German
Pilot Phase of Foot Traffic Measurement Successfully Completed
How is Jena’s downtown area used? Which areas are particularly busy? And how do events, construction sites, or other changes affect foot traffic? Digital foot traffic monitoring is expected to provide answers to these questions in the future.
After several months of field testing, the pilot phase of the Smart City subproject has now been completed. Through the end of June, various technologies for anonymously tracking foot traffic were tested under real-world conditions on Johannisstraße, at Kirchplatz, and on the Markt. The analysis of the findings is now underway.
The focus was on three different methods: Wi-Fi-based pedestrian counting, as well as LiDAR and radar object counters. The goal was to compare the systems in terms of data quality, technical reliability, practical applicability, and cost-effectiveness.
The most important finding from the pilot phase: there is no single perfect technology. Each of the tested solutions has specific strengths—depending, for example, on whether the goal is to count pedestrians, analyze route patterns, or track dwell times. For potential long-term use, the project is therefore evaluating which combination of technologies best meets the City of Jena’s requirements.
The data collected is exclusively anonymized and aggregated. It is not possible to identify individual persons. Even before the pilot phase began, the project team held a public event to inform the public about the project’s goals, technology, and data protection, and sought to engage with interested citizens.
The pedestrian traffic count is part of the Jena Smart City Project in the area of “Urban Development, Environment, and Transportation.” Looking ahead, the data collected is intended to help better understand developments in the city center and to support decisions—for example, regarding the quality of the urban environment, pedestrian routes, or event planning—with a solid data foundation.
The pilot phase was implemented in collaboration with numerous partners. In addition to the Jena Smart City Project, participants included the Urban Development Department, Jena Economic Development, Jena Municipal Services, JenaKultur, the Initiative Innenstadt Jena e. V., and the Fraunhofer IOSB INA.
In the coming weeks, the results of the pilot phase will be comprehensively evaluated. Based on this, a decision will be made on how to continue measuring pedestrian traffic in Jena in the future. This marks an important milestone on the path toward data-driven and forward-looking urban development.
