Camera-GPS Sensor Fusion for Kinematic Characterization, Microsimulation Validation, and Macroscopic Capacity Modeling of Traffic-Calming Corridors.

This study presents a sensor-fused field investigation and simulation-based analysis of four horizontal and vertical traffic-calming devices-two raised speed tables, a speed hump, and a raised crosswalk-installed along a 5250-ft two-lane residential collector in Nashville, TN, USA. A dual-sensor architecture combining a Miovision Scout video-based vehicle counter and WAAS/EGNOS-augmented GPS probe-vehicle logging (5 m 3-D RMS horizontal accuracy, 1 Hz sampling) was used to reconstruct 30 quality-controlled free-flow vehicle trajectories and 12-h per-lane volume counts. A spatial kinematic transform (a = v·dv/dx) was applied to extract device-specific approach-deceleration and post-device recovery-acceleration rates, and a three-parameter log-logistic cumulative-distribution function was fitted to the field-observed desired-speed percentiles (root-mean-square error below 0.043 for both speed-table devices). The camera- and GPS-derived observations were used to calibrate and statistically validate a PTV VISSIM microsimulation replica of the corridor, achieving a mean-speed calibration error of 0.71% or better at every device, a GEH statistic below 1.5 at all four analysis turning movements, and independent travel-time validation errors of 5.7-12.1%, within the accepted 15% threshold. The validated model was then used to reconstruct device- and spacing-specific May-Keller macroscopic speed-density-flow relationships, calibrated against simulated capacities of 650-775 vehicles per hour per lane at 350-, 700-, and 1050-ft device spacing. Results show capacity reductions of 20-33% relative to free-flow conditions and yield kinematically derived maximum recommended spacings of 265-630 ft to maintain crossing speeds at or below 15 mph, depending on device geometry. The findings demonstrate a reproducible, low-cost sensor-fusion workflow for quantifying the safety-capacity trade-off of traffic-calming corridors and for informing the design of sensor-in-the-loop adaptive-calming infrastructure.