates every six hours.

Six of the top 13 high-risk intersections sit in Ward 5, where Councillor Raj Dhaliwal told council that newcomers, who make up many residents, rely heavily on public transit and often travel during darker hours. Ward 8 had five of the top 13 and Councillor Nathan Schmidt said the ward's high density and commuter patterns drive the risk.

The city also tabled a Vision Zero roadmap with three funding scenarios: $7 million would cover roughly 100 locations, $10 million would address 150 annually, and $20 million could handle 300 annually. Council recommended administration come back with a plan to accelerate improvements at high-risk spots.

As HighOnCity reported in June, the city had already begun deploying AI to spot danger zones.