User Guide

The traffic performance monitoring system provides the visualization of the weekly average speed of the main entrances/exits and roads of Pittsburgh Downtown, the bus ridership, the cyclist counting, and the weekly total Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) of the counties in Pennsylvania. It compares the data collected in 2020 and 2019 (with the same date as 2020) and shows the impact of the Covid-19 on the local traffic of Pittsburgh Downtown. The dynamic dashboard has the following functions.

Traffic

The Traffic presents the 'weekly' average speed of the selected links (a link is defined as a road with direction) and the weekly total VMT of the counties in Pennsylvania. The data of average speed is updated at 7:30 AM each Monday.

Average speed

The 'weekly' average speed is calculated for the thirty-three links which are labeled on the map. Each week is divided into sixteen categories named time period: [Monday, TuesdayWednesdayThursday, Friday, SaturdaySunday] x [7:00~9:00, 9:00~16:00, 16:00~18:00, 18:00~7:00 (next day)].

• Plot/table updates: To display the average speed of a single link, you can either select a link from the dropdown menu named Road Segment or click one of the thirty-three lines on the map, and choose a period from the dropdown menu named Time Period. The average speed of 2020 and 2019 (with the same day of the week as 2020 and the closest date to 2020) are plotted in the bottom left. The points of each year are fitted by linear regression.

• Download csv file: A CSV file of the selected link will be downloaded by clicking the download button.

Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT):

The VMT presents the weekly total VMT of each county in Pennsylvania. To plot the VMT of a single county, you can select the county from the dropdown menu named County. Then the VMT data collected in 2020 will be plotted in the bottom right.

Bus Ridership

The Bus Ridership presents the daily record of passenger boardings and alightings at the bus stop in Pittsburgh Downtown. To display the boarding/alighting record of a single bus stop, you can either select a bus stop from the dropdown menu named Bus Stop Name or click one of the eighty-six markers on the map. The information of the selected bus stop is shown below the menu. The passenger boardings in 2020 and 2019 (average of the year) are plotted in the bottom left. The passenger alightings in 2020 and 2019 (average of the year) are plotted in the bottom right. To display the total countings of all the bus stops, you can select TOTAL from the dropdown menu. Two ratio plots are generated: the ratio of 2020 daily passenger boardings to 2019 daily average passenger boardings (bottom left) and the ratio of 2020 daily passenger alightings to 2019 daily average passenger alightings (bottom right).

Cyclist Counting

The Cyclist Counting presents the daily record of cyclists in Penn Avenue. The counters are set up in three locations: 600, 900, and 1200 Penn Avenue, which are labeled on the map. To display the counting of a single location, you can either select a counter from the dropdown menu named Cyclist Counter Location or click one of the three markers on the map. The recorded data in 2020 and 2019 (with the same date as 2020) will be presented in two formats: scatter plot with lines (bottom left) and chart bar (bottom right). To display the total countings of the three locations, you can select TOTAL from the dropdown menu. The ratio of 2020 daily countings to 2019 daily countings will be plotted in the bottom left and a chart bar of total countings in 2020 and 2019 (with the same date as 2020) will be plotted in the bottom right.