The City of San Diego is installing 3,200 "smart street lights" downtown that will use data to develop smartphone apps for traffic and parking.
There will also be 14,000 upgraded street lights, and together, the improvements will save the city 2.4 million dollars a year in energy costs, and help with both the climate action plan and the pedestrian safety plan called Vision Zero.
The City partnered with a company called Current, powered by GE, with officials calling it the largest city-based deployment of a platform for the "internet of Things".
Mayor Kevin Faulconer praised the program saying "not only can it help you find a parking spot where you don't have to drive around, but we will also be using technology that can dim street lights automatically, depending on the time of day. It's going to be helpful on traffic congestion and bike routes, and it's all about using smart technology to make a better quality of life here in San Diego".
Kris Michell with the Downtown Partnership was asked about privacy concerns, saying "the information is anonymous, so they are not going to store it, they are not going to keep it, it's just for that point in time only".
The new street lights will be installed between July of this year and the end of next year.