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Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan May 2014 DOT-VNTSC-FWS-14-01 Prepared for: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge – Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan 1-ii Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for use of the information contained in this document. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear herein only because they are considered essential to the objective of this document. Quality Assurance Statement The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement. Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge – Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan 1-iii REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188), Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED May 2014 Final Report 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. FUNDING NUMBERS Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge – Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan VXN3 6. AUTHOR(S) 5b. CONTRACT NUMBER David Daddio, Benjamin Rasmussen, Jonathan Frazier, Erica Simmons, Luis Mejias 51VXN30000 MJ696 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) REPORT NUMBER U.S. Department of Transportation John A Volpe National Transportation Systems Center DOT-VNTSC-FWS-14-01 Transportation Planning Division 55 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02142-1093 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING US Department of Interior AGENCY REPORT NUMBER US Fish and Wildlife Service Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge 1839 C Street NW Washington, DC 20240 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE This document is available to the public at http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/52000/52700/52788/DOT-VNTSC- FWS-14-01.pdf. 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) The Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan for Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oklahoma analyzes a range of transportation and resource management challenges and documents a holistic set of alternative transportation strategies that the refuge can implement in the short, medium, and long term. The Plan consists of four interrelated products: a traffic analysis study, a pedestrian and bicycle, a multi-modal network alternatives analysis, and a transit assessment. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES Alternative transportation, public lands transportation, pedestrian and bicycle transportation, transit, 183 shuttle bus service, recreational transportation 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT Unlimited Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 298-102 Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge – Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan 1-iv Report Notes and Acknowledgments The U.S. Department of Transportation John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), in Cambridge, Massachusetts, prepared this report for the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The project team consisted of David Daddio (project manager), Benjamin Rasmussen, Jonathan Frazier, Erica Simmons, and Luis Mejias of the Transportation Planning Division. The project team would like to thank the following individuals for graciously providing their time, knowledge, and guidance during the development of this plan: Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Tony Booth Refuge Manager Ralph Bryant Deputy Refuge Manager Susan Howell Visitor Services Manager Heidi Beierle Transportation Scholar Quinton Smith Park Ranger, Visitor Services U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 2 Steve Kettler Biologist Robert O’Brien Regional Transportation Program Coordinator Central Federal Lands Highway Division Laurie Miskimins Transportation Planner Other Dr. Ben Cooper Fit Kids of Southwest Oklahoma Dwight Cope Town of Medicine Park Jonathan Cybulski John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center Rebecca Gleason Western Transportation Institute Doug Kemper Medicine Park Museum of Natural Science Aaron Peterson Fort Sill Richard Rogalski City of Lawton Planning Department Kyle Rogers Fit Kids of Southwest Oklahoma Gary Rushing Lawton Area Transit System Sharon Sheffert Oklahoma Department of Transportation Brenda Spencer-Ragland Fort Still Larry Walcott City of Lawton Public Works Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge – Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan 1-v Table of Contents Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. 1-vii List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................... 1-viii Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 1-ix 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1-1 2. Traffic Analysis Study .................................................................................................... 2-i 3. Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Guide ......................................................................... 3-i 4. Multi-Modal Network Alternatives Analysis .................................................................. 4-i 5. Transit Assessment ....................................................................................................... 5-i 6. Summary of Recommendations ................................................................................... 6-1 Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge – Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan 1-vii List of Acronyms Abbreviation Term AADT Annual Average Daily Traffic AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials ADA Americans with Disabilities Act ADT Average Daily Traffic ATS Alternative Transportation System CATP Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan CFLHD Central Federal Lands Highway Division CMAQ Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality EPA Environmental Protection Agency FHWA Federal Highway Administration FLAP Federal Lands Access Program FLMA Federal Land Management Agency FLTP Federal Lands Transportation Program FWS Fish and Wildlife Service GIS Geographic Information System GPS Global Positioning System HSIP Highway Safety Improvement Program ITS Intelligent Transportation System LATS Lawton Area Transit System LETRA Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area LMPO Lawton MPO LOS Level of Service MUTCD Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NPS National Park Service NWR National Wildlife Refuge NWRS National Wildlife Refuge System ODOT Oklahoma Department of Transportation PBCAT Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool PBIC Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center PTSF Percent Time Spent Following RTP Recreational Trails Program SRTS Safe Routes to School STP Surface Transportation Program TAG Transportation Assistance Group TAP Transportation Alternatives Program TRIPTAC Transit in the Parks Technical Assistance Center USGS United States Geological Survey WMWR Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge – Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan 1-viii Executive Summary Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (WMWR) faces many transportation and recreation challenges associated with its current visitation patterns, including: • Parking lot congestion, which often requires refuge law enforcement resources • Heavy visitation to sensitive natural areas on the western side of the refuge • Bicyclist roadway safety issues within and approaching the refuge • Limited access opportunities for populations without access to a private vehicle Following transportation improvements presented in a 2010 Alternative Transportation Study (ATS) conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), the refuge received funding for the construction of a nonmotorized trail, the development of an intelligent transportation system, and completion of this Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Plan (CATP).