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Study Conclusions

Most travelers are satisfied with the nation's transportation system. And satisfaction with the system has increased significantly in the past ten years. It is clear that despite the increased demands placed on the system resulting in increased traffic and congestion, the focus on achieving new levels of quality in the construction and maintenance of the transportation system initiated in 1992 is paying off in traveler satisfaction.

A primary objective of this study is to translate the results into a set of concrete strategic imperatives that federal and state highway agencies can apply to further improve the traveling public's satisfaction with the transportation system. These strategic imperatives can be identified by looking at what is important to travelers and the extent to which the system currently delivers what is important. Each major aspect of the system is categorized into a quadrant based on its perceived importance to an effective and high-quality transportation system and current performance (as measured by the letter grade given) as follows:

   

IMPORTANCE

   

Low

High

OVERALL GRADE

Highest

Priority 4:
Secondary Strengths:
Maintain Current Level of Service / Targeted Improvements

Priority 1:
Primary Strengths: Maintain / Improve Current Level of Service
/ Communicate

Lowest

Priority 3:
Potential Weaknesses: Invest to Improve if Resources are Available

Priority 2:
Critical Weaknesses:
Invest Immediately to Improve

Aspects of service falling into each quadrant are as follows:

Bridge conditions and setup of work zones are clear strengths of the nation's transportation system and relatively well aligned with the nation's transportation system.

Highway safety is also a key strength of the nation's transportation system. Highway safety was also noted as a primary strength of the system in 2000. However, given the importance of this aspect of the system, travelers expect more and this should be considered an area requiring continued investments. Specific improvements that would have the greatest impact on the overall grade travelers give the system for safety include:

In addition to continued investments in safety improvements, it is important to let the public know about improvements to the safety of the transportation system. For example, travelers are very positive about the use of rumble strips to notify drivers they have left their travel lanes. This represents an opportunity to leverage system strength into support for additional improvements by communicating the success of this program.

Four critical areas emerge as critical weaknesses - pavement conditions, planning for future transportation needs, efforts to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow, and pedestrian safety and mobility. Improvements to traffic flow and congestion as well as pavement conditions were noted as critical weaknesses in 2000. Planning and pedestrian safety and mobility are system attributes added in the current survey based on industry research and customer input.

Travelers are generally neutral to somewhat satisfied with the condition of highway and roadway surfaces. In addition to continued investments in safety improvements, it is important to let the public know about improvements to the safety of the transportation system. For example, travelers are very positive about the use of rumble strips to notify drivers they have left their travel lanes. This represents an opportunity to leverage system strength into support for additional improvements by communicating the success of this program.

Consistent with the support given to transportation projects to expand and improve pedestrian mobility, pedestrian safety and mobility is an issue that is important to travelers and that receives a below average grade. While a problem everywhere, pedestrian safety and mobility is a greater issue in the South. Areas that should be the focus for improvements include:

Continued efforts to mitigate congestion and improve traffic flow should also be a focus for improvements. Despite the extent to which travelers encounters congestion, the system appears to be doing a reasonable job in terms of meeting traveler expectations in this area. This suggests that many of the strategies implemented in recent years have been effective. Specific areas that should continue to be a focus include:

At the same time, communicate the strides that have been made in this area. These include the:

There are two areas that represent potential weaknesses. Of particular note are delays resulting from road work. This aspect of the system is integrally tied to congestion and should be monitored carefully. Moreover, it should be noted that in 2000 this was noted as a critical weakness. It is clear that travelers have seen the result of efforts to improve in this area and support these efforts. Strategic improvements should continue in this area. There are three areas that should be a focus for these improvements:

Bicycle safety and mobility is also a potential issue. While many travelers - notably those that bicycle - support bicycle projects, there is significant conflict between cyclists and drivers. Some key areas for improvements in target areas include:

Note that both bicyclists and drivers laud the efforts to build bikeways separated from roads. Also, where available, travelers feel that the width of bike lanes adjacent to roads is sufficient.

There are obvious strengths of the transportation system- its visual appeal, the availability of traveler information, and amenities along the highway. However, relative to other aspects of the system's infrastructure are less important. It is critical to maintain services in these areas. Even in these areas, some potential issues were identified:

There are two areas that should be closely monitored and, if resources are available, investments made. These include:

It should be noted that some aspects of maintenance response times (e.g., repainting pavement markings) are also integrally related to other more critical aspects of the system such as safety. Improvements here would impact traveler satisfaction in other areas.

This study also identifies several other key issues:

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