Smart City – Town of Cary, NC

Smart Infrastructure and LoRaWAN Deployment in Downtown Cary Park

The Town of Cary, North Carolina, is nationally recognized for integrating technology, sustainability, and people-first planning — demonstrating how smart infrastructure can enhance daily life. At the heart of this effort is its transformation of the Downtown Cary Park into a connected, intelligent public space that serves as both a functional urban park and a living laboratory for smart city infrastructure.

The Town of Cary, North Carolina, is widely recognized as a forward-looking community that strategically combines technology, sustainability, and citizen-centric design.

Background and Motivation

In 2021 Cary began its smart city journey by deploying a town-wide LoRaWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) infrastructure. Initially, three gateways were installed atop municipal water towers, providing broad baseline coverage. A gateway was then added to the Downtown Cary Park parking garage, enabling dense, localized connectivity within the newly revitalized seven-acre park.

This network supports an environment that hosts 60,000 plant species, overseen by a single horticulturist, and serves as a venue for over 500 public events each year. With 41 Wi-Fi access points and extensive public engagement, the park was ideally positioned to become the cornerstone of Cary’s smart infrastructure deployment.

Challenges Addressed:

• Traditional methods of monitoring and maintenance were labor-intensive and reactive.
• Access to real-time environmental data was lacking, especially during crowded public events.
• Laying fiber across the park would have required disruptive underground work.
• The Town’s commitment to urban forest coverage and climate resilience demanded better long-term environmental monitoring.
• Safety concerns — such as icy sidewalks and overheated play surfaces — required predictive, real-time alerts to protect citizens and visitors.

Solution: LoRaWAN-Powered Smart Ecosystem

To address these needs, Cary implemented a multi-layered smart infrastructure powered by LoRaWAN, supported by a centralized SmartCary dashboard.

The core of the solution is a network of eight microclimate sensors strategically installed across different functional zones—children’s play areas, dining patios, lawn spaces, and the pond. These sensors collect real-time data on temperature, humidity, wind, rainfall, and noise, allowing Town staff to proactively monitor environmental changes and respond efficiently.. Alerts are generated automatically in scenarios such as elevated heat near playgrounds, helping to protect children and families during extreme conditions. This same system is also used to compare microclimates in areas with different surface materials—such as grass vs. concrete— enabling data-driven decisions around park layout, shade installation, and seasonal event planning, ensuring comfort and sustainability.

Operational efficiency has been greatly enhanced through the integration of LoRaWAN-connected devices in sanitation and maintenance workflows. Trash bins, paper towel dispensers, and restroom doors are all equipped with sensors that provide usage data to facility managers. This has reduced overflow incidents during major events by up to 90% — a measurable boost to operational efficiency and visitor satisfaction, providing real-time insights for both park visitors and operations teams.

Beyond the Park itself, the same infrastructure is being extended to other parts of Cary, including key intersections and bridges. LoRa-enabled sensors are being deployed to detect surface temperature and humidity, helping crews anticipate icing on bridges and intersections, enabling targeted treatment and improved pedestrian safety. This broader application underscores Cary’s commitment to building an adaptive and resilient urban environment where safety, data, and sustainability intersect seamlessly.

Key components include:

• Eight microclimate sensors positioned across playgrounds, patios, lawns, and ponds to measure temperature, humidity, wind, and pressure.
• Safety and alerting systems in children’s play areas that notify town staff when noise or heat exceeds safe thresholds.
• Environmental analytics that differentiate between event areas (e.g., patio vs. lawn) for improved layout and services during festivals.
• Waste and sanitation monitoring, including sensor-equipped bins and restrooms, that drastically reduce service incidents.
• Large display heatmaps providing both operational staff and citizens with visual feedback on crowd density and climate.
• Beyond the Park, the same network has been extended to intersections and bridges—offering real-time data on freezing conditions, salting needs, and pedestrian safety.

Outcomes and Benefits
The impact of this deployment has been both measurable and multi-dimensional:

• Child safety alerts have benefitted thousands of children annually, particularly during high-temperature periods.
• Sanitation overflow incidents were reduced during major events, improving hygiene and efficiency.
• Event planning for 750+ programs, events, and classes are now guided by microclimate data, enhancing visitor comfort and reducing complaints.
• Urban forest data collection supports Cary’s goal of maintaining its 51% canopy coverage, with localized irrigation and tree health insights.
• These outcomes reflect Cary’s broader strategy: using real-time data for both immediate impact and long-term climate adaptation, as outlined in the 2023-2033 Urban Forest Master Plan.

Forward Vision

Cary’s smart infrastructure strategy is not limited to current applications; it is designed with future scalability and citizen engagement in mind. One goal is the integration of sensor data with consumer voice assistants. Rather than relying on regional reports, Cary residents will soon be able to access hyperlocal environmental data – from wind speed to heat index – directly through voice assistants.

Moreover, the Town is exploring ways to integrate satellite imagery with its growing dataset of in-situ environmental readings. This would allow more precise tracking of tree canopy health, microclimate shifts, and irrigation needs—especially relevant given the Town’s long-term commitment to maintaining its urban forest. Cary’s environmental and technological infrastructure is being aligned to meet the ambitions laid out in the Urban Forest Master Plan, where long-term climate adaptation, biodiversity, and livability are paramount.

The project also represents a larger strategic vision: Cary aims to serve as a replicable model for other municipalities pursuing smart, scalable, and sustainable urban design. The community plan created follow years of unprecedented citizen outreach and then adopted by Council in 2017 to bring Cary to 2040, etc. By combining public value, operational efficiency, and long-term planning, Cary positions itself not only as a leader in smart urbanism, but as a national model — proving that connected infrastructure can serve people, the environment, and public services in harmony.