Vision Zero Dashboard: Real-Time Traffic

Why we love it

This map has it all! Built to support the Vision Zero Initiative in New York City, it shows real-time data including traffic accidents by type, live traffic cameras and conditions, air quality, and weather. We love how this map creates a synoptic, 3D view of an urban landscape’s heartbeat and health. Summary statistics across the bottom synthesize what the animation is showing. This map provides citizens, planners, and elected officials with the information they need to improve safety in the City That Never Sleeps.

Learn about the Vision Zero Initiative

Why it works

This map works because it shows current traffic conditions along major roads, including recently reported accidents, in New York City. Watch the entire traffic system, or click the cards along the bottom to drill-in and get ‘report cards’ on individual incidents. Click the incident for a 3D guided tour. Cartographers have long been tantalized by the dream of maps that are never out of date. The dream is now real thanks to the advent of sensor networks, wireless communications, GIS, and powerful APIs.

Important steps

Use colors and animated symbols to show information

Categorize traffic volumes and speeds along major roads into four groups from heavy to light. Categorize collisions by injuries to pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorists. Sort in descending number of injuries or deaths to show dangerous locations in the city.

NYPD motor vehicle collisions
Determine conditions of the collisions

Use the Air Quality Index API and Weather API to enable analysis and determine whether these conditions may have influenced the number of collisions.

View the AirNow API Documentation

View the Weather API
Cache the data every 30 minutes

Use proxy to cache the data every 30 minutes to help scale the application to support many simultaneous users.
Use external renderers

You can use external renderers to extend the ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript.

externalRenderers

Data and software

Real-time traffic and camera feeds are from New York City DOT. Recently reported collisions are from New York City Open Data. The application also uses Air Now API and World Weather Online API for air quality and weather conditions. Software used: ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript.

Explore live NYC DOT data streams

NYC Open Data
Analysis

Show the relationship between current traffic conditions and recently reported accidents involving a pedestrian, bicyclist, or motorist. Traffic conditions along major roads are displayed using colors and animated symbols to indicate volume and average speed.
Time

Including some experimentation and hunting for data sources, the entire project took less than a week.

Show location of incidents with ‘report cards’

Clicking the ‘report cards’ drills into the data to show the precise location of individual incidents.
Show live coverage

Integrate real-time traffic cameras to show live views of the city.
Animate your pushpins

Animated 3D pushpins draw the eye, give detailed information, and look cool.