For one of the youngest, most educated communities in Canada, working smarter isn’t just a goal — it’s a necessity.
For several years, Milton has been integrating smart initiatives and leveraging technology to make the community more efficient and sustainable, while attracting the types of businesses and labour force that fuel innovation.
As the Town continues to tell these stories of innovation, behind the scenes Milton has been investing in energy-saving solutions and intuitive technology to keep its community safe and better connected. The Town recognizes that building a more intelligent community is a long-term goal that involves both small and large initiatives, but collectively, all its efforts focus on the same outcome — improving the overall quality of life in Milton.
Some of Milton’s innovative initiatives include upgrades to Wi-Fi in the downtown core, improvements to digital customer service, interactive GIS and smart sensor integration, data-driven emergency service enhancements, and energy-efficient solutions for community facilities.
Recently the Town partnered with Kitchener-based cloud traffic management and analytics company, Miovision, to implement their TrafficLink service. The technology monitors traffic patterns along a key downtown corridor, and uses that data to reduce congestion and improve pedestrian mobility. For Milton, the opportunity to measure and analyze the return on investment (ROI) and impacts of this technology has been of critical importance to understanding how smart city initiatives can improve the quality of life for Miltonians.
As a regional hub for local businesses, start- ups, and entrepreneurs, the Milton Education Village Innovation Centre has also been instrumental in attracting and developing ventures to enhance smart initiatives in the community. Through partnerships with organizations like 3OpenLabs and Tech Data, the Centre is enabling pilot projects for smart vehicle tracking and inviting the expertise in artificial intelligence, IoT, and open data to grow within the community.
As the Town welcomes leading academic and research institutions like Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College, opportunities to explore and participate in projects that will enhance Milton’s portfolio of smart city initiatives will continue to expand. Coupled with the fact that Milton is centrally located along Ontario’s Innovation Corridor, growing smart is a natural evolution for this community. For more information about the Town of Milton please visit their economic development website found here.
