| The Mode Warrior
| Technology Profile
by Greg Winfree
How can transportation
professionals mitigate the
spread of coronavirus?
“Transportation tech
infrastructure and policy
can help prevent – rather
than promote – the
spread of disease”
March/April 2020 Traffic Technology International 057
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com
In the science fiction
film World War Z,
Earth succumbs to
a zombie apocalypse. Part of the power
of the film derives from how quickly the
pandemic spreads internationally. The
world’s transportation network becomes
a disease vector. Replace the zombies
with a virus, and you’ve got a less
dramatic but just as deadly—and real—
threat to world health.
As I write this, COVID-19 (colloquially
referred to as the coronavirus) has longsince
reached the United States from
China. America’s Patient Zero returned
from Wuhan to Washington State, and
the virus hitched a ride. The numbers of
those affected continue to rise, and with
more than 400 million Chinese
traveling this year, it remains to be seen
exactly how widespread the outbreak
will become.
In the past, when folks hardly ever
traveled more than 20 miles from home,
viral outbreaks remained largely local.
Today, international travel is part of our
global business model. National economies
are so interconnected that when the
Shanghai Stock Exchange shows signs
of economic illness, the New York Stock
Exchange wakes up with a headache.
Fundamental to the world’s
shared economy is a seamless global
transportation system facilitating the
movement of goods and people, regardless
of national borders. But does our
transportation network promote public
health globally? Think beyond traffic safety,
which remains an international priority in
transportation research (as it should be).
Transportation technology, infrastructure
and policy can also help prevent – rather
than promote – the spread of disease.
In 2006, the US National Broadcasting
Company’s Today Show ran an impactful
series, Hidden Germs, that dramatically
demonstrated just how many germs we
encounter in public spaces every day (the
program regularly updates its findings).
The world has become significantly more
interconnected since that first broadcast.
International travel has truly taken off
thanks to more affordable airline flights.
Imagine the level of cross-border viral
contamination in 2020. Consider also
that new mobility strategies emphasize
shared transportation to maximize
capacity and mitigate congestion. Dockless
bikes and scooters, transportation network
companies –we’re interacting more than
ever with our fellow travelers. When was
the last time you wiped down the steering
wheel before driving a rental car?
As we improve and expand our
global network, it’s incumbent upon us to
determine how to harden transportation
assets against the spread of disease. What
can we do as scientists and researchers to
improve how transportation contributes
to public health? How can technology and
human ingenuity stop –rather than
facilitate –global viral threats?
Let’s not be mindless zombies about this
– let’s use our brains and get it done. With
enough of us in the conversation, maybe
we can even take this topic viral.
Gregory D Winfree is director of the
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI)
The MAP is also the basis
for new functions. It is possible
to process the number of
vehicles flowing into an
intersection, their expected
arrival times and the presence
of pedestrians and cyclists. So it
is worthwhile for the planner to
create and maintain the MAP, as
it takes minimal time and effort.
Effective signal control
The signal programme can also
be processed for a traffic light
forecast. Meanwhile it has been
proven that even with dynamic
and adaptive control in very
many cases a good forecast is
possible. In different scenarios
it has been demonstrated that
the knowledge of an upcoming
traffic light switch is beneficial
for energy-saving and efficient
handling of traffic.
It is not surprising that
the provision of this function
directly from traffic technology
and locally on site at the
intersection promises the
best results. Under certain
conditions, a centrally generated
forecast can be an option as
well. In certain cases, this is
the quickest way to get areawide
coverage.
Those who have not yet,
or are barely, engaged with
the progress made are often
overwhelmed. Ten years of
development have generated a
large amount of knowledge and
experience in the field of C-ITS.
Now is the time to apply the
learnings from the developments
so far in order to responsibly
design for the future.
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