Bluetooth Sensors for Traffic Management

The city of Constance has been suffering from considerable traffic problems for years. In the afternoons, traffic jams and even traffic collapses occur again and again. The reason for this is the large number of visitors who come to the city for shopping, especially during the Swiss school holidays and on public holidays. On these so-called heavy-duty days, the existing traffic infrastructures and parking capacities reach their limits within a very short time, so that the car drivers are looking for a parking space and block the roads or accumulate in front of the car parks' entrances, thus creating extensive backlog.
However, the current traffic situation in Constance is not only affecting the quality of life of local residents and the environment. The emergency services of the fire brigade, rescue services and police are also badly affected and can no longer guarantee that the prescribed time limits for assistance will be met.
In this context, Vabene++ supports the city of Constance in collecting traffic data and evaluating traffic management measures. During the Easter holidays (13 April to 25 April 2017) and during the Pentecost holidays (02 June to 19 June 2017) the bluetooth sensors developed at the Institute of Transportation Systems Technology were used to record the traffic flows in the Constance road network by means of radio-based telecommunications interfaces. These sensors represent a reliable and cost-effective way to determine traffic parameters ad-hoc via temporary, self-sufficient superstructures.
With the help of these measurements, new insights into the distribution of traffic in and around the Old Town of Constance are to be gained with the aim of optimising local arrival and diversion routes in the long term. For this purpose, information regarding the occurrence of travel peaks and the detection of local mobility behaviour are required. With the recorded data, the Vabene++ team is currently also creating a suitable simulation model that will enable the city to evaluate various traffic management measures and thus compare existing and future concepts in a targeted manner.

Here is a contribution to the critical traffic situation in Constance.