Traffic simulation models offer significant benefits, but after 35 years of development and application, they still have shortcomings. A new study seeks to fill in the gaps.
"The objective of NGSIM is to develop behavioral algorithms in support of microscopic traffic simulation, with supporting documentation and validation data sets. All NGSIM products will be freely available to simulation model developers and the transportation community at large.
...Vehicle detection is accomplished by extracting line segments from images and matching them to 3-D vehicle models. "This algorithm shows superior vehicle localization performance in varying illumination conditions compared to the previous motion-based approaches," he added.
Once a vehicle is detected, it can be tracked based on its appearance in the camera image. A sequence of cameras is used to track the detected vehicles along a stretch of freeway. Vehicles in the overlapping area between two cameras are passed from one camera to the next by comparing their appearance in both cameras."
FULL STORY: Next Generation Freeway Simulation

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

HSR Reaches Key Settlement in Northern California City
The state’s high-speed rail authority reached an agreement with Millbrae, a key city on the train’s proposed route to San Francisco.

Washington State Legislature Passes Parking Reform Bill
A bill that would limit parking requirements for new developments is headed to the governor’s desk.

Missouri Law Would Ban Protections for Housing Voucher Users
A state law seeks to overturn source-of-income discrimination bans passed by several Missouri cities.
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