Abstract
The concept of redesigning public spaces to encourage physical distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic is being tested around the world. In Canada, municipalities are reallocating underutilized road lanes for active modes of transportation, such as walking and cycling. We evaluated the usage and benefit of these shared spaces to ensure redesign efforts are optimally allocated. We analyzed two sets of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage before and after the change, covering April 7–13, 2020, at two locations using automated computer vision techniques. We detected and recorded physical distancing violations, traffic safety risks such as midblock crossing, speeds, and traffic conflicts, and generated trajectory maps of all road users. It was found that the redesign was utilized effectively by road users and improved physical distancing compliance without compromising traffic safety. The proposed framework also provides an innovative tool to automatically gather, extract, share, and analyze real-world data to improve response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as future outbreaks of contagious diseases.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code used during the study were provided by a third party, specifically the video data. Direct request for these materials may be made to the provider as indicated in the Acknowledgments.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank City of Edmonton for providing the data used in this study. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of City of Edmonton. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Cette recherche a été financée par le Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada (CRSNG).
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 147 • Issue 11 • November 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 28, 2020
Accepted: Jul 9, 2021
Published online: Aug 26, 2021
Published in print: Nov 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jan 26, 2022
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