February 2004

Congestion Management SystemCongestion Management System

GREATER BUFFALO-NIAGARAGREATER BUFFALO-NIAGARA

GBNRTCGBNRTC

Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council

CONGESTION MANAGEMENT

SYSTEM

February 2004

Description and Procedures

This report was prepared with financial assistance of the U.S. Department of Transportation. However, the contents represent only the view of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the

review or approval of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

I. INTRODUCTION

Congestion has been defined by the federal regulations as: “The level at which the transportation system performance is no longer acceptable due to traffic interference. The level of acceptable system performance deemed acceptable by State and local officials may vary by type of transportation facility, geographic location (metropolitan area, sub-area or rural area) and/or time of day.” Since that time federal transportation legislation has required the assessment and management of a region’s transportation system prior to the implementation of additional highway capacity.

As the regional Metropolitan Planning Organization for Erie and Niagara Counties the GBNRTC is required to develop and implement a regional Congestion Management System Plan as part of its ongoing planning process.

The goal of an effective CMS is a systematic process for managing congestion that provides information on transportation performance that can then be used in the selection and implementation of cost-effective projects, programs, and alternative strategies for alleviating and/or managing congestion while enhancing the mobility of persons and goods at levels that meet State and local needs.. This process has taken on greater importance as the transportation needs (on a cost basis) of a region continues to be greater than the available funding.

The role of the CMS is to provide relevant, technically sound information to the planning process. It is not intended to transcend the decision-making process of either the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) or the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The CMS provides support to and complements the LRTP and TIP through the systematic provision of information on system status and the costs and benefits of alternative congestion management strategies.

Recognizing the uniqueness of each metropolitan area, the federal legislation provided a significant degree of flexibility to MPO’s as they establish CMS procedures. Because the Erie Niagara region is ranked among the bottom 10 percent of urban areas in the Texas Transportation Institute’s annual Travel Rate Index of congestion, the focus of this report is on the overall CMS process to allow the region to proactively address congestion issues as they arise with the future growth of the area.

This report describes the procedures that the GBNRTC uses to evaluate the impact of the Long Range Transportation Plan on congestion at the regional level. It also discusses the steps that are taken to develop strategies for managing congestion for inclusion in the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

The Long Range Transportation Plan is a document used to guide the investment of transportation dollars in the region. It is a Plan that looks 20+ years into the future to predict the transportation needs of the region and structures a safe, efficient, balanced, and environmentally sound transportation system for the movement of people, goods, and services. The current Plan was adopted in 2001 and updated in 2004.

The Unified Planning Work Program describes the planning activities of the Metropolitan Planning Organization that are to be undertaken in support of the vision, goals, objectives, and policies identified in the LRTP. The UPWP is developed on an annual or biannual basis.

The Transportation Improvement Program is multi-modal program of transportation projects and funding sources that covers the first three to five year period of the LRTP. It is updated every two years and amended as necessary.

DOCUMENT SUMMARY

This CMS document has been organized to flow in an easily understood manner. It begins with a discussion of the overall Congestion Management System process and lists the components (Section II) comprising a CMS. This section also describes the process in a flow chart type manner. Because the CMS is intended to provide relevant, technically sound information to the planning process it needs to be a performance based system. Integral to the development of a CMS, therefore, is the identification of performance measures (Section III). A methodology to develop numerical values for each performance measure is a necessary step in identifying problem areas, measuring the impact of selected strategies, and measuring the cost-effectiveness of these strategies. The GBNRTC, as most Metropolitan Planning Organization’s, employ a Travel Demand Model (Section IV) to accomplish this task.

The next section of the document, Data needs (Section V), discusses the various data collection efforts that have been and continue to be a major work task of the GBNRTC. The GBNRTC focuses on this element because it is a necessary and critical input at each level of the CMS process. Without this up-to-date and accurate data the CMS process could not progress and would lose its relevance. The following section, Current and Future Congestion Estimates (Section VI), describes how the data that the GBNRTC collects is processed through the Travel Demand Model to identify congested areas in need of transportation improvement strategies.

