Managing road congestion: predicting unpredictable traffic events
"Studies have shown that a 1% increase in roadway capacity is followed by a 1% increase in roadway demand over the intermediate term. What this means is that every time you build a new road, extra demand is going to occupy it. It doesn't solve the existing problem of congestion. The crux of our solution is that we enable greater coordination within the existing infrastructure. This is the foundation of any smart city."
- Pratik Desai, Senior Product Marketing Manager, HERE Technologies.
As more cities consider how they can begin to ease restrictions in the wake of COVID-19, there are likely strategic conversations taking place behind the scenes regarding how to manage traffic congestion in the face of a general public who are less inclined to commute via public transport. The pressure will be felt when it comes to ensuring that local infrastructure can handle the increasing and expected number of cars on the road. Coming into 2021, cities and governments must find a way to plan and predict for increased traffic congestion in an era that is - quite seriously - unpredictable.
So what should the public sector start thinking about when it comes to preparing for the expected influx of road usage? The answer is to ensure that existing road systems are currently being managed properly when it comes to maintenance, modelling and safety measures. Having these systems operating efficiently from the get-go means that infrastructure teams will have a strong foundation in place when situations suddenly change.
Several technology companies are assisting organisations with taking these measures. HERE Technologies, for instance, provides tools for urban planners and traffic management teams to model traffic flow, manage traffic congestion and improve road safety in the future. Here are some of the ways this is made possible.
Traffic flow modelling
Social distancing measures have changed the way citizens and businesses move themselves and their goods around cities. As more people use cars to navigate around, it’s important for urban planners to understand the health of their transport infrastructure.
Using HERE Technologies Traffic API, urban planners can learn from historical and real-time traffic data to monitor what type of congestion is occurring, how it changes over time and how this impacts driver mobility. This allows planners to identify congestion patterns in real-time and identify whether cities are faced with a volume issue, space issue or traffic light coordination issue.
Managing traffic congestion incidents
By understanding and visualising what is happening across a road network, emergency response teams can detect and respond quickly to incidents on the road. Emergency response teams can navigate to an incident quickly using live traffic information available in the HERE Technologies Traffic API. With heavy vehicle routing, HERE Technologies can help fleet logistics teams navigate around incidents and traffic congestion while adhering to heavy vehicle height and weight restrictions.
Smart routing and live traffic and incident information means drivers can be notified and rerouted around incidents and road closures to avoid congested areas.
Greater safety
Over time, roads begin to decay. Traffic operations teams can leverage historical and real-time traffic information of the road networks to understand the traffic speed and flow patterns, determine causes of crashes, adjust road maintenance programs and help urban planners prioritise road infrastructure upgrades.
Leveraging high-definition base maps, HERE Technologies can help planners create routes that minimise driving on rough roads to reduce road and vehicle maintenance costs, create truck routes without height and weight restrictions and further create opportunities to minimise street signage and traffic lights, ultimately decreasing the amount of stopping points for traffic.
How can Next Mile Location Technology help?
Next Mile Location Technology is a distributor of HERE Technologies in Australia and New Zealand. The team is well-equipped to help infrastructure and transport management teams leverage location intelligence in existing or new transport projects.
If you would like to learn more about how HERE Technologies can help with your planning or operations, have a chat with our team today.