01044624

Component

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) “Green Book” states that highway functional classification is an important tool in comprehensive transportation planning. It suggests grouping all roadways in a metropolitan area based on the degree to which each roadway provides land access or mobility. Freeways and local roadways are easy to classify. It is the collectors and minor arterials that are more difficult and subject to biases by the engineer creating the classifications. To eliminate ambiguities, engineers usually turn to defining a variable(s), quantifying it and then using guidelines to label them. Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) engineers have used trip lengths to review the functional classifications of all roadways in Northern Virginia. Trip length is a variable that can be determined for every link in the highway network and can be done for any other area, provided that area has a trip table and a highway network. Most areas with a population of 250,000 have these data. Functional classification in Northern Virginia, as well as in most regions, is dynamic as new roadways are built and old roadways are upgraded. Also, transportation planning consultants change some of the gray area classifications (for example, collector versus minor arterial) to make the transportation models behave better. This re-look at the functional classifications for Northern Virginia was done by quantifying the average vehicle trip length for all links (over 15,000) in the network. Using the current functional classifications, the average (and standard deviation) trip length by classification and by jurisdiction was determined. This trip length analysis showed: Distinct differences between roadway classifications, distinct differences between urban and suburban roadways, and anomalies in the functional classifications. For the next step, it is suggested that the anomalies be addressed and “fixed” to see if that improves the travel forecasting process.

01044603

English

15p

2006

10th National Conference on Transportation Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities

CD-ROM

Figures (2) ; References (3) ; Tables (8)

Forecasting; Transportation planning; Travel demand; Trip length; Types of roads; Urban highways

Functional classification; Highway classification; Suburban highways

Northern Virginia

Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

TRIS, TRB

Mar 23 2007 11:39AM

• 1995-2004 CARTS Pedestrian/Bicyclist Crash Analysis
• A Pavement Management System for County Roads in the State of Alabama
• Application of an Internet-Based Travel Survey in a Medium-Sized Community
• Applying Value Methodology to Metropolitan Transportation Planning
• Better, Stronger Faster; How Oblique Aerial Imagery Is Changing the Face of Transportation Planning
• Bozeman Bicycle Network Plan
• Comparison and Evaluation of Simplified Transportation Project Selection and Prioritization Methodologies for Use by Small and Medium Sized Planning Agencies
• Design Considerations to Mitigate Non-Response in Regional Household Travel Surveys
• Developing a Consistent, Flexible, and Defensible Methodology for State and Regional Transportation Planning
• Development of Travel Demand Modeling Tools for Small Area Planning Purposes
• Discrete Event Simulation of Forecasted Non-Urban Freight Movement
• Evaluating the Relative Safety of Access Management Treatments in Micro-Simulation
• Getting Innovative Traffic Forecasting Model Networks "In Shape" Quickly Using GIS Datasets
• Highway Ranking Model
• Implementation of a Public Transportation System in Casper, Wyoming
• Importance of Modeling Ozone Formation Attributable to Rural Interstate Traffic
• Innovative Financing at the Local Level: Project Funding for a Regional Transportation Agency
• Integrating Access Management into Local Transportation Planning
• La Entrada al Pacifico: Viability and Potential Impacts on the Odessa-Midland, Texas Area and Other Small Communities
• Local Road Safety Audits: A New Approach to an Old Problem
• Microsimulation for Transportation Planning for Small Communities
• PlanCheyenne - Co-Planning for MPOs
• Planning Analysis Toolbox for Small Urban Areas in North Carolina
• Potential Use of GPS Data for Calibrating Travel Demand Models
• Safe Routes to School in Superior, WI and Duluth, MN
• Safety Conscious Planning for Small and Medium Size Urban Areas
• Six Hints for Better Public Process
• Strategic Transportation, Environmental Planning Process for Urbanizing Places (STEP UP)
• Successful Use of Public Involvement Tools - Johns Pass Bridge Project
• Supporting Transportation Planning in Small MPOs Through Partnerships and Innovative Methods
• The Bridge Between NEPA and Corridor Studies: The Story of Northern Bridge Corridor Study
• US-280 Access Management - Managing Small Town Economics
• Using Simplified Regression Analysis in Financial Planning for an MTP, or Seeing the Forest for the Trees
• Web-Based Delivery of Geospatial and Transportation Data for a Rural Intelligent Transportation Systems Project
• When Big Projects Come to Smaller Places: The Communication Challenge
• Which Came First? The SR 386 Area Study