Section VII (Strategy Evaluation) presents the process utilized by the GBNRTC to evaluate alternative congestion management strategies ability to reduce congestion. It also provides a structure whereby these strategies can be compared against each other to identify the most cost effective alternatives. This process has taken on greater significance recently as the transportation needs (measured by project costs) of areas increasingly exceed the transportation funds available. In these conditions it is prudent to maximize limited funds by insuring the selection of the most efficient and cost effective projects.

The document closes with Section VIII (Strategy Implementation) that describes the process by which the selected congestion management strategies for reducing congestion will be implemented. This section also discusses how the data monitoring process provides a feedback system whereby the actual effectiveness of the selected congestion management strategies can be established and used to update the performance measures and travel demand model. This feedback loop will insure that the CMS is operating at maximum effectiveness.

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II. COMPONENTS The GBNRTC Congestion Management System is a total process for managing congestion. It addresses the issues of where congestion is occurring, when it occurs, as well as the degree of congestion. Additionally, it identifies strategies that can be considered by member agencies for reducing and managing congestion. Specifically, this CMS:

1) Defines performance measures and service standards that can identify the extent of congestion and permits the evaluation of the effectiveness of congestion reduction and mobility enhancement strategies for the movement of goods and people tailored to the specific needs of the region.

2) Establishes a program of data collection and system performance monitoring to

identify the extent and duration of congestion, to help determine the causes of congestion, and to evaluate the effectiveness of implemented actions.

3) Includes computerized transit and highway networks that can be utilized to

simulate regional traffic patterns and estimate congestion levels. This computerized database also incorporates Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities to allow for the display of the resultant information.

4) Includes forecasts of future congestion levels based using the latest demographic

forecasts (population, households, employment, and auto ownership)

5) Provides for the continual reassessment of congestion with each update of the regional Long Range Transportation Plan.

6) Incorporates procedures for the identification and evaluation of congestion

management strategies that will contribute to the more efficient use of existing and future transportation systems based on the established performance measures and service standards.

7) Identifies a process for incorporating the most effective strategies into the

GBNRTC TIP and UPWP.

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III. PERFORMANCE MEASURES The CMS is a performance-based system to manage both existing and future transportation facilities through the use of travel demand and operational strategies where those actions are shown to be effective. The CMS is to monitor and analyze the magnitude of congestion on a multi-modal transportation system and to plan and implement appropriate actions to alleviate congestion thereby enhancing the performance of the overall transportation system. As such one of the fundamental issues in the development of a CMS is the identification of performance measures to identify congestion and monitor the effects of implemented strategies in reducing congestion. The basic criteria for CMS performance measurement were established by FHWA and are relatively straightforward. The basic statements concerning congestion measurement is that they:

• Must provide a measure of the extent of congestion; • Must permit the evaluation of the effectiveness of congestion reduction and

capacity enhancement strategies for the movement of people and goods and • Must be established cooperatively

In addition to the above criteria the GBNRTC added that congestion performance

measures should:

• Be accepted as a reasonable expression of the problem; • Be feasible to collect; and • Reflect the resources available to the MPO and participating agencies

Based on these characteristics the GBNTC will initially focus on measures of delay to

monitor regional congestion. These performance measures will specifically include:

1. Level of Service as expressed in the standard format of A through F 2. Vehicle Hours of Delay (VHD) as expressed in terms of hours of delay per

miles traveled. This measure can be considered to be the difference between actual/estimated travel speeds and free flow speed. Such a measure should be readily apparent and understandable to the traveling public.

3. Person Hours of Delay (PHD), which is just the vehicle hours of delay multiplied by the average occupancy rate.

4. Transit Load Factor, which is the ratio of riders to the number of available seats. This information is also easily understood by the general public and provides an obvious measure of passenger congestion on the public transit system. Roadway traffic congestion and delays as measured in items 1, 2, and 3 provide similar information on bus travel times.

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These performance measures will be reported for AM peak, PM peak, Mid-day, and Off-peak time periods to reflect the duration of congestion. These measures of congestion will be reported by county and facility type (freeway, principal arterial, etc.).

