Using crowdsourced data to estimate passenger vehicle travel delays from nuisance flooding

• Published in: Transportation research. Part D, Transport and environment Transport and environment, 2024-08, Vol.133, p.104307, Article 104307
• Main Authors: Zahura, Faria T., Goodall, Jonathan L., Chen, T. Donna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Crowdsourced Data; Nuisance Flooding; Sea-level Rise; Travel Delay
• ISSN: 1361-9209
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trd.2024.104307

•Crowdsourced data was utilized to estimate travel delays caused by nuisance flooding.•Travel delays during nuisance flooding was compared with dry conditions during similar dates/times.•Travel delays were found to increase with increasingly higher high tide levels.•Higher high tides concurrent with peak traffic hours worsened the travel delays. Recurrent nuisance flooding (NF) during high tide periods is a growing concern for coastal communities. While NF occurrences are often linked to travel disruption based on traffic data simulations, quantifying the actual impact is rare due to the lack of observational data. This study utilized crowdsourced traffic data from the navigation app, Waze, to quantify travel delays arising from NF in Norfolk, VA. The study found higher high tides > 1.0 m NAVD increased one-way commutes by 6.73–15.62 min compared to dry scenarios for over 10 % of passenger vehicle commuters using flooded routes within or to and from Norfolk. Concurrent NF occurrences during peak traffic hours worsened the congestion, with 90th-percentile one-way commutes extended an additional 6 to 15 min. In 2019, the year with the most NF events analyzed on weekdays, cumulative annual delays rose by 27–73 min for 10 % of passenger vehicle commuters on flooded routes compared to dry days.