Traffic Management |
The city of Hamburg is hosting
the ITS World Congress in
2021 and is determined to put
on a show for delegates
arriving from the four corners of the
world. Included in a list of 60 smart
city initiatives that Hamburg wants
up and running ahead of the
ITSWC is an ambitious plan
to install more than
2,000 thermal imaging
cameras on
traffic lights and
streetlamps by late
2020. The cameras
will help traffic
controllers to adjust
signals in real-time
depending on how
busy the roads
are. Even more
significantly for one of
Germany’s most congested
cities, the huge volume of new
vehicle data will be used to help
traffic managers to improve their
long-term planning and reduce
blockages.
“We believe our project is unique
in Germany and, possibly, all of
Europe because such a high number
of cameras are being installed in a
short time. There are several other
German cities using similar
techniques, but not on this scale,”
says Stefan Hollesch, portfolio
manager of Hamburg Traffic
Systems. “Often, the other
municipalities just use sensors to
detect people, or they monitor
vehicles but they don’t know what
types, whereas we are able to classify
them as trucks, private cars, motor
bikes and so on. When we evaluate
the data, we’ll be able to forecast
traffic more accurately, simulate
developments, plan for more or fewer
lanes, make smarter decisions about
parking management and develop
better algorithms.”
Hamburg’s thermal imaging
cameras are involved in two separate
projects. Most of them will monitor
the motorized traffic at 420
intersections all over Hamburg, but
the cameras attached to the 40
streetlamps will record cycle traffic
for the Hamburg Bicycle Traffic
Counting Network project. Data from
both schemes will be published on an
open-source platform.
Congestion black spot
The imminent arrival of delegates
and tech companies for the world
congress may have concentrated
minds in Hamburg, but the reality is
that the city has to address its serious
issues with congestion. According to
a 2018 survey of German cities by
TomTom, the creator of navigation
technology, Hamburg has more
congestion than any other city in
Germany, even Berlin, which came
second. The large amount of TomTom
data was collected throughout 2018
from navigation devices in cars and
other mapping software on iPhones.
It revealed that in 2018, Hamburg
commuters encountered jams on 33%
of road journeys, which means
motorists lost on average 113 hours a
year in a ‘stau’ (jam). Roads were
especially packed at certain times of
day. A trip that would take 30
minutes at times without disruptions
would take 46 minutes in the
morning and 48 minutes in the
evening. The results confirmed
research published in January 2018
from the German Automotive Club
(ADAC), showing there were
31,630km of autobahn traffic
jams in Hamburg in 2017, the worst
figures for Germany, once again just
ahead of Berlin.
Although Hamburg tops the pile,
traffic jams have become a major
problem all over Germany. According
to Statista, in 2011, there were 189,000
recorded traffic jams in the
Bundesrepublik, but that had nearly
113 The time in hours Hamburg
drivers spend in traffic
jams in an average year
Our project is unique in Germany
and, possibly, all of Europe
because such a high number of cameras
are being installed in a short time
Stefan Hollesch, portfolio manager, Hamburg Traffic Systems
PHOTOGRAPHS: ORISLAV15, LUKAS GOJDAKARSTEN, RALF GOSCH, BELISH/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
032 Traffic Technology International November/December 2019
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