Further enhancement to the measurement of congestion in the future could include: • Performance measures related specifically to freight • A measure of travel time risk since a major concern of the traveling public is

not so much the actual delay but the variability of the delay on a daily basis • Performance measurement related to non-motorized modes of travel (bicycles

and pedestrians). Their performance, however, can mostly be measured in terms of whether these types of facilities are present or not. The main reason for this is that these facilities presently seldom experience capacity limitations and/or congestion. They are nonetheless an integral part of the region’s intermodal transportation system and provide an alternative for some travelers.

IV. TRAVEL DEMAND MODEL To estimate and report the performance measures described above a software system travel demand model was developed for use by the GBNRTC. This tool was developed for use as a technical resource for the area’s CMS. The model is a TransCAD network based simulation model encompassing Erie and Niagara Counties. It is a set of journey-based travel demand forecasting models utilizing GIS based highway and transit networks. The network contains approximately 11,000 highway links consisting of all minor arterial and above facilities. The transit network consists of all public bus and light rail routes serving the region. The study area is divided into 554 Traffic Analysis Zones and with a base year of 1997 presently being updated to 2002. To recalibrate the model to 2002 a significant work effort was undertaken including:

1) 2002 Household Interview Survey – A 24-hour activity based survey encompassing over 2000 households throughout area.

2) 2002 On-Board Transit Survey - Collected detailed travel information on riders for all public transit routes

3) 2002 Area-wide Cordon Line Survey – Collected detailed travel information from travelers entering Erie and Niagara Counties on all major roadways.

4) Automatic Traffic Recorder (ATR) counts on approximately 400 sample roadways

5) Manual intersection turning movement counts at approximately 100 locations 6) Updated demographic database files based on Census 2000 results.

The model generates a total number of journeys that begin and terminate in each zone

based on a zones socioeconomic characteristics and employment opportunities. These trip tables then are processed through the destination/mode choice subroutine to develop mode of travel, trip purpose, and time of day for each origin-destination pair. A trip assignment module then assigns each trip (car or transit) to a specific path over its associated network system based upon quickest time after incorporating link level delays. These delays are identified by a comparison of forecasted travel flows with capacity levels. These link level delays are used to adjust travel times reflecting congestion.

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V. DATA NEEDS Federal regulations require a continuous program of data collection and system monitoring, in support of congestion management that is a function of the magnitude of congestion and adopted performance measures. In areas where congestion is a problem, data collection must be continuous and capable of providing feedback on the effectiveness of implemented strategies. The regulations state that existing data sources should be used to the extent possible, as well as any real-time system performance monitoring capabilities available through Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technologies.

The GBNRTC CMS utilizes a large bank of travel data that provides information on regional travel patterns, the transportation network, and regional demographic information. Travel patterns are continually changing in Western New York so to monitor these changes the GBNRTC collects a significant amount of travel information that is used to measure changes in regional traffic, delays, and congestion using the performance measures identified in Section 2. REGIONAL TRAVEL PATTERNS Traffic Counts The GBNRTC has continuously conducted a Highway Traffic Count Program since 1974. Highway travel is monitored by taking ATR traffic counts from approximately 500 sample network links. The highway-monitoring program is based upon the eligible Federal-aid highway system in Erie and Niagara Counties and incorporates NYS Traffic Monitoring Standards into the data collection process. Because of the large number of highway segments, a three-year cycle is used to insure complete count coverage. New York State Traffic Monitoring Standards are integrated into the data collection process. Intersection Turning Movement Counts Manual intersection turning movement counts are conducted annually. Approximately 100 counts are prepared each year with upwards of an additional 30 counts based on NYSDOT requests on the Federal-Aid System. Vehicle Classification Counts Vehicle classification is performed at least once every three years to provide the quantity of single-combination trailer-trucks, multiple-trailer combination trucks, two axle four tire vehicles, buses, and vehicles operating on an average weekday. Transit Data Transit data is needed to calibrate the travel demand model and ensure the continued accuracy of the mode choice subroutine. The On-board survey data provides a computer transit file containing, on a route by route basis, ridership and transfer data; origin/destination information; frequency of usage; fare payment; and mode of access on a segment by segment basis for input in multi-modal planning analysis. Data on load factors and capacity rates for individual routes could be calculated from information available at the NFTA to provide service standard information. The base data from the on-board transit surveys is updated utilizing the NFTA fare collection procedure - Automated Passenger Count (APC) machines that have been

