Traffic Map Report

The Traffic Map report is a simulation of movement between buildings on campus using Google Maps pathfinding technology. It uses snapshot data to build a picture of how busy each building is at a given time of day and creates estimates of how people might move between buildings as time passes. It does not use actual student registration data.

The report is useful for visualizing the flow of traffic across campus, so it can be used to see how students might move during passing times between classes.

Questions the Traffic Map report can help you answer include:

• Where are students concentrated at different times of day?
• Do students have enough time to move from class to class?
• Which parts of campus might need new pathways or parking lots?

Image: Traffic Map report

Report Settings

There are several ways that a user can interact with the simulation to control what it shows.

• Date Selector - Choose a date to be shown on the report's charts.
• Play/Pause Button - Clicking this button starts and stops the automatic playback of simulated movement.
• Stream Chart - Move your mouse over the timeline at the top of the report to jump the simulation to a specific time.
• Increment Time - This button advances the simulation by one minute per click.
• Use Google Walking Maps Paths - If selected, students in the simulation will travel along paths and roads determined by Google Maps. Otherwise, they will walk directly from building to building.
• Change Addresses - Click this button to set a street address or Plus Code for each building. All buildings represented in the snapshot must be configured before the simulation can be run.
  • Reminder: If your user has "View Only" permissions for this project, you will not be able to update the addresses.

Reading the Report

There are three components to the Traffic Map report:

• The Stream Chart at the top of the report is a timeline representing each building's occupancy throughout the day.
  • Each colored ribbon represents a different building. Mouse over a ribbon to show its name.
  • The X-axis shows the time of day. The black bar shows what time is pictured in the other two components.
  • The Y-axis represents the number of people attending classes at a given point in time. The wider a building's ribbon, the higher the headcount.
• The Campus Map shows the physical arrangement of buildings on campus.
  • Each square represents a building with colors corresponding to the stream chart. Mouse over a square to show its name.
  • Paths and roads between the buildings are taken from Google Maps.
  • Colored circles between buildings indicate people moving between buildings or attending classes. The bigger the circle, the more people.
• The Facts Tables list all the buildings on the map as well as some derived statistics.
  • Each row represents a different building. Colors correspond to the other two components.
  • "Current occupancy" shows the total number of people attending classes in a building.
  • The travel summary table shows estimates for the amount of time it takes to walk between classes.

Assessing the Report Results

• Is movement evenly distributed across campus?
• Do the travel estimates meet your expectations?

Video Demo