Public Event Calendar and Generation of Traffic Impact Zones

Status: Noslēgušies projekti

Within the project, the Outdoor Space and Mobility Department of Riga Municipality developed a digital solution for the timely identification of public events and the assessment of their impact on traffic. The solution provides a unified public event calendar with map, calendar, list, and heatmap views, enabling оперативe identification of potential problem areas in the urban environment and planning of necessary adjustments to traffic organisation.

The system provides consolidated information on event locations, addresses, venue capacity, risk descriptions, as well as correlations between events, road traffic accidents, and congestion. This enables responsible specialists to prepare in advance for traffic flow changes during major events and make data-driven decisions regarding traffic organisation.

Project necessity and significance for Riga

Public events significantly affect traffic flow in the city — before and after events, pedestrian and vehicle intensity increases rapidly, which can cause congestion, public transport delays, and additional safety risks.

Previously, information about events and their impact was fragmented, and collecting it required considerable specialist effort. There was no single platform that would allow timely identification of traffic risks and coordination of the necessary changes, such as adapting traffic organisation during events.

The project addresses this challenge by providing a centralised, transparent, and practically usable monitoring tool that reduces manual work and improves the city’s operational responsiveness.

Project objective

To create a unified public event calendar and a transparent monitoring solution for events taking place in Riga, enabling the identification of event time, location, venue capacity, and their potential impact on traffic flow, while providing specialists with the ability to assess risks in a timely manner through calendar and map views and make informed decisions regarding traffic organisation adjustments during events.

Benefits for Riga residents

✓ More timely traffic flow management during public events;
✓ Reduced congestion and safer infrastructure on streets adjacent to event venues;
✓ Faster municipal service response to traffic-related problem situations;
✓ More efficient traffic organisation and public transport flow.

Project activities

✓ Development of technical specifications and market research;
✓ Data acquisition from multiple external databases;
✓ Creation of the public event calendar;
✓ Development of map, heatmap, and risk visualisation modes;
✓ Collection of event venue data and related descriptive information;
✓ Use of artificial intelligence as a support tool for risk assessment and data analysis;
✓ Testing, improvement, and commissioning of the solution.

Territory where the project was implemented

The entire administrative territory of Riga Municipality.

Project results

✓ A permanently functioning solution for public event monitoring has been established;
✓ A unified event calendar, map, and risk descriptions are available in one place;
✓ The possibility to analyse the relationship between events, traffic congestion, and road traffic accidents has been ensured;
✓ Specialist workload in information collection and risk assessment has been reduced;
✓ Traffic planning and safety in areas adjacent to event venues have been improved;
✓ A foundation has been created for further system expansion and integration of new data sources.

Within the project, artificial intelligence was used as a support tool for risk assessment, analysis of audience-related parameters, and the selection of certain visualisation solutions. However, in determining traffic impact zones, it was concluded that more accurate results could be achieved through a manual approach, as AI-generated recommendations had a high risk of inaccuracies.

Funding

Funding source: Innovation Fund of Riga Municipality
Total budget: EUR 11,785.40

Project implementation period

20 January 2025 – 1 December 2025

Contact information

Jānis Sproģis
Head of the Traffic Management Centre
Outdoor Space and Mobility Department
Riga Municipality
E-mail: janis.sprogis@riga.lv