ODU TRAFFIC PLANNING CENTER OPENS
Remember the rude driver who cut you off last week?
The city's transportation future will soon be shaped by computer simulations so detailed they'll even account for that guy.
Aggressive motorists are among the many variables that researchers will be able to tinker with at the Center for Innovative Transportation Solutions, a joint venture between Old Dominion University and Virginia Beach that celebrated its grand opening last month in Town Center.
City planners envision that the center can help answer all sorts of questions. Where is the best place to add lanes or build a new road? What would traffic from a pro sports arena look like? What contingencies do they need to prepare for if an accident or natural disaster shuts down a key road?
The simulations will be far more detailed than the regional model now available to planners in Hampton Roads, said Mark Schnaufer, the city's transportation planning coordinator.
The center, with a staff of six from ODU, occupies about 2,000 square feet of space rented by the city's Development Authority in a building at Town Center. Rent is about $48,000 a year, but ODU gets the space for free in exchange for research tailored to city requests. The center will not be limited to Virginia Beach-specific work, however.
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