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installed on a significant portion of the transit fleet. Light rail ridership information is available from station counts conducted by NFTA personnel. Speed Data To calibrate the speed estimates in the travel demand model the GBNRTC is planning to conduct during the 2004-2006 UPWP a speed and delay analysis for the arterial level roadway network. Speed runs will be conducted on various arterials at various time periods (AM peak, Mid-day, PM peak, off-peak). In the future GBNRTC will incorporate this monitoring of speeds and delay into a continuous monitoring program similar to the traffic count program to allow for calibration of the travel demand model on a regular basis. New Data Collection Technology Due to technological advances there is continual improvement in the data collection process. GBNRTC is committed to maintaining the most accurate and cost-effective database with respect to regional travel information. This will enable the MPO to maintain relevancy with its studies and management strategies. To further this effort the GBNRTC has included in its 2004-2006 UPWP a subtask that calls for the assessment of newer data collection techniques such as transponder capabilities, remote sensing devices, and satellite imaging to improve the quality and ease of data collection in the region. REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION NETWORK Highway Network The GBNRTC highway network is based on a GIS platform. It includes all minor arterials and above for the two county area. Transcad was used to build this network, which contains approximately 11,000 highway links and 554 Traffic Analysis Zones. All freeways and expressways are dualized; including interchanges and ramps. The network database includes attributes including functional class, # of travel lanes, capacity, and free flow speeds. The base year for the highway network will be 2000. The network database is maintained by the GBNRTC, and is updated with the newest information as it becomes available. . Transit Network Similarly to the highway network, the GBNRTC transit network is GIS based and contains all public transit routes (bus and light rail) in Erie and Niagara County. For each route the database contains information on headways, service hours, access limits, and stops. Park and ride as well as transit center information is also in the database. GBNRTC maintains this database with the assistance of NFTA.

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REGIONAL DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION The GBNRTC collects and stores a significant amount of socio-economic data covering Erie and Niagara Counties that is disaggregated from the County and Municipal level down to the TAZ level. This data is utilized in transportation modeling and planning activities. Some of the data that is collected includes population, employment, households, auto-ownership, and household income. In addition the GBNRTC collects all zoning, land use, and master plan information by municipality; using established residential building permit files and commercial development reports to show demographic changes by TAZ and municipality, incorporates all the data into a central GIS system; and maintains a complete and current GIS based demographic database. GBNRTC also produces forecasts of population, employment, and households from Year 2000 to the horizon year of the LRTP at ten-year intervals by consensus. This forecast is developed with the assistance of a Regional Economic Demographic Review Team, which meets regularly to examine data and alternative forecasts. This future year data is an important input in the development of future year traffic patterns and projections. These forecast year projections allow for the development of future congestion estimates during the development of the Long Range Transportation Plan. VI. ESTIMATING CONGESTION – CURENT AND FUTURE CURRENT CONDITIONS Existing traffic conditions are estimated using data collected from the sources described previously and then modeled. Section V discusses the various count and speed data that is available to the GBNRTC. This data, which is constantly being updated, is used to calibrate the travel demand model assignment process. The travel demand model then generates traffic assignments to reflect actual changes in traffic since the last Long Range Transportation Plan update. This data is used to identify congestion locations using the Level of Service Performance measures discussed in Section III. The GBNRTC will incorporate Vehicle Hours of Delay information following final adjustment of the new model, which is currently in the calibration/validation process.

This updated congestion information is mapped for presentation to the MPO member agencies and used in public forums to generate discussion regarding congestion throughout the region. The results, which estimate changes in congestion since the last Long Range Transportation Plan update, is an important consideration in developing the mix of potential strategies and projects to be examined for possible inclusion in the next LRTP update.

