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Exploring the Spatial-Temporal Relationship between Rainfall and Traffic Flow: A Case Study of Brisbane, Australia

Author

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  • Yanmin Qi

    (School of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane 4072, Australia)

  • Zuduo Zheng

    (School of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane 4072, Australia)

  • Dongyao Jia

    (School of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane 4072, Australia)

Abstract

The impact of inclement weather on traffic flow has been extensively studied in the literature. However, little research has unveiled how local weather conditions affect real-time traffic flows both spatially and temporally. By analysing the real-time traffic flow data of Traffic Signal Controllers (TSCs) and weather information in Brisbane, Australia, this paper aims to explore weather’s impact on traffic flow, more specifically, rainfall’s impact on traffic flow. A suite of analytic methods has been applied, including the space-time cube, time-series clustering, and regression models at three different levels (i.e., comprehensive, location-specific, and aggregate). Our results reveal that rainfall would induce a change of the traffic flow temporally (on weekdays, Saturday, and Sunday and at various periods on each day) and spatially (in the transportation network). Particularly, our results consistently show that the traffic flow would increase on wet days, especially on weekdays, and that the urban inner space, such as the central business district (CBD), is more likely to be impacted by inclement weather compared with other suburbs. Such results could be used by traffic operators to better manage traffic in response to rainfall. The findings could also help transport planners and policy analysts to identify the key transport corridors that are most susceptible to traffic shifts in different weather conditions and establish more weather-resilient transport infrastructures accordingly.

Suggested Citation

  • Yanmin Qi & Zuduo Zheng & Dongyao Jia, 2020. "Exploring the Spatial-Temporal Relationship between Rainfall and Traffic Flow: A Case Study of Brisbane, Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-24, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:14:p:5596-:d:383364
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hyuk-Jae Roh, 2020. "Modelling chronic winter hazards as a function of precipitation and temperature," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 104(2), pages 1723-1745, November.
    2. Marijo Vidas & Vladan Tubić & Ivan Ivanović & Marko Subotić, 2022. "One Approach to Quantifying Rainfall Impact on the Traffic Flow of a Specific Freeway Segment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, April.

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