Chapter 3: Plan Development
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Chapter 3: Plan Development 3.1 Congestion Management Plans Introduction A congestion management plan, as defined in federal regulation, is an objective-driven and performance-based process intended to integrate effective management and safe operation of the existing multimodal transportation facilities. The purpose of NOACA’s congestion management plans is to: • Identify the spatial and temporal characteristics of traffic congestion in the region • Measure the congestion severity, duration, extent, and variability • Develop congestion mitigation strategies for enhancing the mobility of people and goods in the NOACA region. Three of NOACA’s regional strategic plan goals have been adopted as the main focus of NOACA’s congestion management plans, as they are in agreement with guidance (or requirements) provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) (see Chapter 2 for Regional Strategic Plan Goals, Objectives, and Strategies). The three goals are: • Preserve existing infrastructure • Build a sustainable multi-modal transportation system • Support economic development The congestion management plans establish congestion reduction objectives in five-year increments for 2020, 2025, 2030, 2035, and 2040. Each plan will be evaluated during the third year of its implementation (e.g. 2018 for the 2020 plan). The rest of this chapter offers an insight into the NOACA congestion management plans and includes a discussion and definition of the congestion management objectives for the five-year cycle, and the NOACA methodology for the congestion management process. The methodology explains and analyzes the current and future transportation networks, develops congestion management performance measures, and discusses congestion mitigation strategies. Congestion Management Objectives Congestion management objectives define what the NOACA region intends to achieve regarding traffic congestion management during every five-year cycle. A set of specific, measurable, agreed, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) objectives was established for each of the five plan years: 2020, 2025, 2030, 2035 and 2040. These regional and local objectives build upon the prior planning year’s objectives so that they will eventually fulfill NOACA’s regional strategic goals that relate to congestion management. It should be noted that the congestion management objectives focus solely on traffic congestion and are a subset of NOACA’s long- range goals and objectives of providing a multimodal transportation system. During the third year of each five-year cycle, the progress and effectiveness of the congestion management plan implementation will be monitored, and the objectives will be adjusted or updated, if necessary. Figure 3.1-1 depicts the relation between the congestion management objectives and NOACA’s long-range goals and objectives. 49 Figure 3.1-1: Congestion Management Plan Objectives and NOACA Long-Range Goals and Objectives – The following guidelines were used to develop two tiers of congestion management objectives: • Reduce average delay per traveler during peak periods • Increase the percent of non-single occupancy vehicles • Regulate the flow of traffic entering freeways (ramp metering) • Increase the efficiency of interchanges • Increase the capacity of non-freeway corridors • Increase transit accessibility • Increase transit and nonmotorized mode shares The first-tier objectives are intended primarily to improve mobility and access to the existing multimodal transportation system. The second-tier or supplemental objectives enhance the efficiency of the system. Figures 3.1-2 and 3.1-3 display the first-tier and supplemental congestion management objectives for the planning years 2020, 2025, 2030, 2035, and 2040 in relation to the 2015 base year. 50 Figure 3.1-2: First-Tier Congestion Management Objectives 2015 Objective/Planning Year 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 (base) Reduce average delay per traveler during morning and evening peak 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% periods Implement the Signal Timing Two At least one corridor in each planning None Optimization Program (STOP) corridors year Implement ramp metering None At least one location in each planning year Total population within a 5-mile drive 1.26 1.3 1.34 1.38 1.42 1.45 of a Park & Ride Station million million million million million million Total population within a 0.5-mile 1.3 Maintain the population of 1.3 million within walk to a transit station million walking distance to transit Total of transit & nonmotorized mode 6.27% 6.50% 6.80% 7% 7.25% 7.50% shares Figure 3.1-3: Supplemental Congestion Management Objectives 2015 Objective/Planning Year 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 (Ref.) Design High-Occupancy Vehicle At least one freeway in each planning year (HOV)/High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) None lanes during AM or PM peak periods Analyze the efficiency of the Implement Diverging Diamond One implemented DDI and None None Interchanges (DDI) Location possibly design in other locations Analyze any road capacity additions as a part of Add road capacity such