Dive Brief:
- StreetLight Data launched a new traffic forecasting tool yesterday that helps transportation officials anticipate the impact of planned or unexpected road and lane closures on traffic flow.
- The tool compares real-time traffic data to historical baselines to detect incidents such as collisions, lane obstructions and road flooding. The tool can also help plan for scheduled situations, such as construction or major events.
- The technology “helps enhance detour planning and incident response capabilities using real-time traffic data, helping agencies save time and improve traffic flow and work zone safety,” StreetLight CEO Kevin Hathaway said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
The new forecasting tool, called Closure Impacts, uses large-scale data collected from transportation systems to fill in where roadside sensors are absent, speeding up response to traffic incidents, according to StreetLight. The information also allows officials to warn motorists more quickly about traffic delays, closures and detours.
The tool, now included in StreetLight’s Traffic Monitor product, can analyze slowdowns, monitor speeding and track travel times to enhance safety and incidents such as accidents and traffic jams.
Historical data can also help cities prepare for major events, such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in 11 U.S. cities this summer. The data could identify traffic patterns from past events to see whether adjusting signal timing near venues or deploying resources such as signage or traffic controllers could help. In real time, it could detect gridlocks forming as spectators leave stadiums.
StreetLight’s data can also help to better plan and monitor hurricane evacuations, the company says in its Traffic Operations Toolkit. During an evacuation, officials can see if people are complying with evacuation orders and route instructions and whether incidents are hindering traffic flow on a key route.
The forecasting tool was developed in collaboration with transportation practitioners and engineering and construction firms.
