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UrduIn a bid to combat escalating traffic noise pollution, a novel study presents a semianalytical meshless method to optimize the acoustic performance of sound barriers. The research focuses on enhancing the effectiveness of these barriers by refining their shape and material distribution.
Tag: Traffic
GW Expert Available: Memorial Day to Signal Start of the Busiest Summer Travel Season on Record
Millions of people are soon to hit the roads or take to the sky to get to their destinations for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Travel agencies are anticipating a record-breaking holiday weekend, with AAA saying it hasn’t seen anticipated numbers like…
Improving traffic signal timing with a handful of connected vehicles
With GPS data from as little as 6% of vehicles on the road, University of Michigan researchers can recalibrate traffic signals to significantly reduce congestion and delays at intersections.
Park less, walk more
A new study shows how delivery companies can save time and money by designing drop-off and pick-up routes that require their drivers walk more to reduce the amount of time they spend driving around congested urban streets looking for a place to park.
Using cameras on transit buses to monitor traffic conditions
Researchers have proposed a novel method for counting and tracking vehicles on public roads, a development that could enhance current traffic systems and help travelers get to their destinations faster.
Autonomous buses: It’s all about when, not how, they sound
Researchers at Cornell University are using sound to help autonomous vehicles navigate complex social situations, like communicating with people in traffic. After testing multiple scenarios, they discovered the timing of a sound, rather than the type of sound, was most important.
Cascading Failures in Urban Traffic Systems Tied to Hidden Bottlenecks
Scientists in China have developed a modeling technique to study urban traffic flows and show that their model can be used to find previously unknown bottlenecks. The model uses a modified form of percolation theory, and the investigators considered the existing road network and population distribution in Shanghai.
Researchers Propose a Fourth Light on Traffic Signals – For Self-Driving Cars
At a traffic light, red means stop and green means go. But transportation engineers are now proposing a “white light,” which would enable autonomous vehicles to help control traffic flow – and let human drivers know what’s going on.
Proximity to electric vehicle charging stations positively impacts home values
A new study finds that proximity to electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) can raise property values depending on where homes are situated. The study, conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Rhode Island, the University of Maryland College Park, Princeton University and Cardiff University, was recently published in Nature Sustainability.
New $26 Million NSF Engineering Research Center to Advance Future of Smart Streetscapes
FAU has landed a major NSF Engineering Research Center with Columbia University, Rutgers University, the University of Central Florida, and Lehman College.
Researchers Find Way to Make Traffic Models More Efficient
Models that predict traffic volume for specific times and places inform everything from traffic-light patterns to apps that tell you how to get from Point A to Point B. Researchers have now demonstrated a method that makes these models more efficient.
COVID-19 Lockdown Measures Affect Air Pollution from Cities Differently
In Chaos, researchers in China created a network model drawn from the traffic index and air quality index of 21 cities across six regions in their country to quantify how traffic emissions from one city affect another. They leveraged data from COVID-19 lockdown procedures to better explain the relationship between traffic and air pollution and turned to a weighted climate network framework to model each city as a node using data from 2019 and 2020. They added a two-layer network that incorporated different regions, lockdown stages, and outbreak levels.
Ask an Expert: Have Drivers Gotten Worse Since COVID?
As the restrictions around COVID-19 are lifted, and more and more people hit the road to return to their work spaces and routines, you may have heard a familiar refrain: “People have forgotten how to drive.” Is it true? Are drivers worse now than they were before the coronavirus pandemic took over the world? The answer, according to Dwight A. Hennessy, department chair and professor of psychology at Buffalo State College, is probably not.
Cooperative eco-driving automation improves energy efficiency and safety
Connected, automated vehicles promise to save energy and improve safety. Michigan Tech engineers propose a modeling framework for cooperative driving. Simulation results show that the cooperative automated eco-driving algorithm saves energy — 7% under light traffic and 23% under heavy traffic.
NAU study indicates that U.S. cities underestimate their greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 20 percent on average
Some cities’ self-reported emissions are as much as 145 percent below standardized estimates, distorting the data on which climate change policy actions are based.
Smarter Traffic Signs Ahead?
Researchers in Poland have created smart road signs that use built-in Doppler radar, video, and acoustic radar and weather stations to monitor road traffic and conditions to warn drivers in real-time of hazards and prevent collisions on highways. During the 179th ASA Meeting, Dec. 7-10, Andrzej Czyzewski will describe his applied research project to develop autonomous road signs with built-in acoustic radar devices.
The rise of ‘Zoom Towns’ in the rural west
COVID-19 has expedited a trend of migration into western gateway communities—remote workers are fleeing cities to ride out the pandemic. A new study using data from 2018 found that growing populations caused urgent planning pressures, and officials felt unprepared to respond to and prepare for problems associated with rapid growth.
Traffic Data Show Drastic Changes in Floridians’ Behavior at Onset of the Pandemic
A study using same-day traffic volumes for March 2019 and March 2020 across Florida examined the chronological relationship of key governmental requests for public isolation and travel limitations. Results show the drastic changes in human behavior during the onset of the pandemic. Traffic volumes by March 22, 2020, dropped by 47.5 percent compared to that same point in 2019. Moreover, traffic declined in March 2020 corresponding with the governor’s state of emergency declaration and school, restaurant, and bar closures.
Is the air getting cleaner during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Using air quality data from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors across the U.S., a UW-led team looked for changes in two common pollutants over the course of 2020.
Research team sees major shift in relationship between state-by-state traffic and COVID-19 cases, offering insights into outcomes of lockdown policies
“In many states, traffic appears to be a leading indicator, increasing first, with COVID-19 cases rising after a delay of up to 11 days,” said Northern Arizona University professor Kevin Gurney, head of the NAU research group analyzing the data. Pawlok Dass, a postdoc in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, is the lead research scientist on the project.
Driverless cars could lead to more traffic congestion
New research has predicted that driverless cars could worsen traffic congestion in the coming decades, partly because of drivers’ attitudes to the emerging technology and a lack of willingness to share their rides.
Are Some Urban Settings Riskier for Traffic Injury or Death? We Know Less Than You Think
How risky is travel in the U.S.? It gets tricky. Despite a lot of research on the dangers of traffic injury and death, there’s a lack of clarity on the role of the built environment (roadway designs and adjoining development) and its risk effects. Before we can know how risky a given built environment is, we have to know how many people are traveling there, and in many cases, for pedestrians and cyclists, this data is not available.
UIC Urban Forum to explore the growth, potential impact and future of autonomous vehicles
The University of Illinois at Chicago’s 2019 Urban Forum, titled “Are we there yet? The myths and realities of autonomous vehicles,” will examine the questions and uncertainties surrounding not only the societal and legislative impact of autonomous vehicles, but also the technological advances needed for these vehicles to proliferate.