Urban traffic measurements - city residents can now monitor traffic in their area

For urban mobility planners and policymakers to influence changes in mobility patterns, they need to have a detailed knowledge of the existing situation. Traditionally, gathering information about mobility patterns and in particular, vehicular traffic has required costly traffic surveys which rarely distinguish between vehicle type – and only present a short snapshot of the situation.  

In 2019, residents of Kessel-Lo, in Belgium who were taking part in a pilot project started to count vehicular traffic on the city streets, themselves. Using Telraam – which translates as ‘counting window’ residents were able to use a small camera affixed to their house looking out onto the roads and streets adjacent to their homes. The camera, although inexpensive and low-resolution,  is able to differentiate between different types of vehicles and traffic – including cyclists and pedestrians. The information feeds back into a Telraam central database giving accurate, low-cost measurements of urban traffic in real-time. The technology could be a major breakthrough for urban mobility management – assisting planners and policy-makers to make informed decisions around mobility.  

Telraam is an initiative of TML , Mobiel 21 and Waanz.in with support from the Smart Mobility Belgium Fund of the Federal Government. The pilot project was recognised for its innovation and potential to revolutionise urban mobility planning at the 2019 Smart Mobility Belgium event in 2019. For more information, visit the Telraam website.

From December 2019, the success story embarks on a European journey in the form of an H2020 project called WeCount. Five cities: Madrid, Ljubljana, Dublin, Cardiff, and Leuven are coming together to involve 1,500 residents throughout the coming year (2020).  The aim is to install and track data from road traffic counting sensors based on the popular Telraam experience.

Project updates can be followed on @WecountH Twitter account.