A traffic congestion monitoring system was developed to allow traffic engineers to analyze the magnitude, duration and location of traffic congestion on highways and city streets. It is used to prioritize traffic improvement projects and to determine the effectiveness of TSM options. The system has reduced data analysis time by over an order of magnitude. The Division of Transportation Operations has projected an annual benefit of over $100,000. A laptop microcomputer is used to gather data on speed, distance, and user defined events in a traveling vehicle. This data is then analyzed and displayed in various tabular and graphical formats using a separate office computer. Currently available output formats include: (1) tabular outputs of time, distance, speed, and delay between user defined or road events; (2) tabular output of the location and duration of vehicle delay below any user definable speed; (3) graphical output of vehicle speed vs distance traveled; (4) a graphical output of total trip delay vs trip start time for a specific roadway segment; and (5) graphical output displaying contours of constant speed on a time/distance plot for a specific roadway segment. The hardware and software requirements are outlined.
Abstract