Predicting the impact on traffic of events is goal of LA big data project

What is claimed to be the most comprehensive database ever built on LA traffic has made information on the most hazardous junction and journey times available to drivers and policymakers through a new platform

The data-driven journalism collaboration between the USC Annenberg School of Journalism and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Integrated Media Systems Center (IMSC), has aimed to provide fresh insights on congestion, road accidents and public transport.

Data was mined from 17,000 street sensors on the main arteries and freeways across Los Angeles County and from transmitters on 2,000 buses. Undergraduate and graduate-level computer science students working under Demiryurek integrated, cleaned, sorted and analyzed 11 terabytes of traffic data - enough data to fill 5 billion single-spaced pieces of typewritten paper, the USC said.

They then collaborated with journalism students to produce stories on trends in the data, including on “The Most Dangerous Hour in L.A.” and “Why is this Freeway So Treacherous?” The data will now be updated and refined and in the next phase of Demiryurek’s research will provide Angelenos with more accurate real-time, predictive traffic information - including analytics regarding the impact of events on traffic flow.