Published by Daniel Stofan on
Norun are experts in traffic engineering, specialising in measurements for different types of traffic projects. With more than 14 years of experience in Chile and beyond, they have evolved to offer cutting-edge technology solutions, including artificial intelligence software with ground and aerial cameras.
Their recent project commissioned by their client Urbano Proyectos, consisted of 2-days measuring the waiting time in the Drop-off zone at Craighouse School, in the Chilean district of Lo Barnechea. There was a clear problem of chaos created by the heavy congestion of cars: parents dropping off the students at the institute. They wanted to understand that ‘’micro-city’’, to dig deeper into the drivers’ behaviours creating the saturation flow at its very top.
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The school area was separated into different macro zones (1, 2 and 3), according to the academic subject. Urbano Proyectos wanted to measure the volume of vehicles entering, understanding the times and in what way they were entering the area. To understand the congestion issue the question they made was where the vehicles stop exactly and for how long.
The starting point was knowing that students were entering at similar times but they were exiting at different periods of time, according to their classes. More than 1500 vehicles were recorded every day, approximately 700 most in the morning, 600 in the afternoon and the rest around midday.
Urbano Proyectos asked our partner Norun about traffic flow and the occupancy times in different zones. The team placed several street cameras, associating the times to each zone. They were able to calculate the occupancy time of each vehicle, classifying it at the same time. That was important to understand why so much congestion was created there.
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With the addition of drone recordings, they were able to get acceleration heat maps to determine movement conflicts - establishing in which curve deceleration was happening.
What they could notice is that vehicles were entering from an area that was not foreseen before. In fact, there was no road signage on the intersections. The situation also created bold and audacious drivers’ behaviour.
Our partner Norun provided their client with raw data after measuring the traffic situation for 2 full days. Consequently, Urbano Proyectos was able to take the correct measures. They presented the university with the facts of the actual situation, identifying the troubling flows and intersections. The team proposed solutions such as simulating traffic lights in order to implement them in the university areas.
For you to know, this is one of the first projects in Chile where the traffic situation is analysed by using fixed cameras, drones and smart traffic software analysis. Our partners and clients confirmed that in no other way would it be possible to obtain such rich information, so accurate and clear.
From a traffic management perspective, the outcome of the project was the implementation of the proper road signage, and the addition of traffic lights wherever needed, while the infrastructure was kept as the original.
As for the outcomes for students and their drivers, there was an obvious time saving as the parents were able to gain almost 20 minutes every day. With less time spent in a car, it was a clear improvement in the quality of life for the community.
Using smart traffic analytics with GoodVision proved to be the right ingredient for a complex traffic situation, such as the roundabout in this specific case.
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