Presentations
Traffic Monitoring Program Needs and Funding Sources
Highway Information Seminar
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Room – Washington #1
Tianjia Tang, PE, Tianjia.Tang@DOT.GOV
Chief, Travel Monitoring and Surveys, Office of Highway Policy Information
FHWA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, Washington, DC 20590
Objective
The goal of this session is to familiarize ourselves with all the factors involved in traffic monitoring and help us to think bigger and act faster in order to meet all the challenges we are faced with.
Outline
- Organizational Structure
- Roles We Play
- People, Equipment, Technology…
- Examples of Traffic Data Usage
- Funding Sources
The objective of this part is to help us to understand and know where our profession stands in our organization
Organizational Structure Unit Names
- Intermodal Development
- Pre-construction
- Modal Planning
- Safety and Operations
- Traffic Operations
- Engineering and Operations
- System Operations
- Transport and Mobility
- Operations and Maintenance
- ….
- Other terms:
- office, division, team, branch, bureau, unit…
Your Task
- Locate your organizational Structure
- Identify how you are related to your organization
- Identify how your program contribute or is related to other units, divisions, and offices
Organizational Structure
Know where you are and how you are related to other offices and divisions from an organization standpoint.
Roles We Play
The objective of this component is to help us to recognize key topics/programs where our data are used for.
Roles We Play
needs and condition assessments
- Traffic data — AADTT, AADTT, K, D, F…
- Transportation improvement Program (TIP) and Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)
- Travel Demand Modeling – model buildup and calibration
- # of travel lanes needed Congestion level – both existing and future conditions
- ….
Roles We Play
Preliminary Engineering and National Environmental Policy Act
- Traffic data — AADTT, AADTT, K, D, …
- # of travel lanes needed
- # congestion level – both existing and future conditions
- Pavement design – truck data
- Lane width Curvature
- Grade
- highway noise (TNM) – AADTT, peak hour factor, truck data
- Air Quality (MOVES…)
- …
Roles We Play
Preliminary Engineering and NEPA
- Traffic data — AADT, AADTT, K, D, …
- # of travel lanes needed
- congestion level – both existing and future conditions
- pavement design – truck data
- lane width
- Curvature
- grade ….
- project level conformity determination ( air quality)
- Final noise wall design and refinement ( if applicable)
Roles We Play
Right of Way
Project needs and justification from a traffic standpoint in the event of litigation or any court proceeding.
Roles We Play
Construction
Maintaining traffic during construction – one of the most challenging aspect of upgrading existing roadway facilities
Roles We Play
Construction
- Signal timing, optimization and synchronization
- Turn lane needs assessment – special counts
- Traveler's information system (ITS)
- Safety/Performance – speed
- ….
Review – Roles We Play
People, Equipment, Technology …
The objective of this component is to recognize both the human and none human factor issues involved in traffic monitoring.
People and Skill
- Professional engineering (PE) – what is the State regulation? Can none PE approve design traffic studies?
- American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) – any preference or requirements?
- GIS and other traffic data analysis knowledge
- Software programmer Statistics and/or other data analysis experience
- Electricians
- ….
Equipment and Technology
- Roadway facility based technology – both intrusive and none intrusive – loop, camera …
- Vehicle based technology – GPS, cell phone triangulation …
- …
Funding and other Resources
- Doing more and getting more
- Demonstrate value
- …
People, Equipment, Technology …
To make our business a successful one, we must know ourselves and our partners and have a good productive relationship with all involved.
Relationship building is just as important as technically know how.
Review — People, Equipment, Technology …
- People – Engineer, Planner, Software Programmer, Modelers, Analysts …
- Equipment – Infrastructure based vs. none-infrastructure based
Traffic Data usage examples
The objective of this component is to recognize some of the key program and products where traffic data are vital to their success.
Traffic Data usage examples
Travel Demand Modeling – Planning Offices and MPOs
Modeling software examples:
Cube, TransCAD, EMME/2 ….
Exactly what type of traffic counting data are used:
Link volume, base year
AADT, D, K …
What the counting data are used for:
Model calibration and validation, Level
of Services, facility needs …
Traffic Data usage examples
Air Quality Analysis – Environmental Offices and MPOs
Modeling software examples:
Mobile6 and MOVES
Exactly what type of traffic counting data are used:
Link volume, vehicle class, speed, turning movements for signalized intersections
What the counting data are used for:
To obtain emission factors for various pollutants (CO, PM, NOx, VOC … mg/mile
or mg/hour)
Traffic Data usage examples
Highway Noise Analysis – Environmental Offices
Modeling software examples:
TNM (Traffic Noise Model)
Exactly what type of
traffic counting data are used:
Link volume, vehicle class – truck, speed,
turning movements for signalized intersections
What the counting data are used
for:
Calibrate noise model and to predict highway noise level and determine
feasibility of noise abatement
Traffic Data usage examples
Roadway Design – Geometric and Pavement Design
Software examples:
Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) ….
Exactly what type of traffic counting data are used:
volume, class , speed, turning movements for signalized intersections …
What
the counting data are used for:
Pavement – layer structure and thickness
optimization Geometric – # o lanes, LOA, grade, Curvature…
Traffic Data – Precision and Accuracy
Ask data users the following question in dealing with traffic counting data precision and accuracy issues
What is the accuracy of your projection data?
 |
 |
= 2001.1198798 lbs |
Review — Traffic Data usage examples
- People – Engineer, Planner, Software Programmer, Modelers, Analysts …
- Equipment – Infrastructure based vs. none-infrastructure based
Federal Funding Sources
The objective of this component is to recognize the main Federal-funding categories where traffic data program can take advantage for potential funding sources.
PL and SPR and Funds
- Metropolitan PL fund: 1.25 percent deduction of five federal construction program allocations: (1.) Interstate Maintenance, (2.) National Highway System, (3.) Surface Transportation Program, (4.) Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation, and (5.) Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement.
- State Planning and Research Fund: 2% Mandatory Set Aside from six State Apportionments
(IM, NHS, STP, CMAQ, Bridge, HSIP)
Federal Funding Sources
Apportionment Programs
Interstate Maintenance Program
National Highway System
Surface Transportation Program
Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program
Highway Safety Improvement Program
Railway-Highway Crossings
Safe Routes to School Program
Recreational Trails Program
Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program
Metropolitan Planning
Federal-aid Eligible Roadways
Federal-aid Is a Reimbursable Program
23 CFR 470.103
—means highways on the Federal-aid highway system and all other public roads not classified as local roads or rural minor collectors."
- Designated as major collector and above
–(STPS, STP, NHS, IM) - Certain Bridge and Safety projects off system
Federal-aid Is a Reimbursable Program
Review – Federal Funding
PL
SPR
Others
Review
- Organizational Structure
- Roles We Play
- People, Equipment, Technology …
- Examples of Traffic Data Usage
- Federal Funding
Thank You!
Highway Information Seminar
Tianjia Tang, PE, Tianjia.Tang@DOT.GOV
Chief, Travel Monitoring and Surveys, Office of Highway Policy Information
FHWA, 1200 New jersey Avenue, Washington, DC 20590