South Portland Maine
Mall Rd All Lanes 2001
The JOHO image above is an example of the use of American
Image Inc.'s innovative visualization technique. Using JOHO,
you can make displays from your large traffic information bases. You can quickly
discern patterns and exceptions to the patterns, even in the large data sets
produced with vehicle sensors.
This image shows the total number of vehicles passing by the Maine Mall in
South Portland, ME for every hour in 2001. The image contains 8,760 data points.
This is far more information than traditional graphics programs can display.
Image Layout
The image has twelve panels, each showing one month in 2001, starting in the
upper left and ending in the lower right. As labeled on December’s panel, the
24 cells in the top row of a panel represent the hours in the first day of the
month. The bottom row of cells represents the last day of the month. The time
through each day is measured horizontally along each row, from the hour
beginning at midnight on the left to the hour beginning at 11 PM on the right.
Noon is halfway across the panel.
Each colored cell indicates the total number of vehicles passing the sensor
at that day during that hour. The legend at the right indicates the relation
between color and number of vehicles. The image indicates counts of fewer than
300 as the dark blue color at the bottom of the legend. At about 1200 vehicles
the color changes from green to orange. The white at the top of the legend
indicates a count of 2,500 vehicles or higher.
Image Interpretation
Traffic volume on this road is predominately affected by shoppers coming to
Maine Mall and surrounding stores. The image shows that the traffic volume has a
consistent pattern through the first six months of the year.
In July and August, when there are many visitors to Maine, traffic is
heavier, with the peak hours for the year in mid-July in the middle of the week.
Note that there is a peak in traffic at noon that is consistent throughout
the year.
In October, as Christmas shoppers begin their annual pilgrimage, Friday and
Saturday traffic begins to increase. Through November and December the increase
extends into the other weekdays. December
is the busiest month.
More Traffic Information
JOHO images like this have a variety of
uses. JOHO’s unattended
processing features make it simple to update the images frequently.
A broken sensor is immediately apparent. The DOT can use the images to
understand traffic patterns for traffic light adjustment, roadbed design,
scheduling road repairs, and many other purposes.
JOHO can also make images of
other measured quantities such as speed for enforcement purposes.
This site also contains turnpike traffic images,
FHWA Type 11 images and overweight FHWA
Type 10 images that show other examples of how the Maine DOT is
using JOHO to monitor their sensors and to understand traffic patterns
throughout the state.
