The project of visualization of traffic intensity is a tool for the coordination of planned constructions – it shows the strain on individual Pilsen roads in relation to traffic restrictions (e.g. a street closed for transport due to construction works).
Since 2017, the city has been working in cooperation with other partners on a project to visualize traffic intensity on individual Pilsen roads in relation to traffic restrictions caused by construction activities. The aim of the project is to create a web visualization, which will make it possible to predict the impact of major road construction on the traffic situation in the city.
The implementation creates a tool for coordination of the planned activities to prevent significant traffic complications. The application is available HERE: https://intenzitadopravy.plzen.eu/
The model can simulate traffic situations, such as road narrowings or road closures, and thus predict the impact of road works on traffic in the vicinity of the planned traffic restriction.
The intensity of traffic can be monitored at any hour, the levels of traffic intensity are clearly differentiated and there is also data on the number of passing vehicles. An application is being created in which users can find important traffic restrictions, follow relevant traffic data and thus be able to adapt their habits to the current situation, i.e. by choosing the best detour route, etc. In terms of the decision-making process carried out by experts in cooperation with the city management and other investors, it is a tool that allows for more efficient cooperation and scheduling of construction to avoid unnecessary congestion due to individual road traffic restrictions.
2017
In 2017 the Traffic Intensity in Pilsen application is developed. This map project visualises traffic intensity in the city and builds upon the 2016 “Open Transport Net“ project. The result is a web visualization of the impacts of large construction works on the intensity of traffic on individual roads, taking into account the 10 main closures in the city in 2017 and 2018. Data filling in the original application finished on 31st December 2018.
2018 – 2019
As part of the project PoliVisu , work is underway to launch an extended traffic modelling application. The improved version of the Traffic Intensity in Pilsen application shows the traffic intensity in the past in places where traffic detectors are located and visualizes the expected development of traffic in the future based on the traffic model and scheduled closures. The display of traffic intensity visualizations runs in two modes – MODEL and HISTORICAL.
2019
Within the PoliVisu project a Map of Transport in Pilsen is developed by drawing on traffic detector data, as a total of 1,000 of these detectors are located at traffic lights in the city. The application displays the intensity of traffic on the most important sections of roads in the city, and makes it possible to interactively analyze the number of vehicles measured on 307 sections of city streets fitted with detectors in the form of induction loops. In the Map of Transport in Pilsen application, it is possible to view information on the traffic situation in Pilsen from 1st March 2017 until “yesterday”. Each of the displayed sections is interactive and offers information about its capacity, intensity and degree of traffic depending on the selected day / hour at the click of a button.
2020
During the last year of the PoliVisu project, the map application Traffic Safety in Pilsen has been developed. The map, in the form of a heatmap, visualizes data on traffic violations recorded by the Pilsen Municipal Police since 2015, data on traffic accidents registered by the Police of the Czech Republic in Pilsen since 2016 and traffic violations from radar section measurements since 2018. In addition to visualizing the data in the map, it is also possible to interactively analyze detailed information on traffic violations and accidents using filters and graphs and thus present the investigated facts in interconnected graphs and a map.
2021
Although the PoliVisu project has ended in 2020, the City of Pilsen continues to work with experts to further develop the Traffic Modeler. At the end of the year, a new version of the web application was delivered by RoadTwin for testing, with an improved graphical environment and, above all, new functions for traffic modelling. Traffic experts can now add new road sections to the traffic model, restrict turning directions at intersections and create new traffic generators. The created experiments can be released to the public, as in the case of the planned closures in Pilsen (web application Traffic Intensity in Pilsen).
The Traffic Modeler won the competition Smart Cities 2021 in the category: “Project for a city with 50 – 200 thousand inhabitants”, in which the judges took into account the compliance of the solution with the principles and pillars of Smart City, which included the criteria of feasibility, sustainability, proven savings, open data and public involvement.
Interesting facts about the project:
*The project PoliVisu is fully funded by the European HORIZON 2020 programme, which is focused on science and research, while the success rate of applicants for grants from this programme does not exceed 10 percent.
* Pilsen is one of the three participating pilot cities (together with Ghent in Belgium and Issy-les-Moulineaux in France), with experts in Western Bohemia focusing comprehensively on the area of transport – from car and public transport to pedestrians, cyclists or the parking system. The outputs are part of the Smart City Pilsen concept, the aim of which is to bring solutions to improve the lives of the inhabitants of the West Bohemian capital.
* The project of visualization of transport in Pilsen won the E-government magazine award, in The Best competition, which aims to present the most interesting projects of public administration digitization in the Czech Republic. In the category of “city projects”, the visualization of traffic intensity in Pilsen won first place.