Incorporating Driveway Density into an Arterial Corridor Travel Time Index Estimation Model

• Authored by:  William L. Eisele
• Co-authored by:  Y. Zhang , Eun Sug Park , R. Stensrud

Eisele, W.L., Y. Zhang, E.S. Park, R. Stensrud, “Incorporating Driveway Density into an Arterial Corridor Travel Time Index Estimation Model,” 10-2670, Proceedings of the 89th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. (2010)

This study identifies and quantifies appropriate operational and safety performance measures for investigating access management treatments. Research objectives were to: 1) assess the state-of-the-practice relative to performance measures applicable to access management and identify existing and/or new measures—particularly measures that can capture the safety benefits of access management treatments, 2) perform micro-simulation using the identified measures to demonstrate their application, and 3) develop guidance for applying the performance measures for evaluating roadway improvements that include access management treatments (e.g., raised medians, driveway consolidation) and incorporating them into the transportation planning process.

The research identifies surrogate safety measures related to time-to-collision (TTC), and incorporates them into a micro-simulation model (VISSIM) as a demonstration of how both safety and operational impacts might be investigated in the same software package. Generally, the results appear intuitive—particularly at lower volumes and for the theoretical corridors. The report also discusses how the safety measures can be incorporated into the traditional transportation planning process. It cautions that corridor improvements are case specific and illustrates how micro-simulation, when calibrated appropriately to field conditions, provides a tool to estimate the effects of combined corridor characteristics. Future research in this area is suggested.