as lanes, ramps, interchanges, etc. the congestion mitigation strategy packages Methodology As discussed, the congestion management plans lay out the objectives for each five-year cycle. To achieve those objectives, NOACA has adapted a congestion management process that includes the following steps: 1. Define the current and future transportation system networks 2. Develop multimodal performance measures 51 3. Collect data and evaluate system performance 4. Analyze traffic congestion problems 5. Identify and assess congestion mitigation strategies 6. Prioritize and program the selected congestion mitigation strategies 7. Monitor the effectiveness of congestion management and evaluate the progress Figure 3.1-4 illustrates the cyclical nature of the congestion management process. Figure 3.1-4: Congestion Management Process 52 Transportation System Networks The base year (2015) and future year (2040) transportation system networks include highway, transit, and auto-transit interface facilities (e.g. park-and-ride lots). The physical characteristics of these networks are based on the NOACA travel forecasting model and are described below. Base Year (2015) Highway Network The highway network for the NOACA congestion management plans covers the entire area of Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, and Medina counties. Figure 3.1-5 displays this roadway network, which is made up of all road facility types: freeways, limited access highways such as expressways, major and minor arterials, and collectors. Local and access road facilities generally carry low traffic volumes and are not congested; therefore, these road types are not shown in Figure 3.1-5 and not considered in the congestion management process. 53 54 Figure 3.1-5: 2015 Highway Network by Facility Type 55 56 Figure 3.1-6 shows the approximate breakdown of the base year highway network centerline miles (road length independent of number of lanes) by road facility type. Figure 3.1-6: 2015 Highway Network Centerline Miles by Road Facility Type 2015 Facility Type (Centerline Miles) Freeway 727 Limited Access Highway 9 Highway Ramp 256 Arterial 2,581 Collector 4,405 Total 7,978 Also, Figure 3.1-7 gives the percentages of the road facility types in the NOACA region. Figure 3.1-7: Road Facility Types of the 2015 Highway Network by Percentage Road capacity of a highway segment is highly dependent on its number of lanes. Figure 3.1-8 presents the directional lane categories of the NOACA highway network. 57 58 Figure 3.1-8: 2015 Highway Network by Number of Directional Lanes 59 60 Figure 3.1-9 gives the approximate number of centerline directional miles (i.e. number of centerline miles on roads of varying lane widths (does not sum total lane mileage)) of the base year highway network. Figure 3.1-9: 2015 Highway Network Mileage by Directional Lanes Number of 2015 Directional Lanes (Centerline Miles) 1 5,736 2 1,740 3 393 4 101 5 8 Total 7,978 As shown in Figure 3.1-10, about 72% of the miles of road in the NOACA region have only one lane in each direction. This is due to the large rural portion of the region. Figure 3.1-10: Centerline Directional Lane Mileage of the 2015 Highway Network by Percentage 2015 Centerline Mileage by Directional Lanes 22% 72% 5% 1% < 1% 1 2 3 4 5 Public Transit Public transportation, popularly known as “transit,” provides alternative travel modes to passenger vehicles for residents’ daily commutes and other trips. Bus services operate on the roadway network, and therefore highway congestion directly affects transit travel time. Because 61 transit vehicles carry a high number of passengers, however, they improve or reduce highway congestion. NOACA’s congestion management process thus considers public transportation improvements as mitigation strategies to alleviate roadway congestion. These improvements could be an expansion of transit networks and services or the introduction of new or expanded park-and-ride facilities. Transit services in the NOACA region are categorized as local bus, premium bus, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), and rail lines. These services are provided by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA), Laketran (Lake County’s regional public transportation authority), Lorain County Transit (LCT), and Medina County Public Transit (MCPT). For the sake of clarity, Figure 3.1-11 shows just the current transit networks of premium buses, BRT, and rail lines in the NOACA region. The entire transit network can be seen on NOACA’s GIS Data Portal (http://gis.noaca.org/Portal/). 62 Figure 3.1-11: 2015 Premium Bus, BRT, and Rail Line Network 63 64 Auto-Transit Interface Stations To connect passenger vehicles traveling in suburban areas with the transit network, stations must accommodate automobile access in two ways: • Kiss-and-Ride is the widely adopted term for the drop-off and pickup of passengers • Park-and-Ride is when transit passengers park their cars at the station. Because of traffic volumes and the need for parking facilities, park-and-ride stations require a very large area per passenger. Transit accessibility is commonly measured using the GIS buffer method to calculate the proportion of workers who are within a certain distance from transit facilities.