FUTURE CONDITIONS Forecasts of future congestion will be developed by the GBNRTC every three years as part of the Long Range Transportation Plan update process. These forecasts and their analysis form an integral element as new projects and strategies are developed for consideration for the Plan. The main input into this congestion forecast is the demographic forecast data. The population, employment, household, auto ownership, and income estimates are used to forecast future trips using the travel demand model. The model generates future trip tables

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that will be different from the existing trip tables based on changes in the socioeconomic data. These trip tables are then input into the demand model subroutines for mode split and assignment producing link level traffic volumes and transit ridership. This information will then be utilized to generate the performance measure data for congestion (estimate hours of delay and level of service) in the horizon year of the Long Range Transportation Plan. VII. STRATEGY EVALUATION

The next aspect of the GBNRTC Congestion Management System is the evaluation of various strategies proposed for relieving these future congestion areas. The traffic volume results from the modeling tests of a future year in Section VI using the demographic forecast input data discussed in Section V provide information on the location of congestion spots throughout the two county analysis area. These areas of congestion may warrant capacity improvements, Transportation System Management (TSM) improvements, or other management strategies. The model structure discussed in Section IV will be employed by the GBNRTC to test and evaluate various congestion management strategies beyond simply adding additional single occupancy vehicle (SOV) lanes to existing roadway facilities or, when necessary, to evaluate a package of actions to address identified congestion problems. The model provides for the appropriate analysis and assessment of all reasonable travel demand reduction and operational management strategies for the region, a corridor or a particular facility. The proposed set of improvements will be identified through a joint process incorporating input from the public, GBNRTC member agencies, and GBNRTC Central staff. Use of the model will enable the MPO to assess the impact of these strategies on congestion using the performance measures identified in Section III. Such strategies shall include, but not be limited to:

• Transportation Demand Management • Traffic Operational Improvements • Parking Management Actions • Promote High Occupancy Vehicle Use • Promotion of Car and Van Pool Actions • Transit Capital and Operational Improvements • Advanced Public Transportation System Applications • Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Alternatives • Growth Management and Congestion Pricing Applications • Land Use Management Activities • Access Management Techniques • Incident Management Techniques • Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Applications • Where Necessary, increased capacity through additional general purpose highway

lanes

The process will determine whether the planned improvements will result in a reduction in congestion levels; although the process may require multiple iterations of testing. The results of these model runs provide the data necessary to analyze if various

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programmed alternative strategy investments generate the desired results. It allows for the use of cost-benefit analysis that would lead to the selection of the most cost-effective strategies.

The results will then be mapped using GIS capabilities for presentation to the member agencies and public for discussion. The cumulative effect of this evaluation process is an estimate of reduced vehicle and person hours of delay, improved transit load factors, and a reduction in the number of links having a failing level of service. Furthermore, this provides the rationale for the projects selected for the Long Range Transportation Plan.

VIII. STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION Following the identification and analysis of Congestion Management System strategies in the Long Range Transportation Planning process the other elements of the GBNRTC planning process come into play to bring the selected strategies to implementation. First, federal planning funds may be used to plan for the implementation of proposed strategies through Congestion Management studies that are funded by and listed in the MPO’s Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). These studies provide for a more detailed analysis to judge the relative merits of various congestion management alternatives along a specific road or corridor and develop a specific transportation project. Such studies may also be funded by member agencies.

Once a specific improvement project has been defined, the project moves for consideration into the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) process. The GBNRTC’s adopted TIP identifies and defines the strategies and projects, the implementation schedule, the implementation responsibilities and the funding sources for any strategy or combination of strategies which will be advanced to address congestion needs. Inclusion on the adopted TIP allows a project to be eligible for federal funding and in this area has been considered a formal commitment to a project.

The GBNRTC’s CMS process provides the structure for periodic assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of implemented strategies, in terms of the established performance measures and employing the established inventory and data collection and performance monitoring processes discussed in Section V. The data collection and performance monitoring elements enable the region’s transportation system (highway and transit) to be reassessed on a continuing basis. It also allows the MPO to evaluate system/mode performance and to determine the benefits and effectiveness of implemented actions. This monitoring element provides a feedback loop, which enables the GBNRTC to continually update and revise the CMS process maintaining its relevance and accuracy.

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CONCLUSION The GBNRTC has completed a comprehensive update of data collection efforts as described in Section IV related to its travel demand model development. The Travel Demand Model is currently in its final calibration/validation state after which it will be available for use in all planning activities to be undertaken by the GBNRTC. This CMS will play an integral role in the continuing planning process to address congestion issues in Erie and Niagara Counties.

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