CITY OF MISSISSAUGA
Business leaders who come to the Mayor ’ s office or our Economic Development
Office SOON LEARN THAT THIS IS AN ENABLING PLACE TO ESTABLISH
A BUSINESS
– Shawn Slack , Director Information Technology and CIO applied focusing on outcomes such as customer service and efficiencies recognizing that technology was the key enabler . When the last funding announcement came out we put forward a proposal to create ‘ i-parks ’, and put WiFi and sensors in our parks to measure participation , foot traffic and usage patterns .” Now it will be possible , for example , to know when to empty garbage bins only when they are getting full , or to pick up litter based on park utilisation .
There are countless other examples – Mississauga already has sensors at key intersections to detect traffic flows and any abnormalities . These sensors may soon be able to detect the presence of an emergency vehicle and automatically phase traffic lights to let it through . Innovation in sensor technology is happening all the time – but it is the ability to connect them effectively over wireless and fibre networks that make a truly Smart City .
Shawn Slack has seen his role change as radically as the tools available to him . It ’ s fair to say that Mississauga never really treated IT as a back office utility , however today
126 January 2017