HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE LANES EVALUATION II Traffic Impact, Safety Assessment, and Public Acceptance Dr. Peter T. Martin, Associate Professor University of Utah Dhruvajyoti Lahon, Aleksandar Stevanovic, Research Assistants University of Ut ah Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Utah Traffic Lab 122 South Central Campus Drive Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 November 2004 Acknowledgements The authors thank the Utah Department of Transportation employees for the data they furnished and their assistance with this study. The authors particularly thank the Technical Advisory Committee members for their invaluable input throughout the study. The authors are also thankful to the respondents who took the time to participate in the public opinion survey. The valuable contribution of those who helped collect data and conduct public opinion surveys is greatly appreciated. Disclaimer The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program, in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................1 1.1 Background................................................................................................................1 1.2 Problem Description ...................................................................................................3 1.3 Research Goal and Objectives .....................................................................................3 2. LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................................................5 2.1 California Success......................................................................................................5 2.2 Vancouver Evaluation.................................................................................................5 2.3 Seattle System............................................................................................................6 2.4 Houston System .........................................................................................................6 2.5 Dallas Evaluation .......................................................................................................6 2.6 Oregon System...........................................................................................................7 2.7 Florida Evaluation ......................................................................................................7 2.8 New Jersey Failure .....................................................................................................8 2.9 System Overview .......................................................................................................8 2.10 Overall Performance Summary....................................................................................8 3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................9 3.1 Vehicle Volume ....................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Average Vehicle Occupancy ..................................................................................... 10 3.3 Modal Split .............................................................................................................. 10 3.4 Person Throughput ................................................................................................... 11 3.5 Travel Time ............................................................................................................. 11 3.6 Speed....................................................................................................................... 11 3.7 Accident Rate........................................................................................................... 11 3.8 Violation Rate .......................................................................................................... 12 4. DATA COLLECTION ....................................................................................................13 4.1 Vehicle Volume ....................................................................................................... 13 4.2 Average Vehicle Occupancy ..................................................................................... 13 4.3 Modal Split .............................................................................................................. 14 4.4 Person Throughput ................................................................................................... 14 4.5 Travel Time ............................................................................................................. 14 4.6 Speed....................................................................................................................... 16 4.7 Accident Rate........................................................................................................... 16 4.8 Violation Rate .......................................................................................................... 17 5. MARKET RESEARCH...................................................................................................19 5.1 Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs)............................................................................ 19 5.2 Sample Size Calculation............................................................................................ 20 5.3 Questionnaire Design................................................................................................ 20 5.4 Results and Discussion.............................................................................................. 21 6. RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS................................................................................37 6.1 Vehicle Volume ....................................................................................................... 37 6.2 Average Vehicle Occupancy ..................................................................................... 39 6.3 Modal Split .............................................................................................................. 41 6.4 Person Throughput ................................................................................................... 42 iii 6.5 Travel Time ............................................................................................................. 44 6.6 Speed....................................................................................................................... 46 6.7 Accident Rate........................................................................................................... 48 6.8 Violation Rate .......................................................................................................... 53 6.9 Average Time Headway............................................................................................ 55 6.10 Level of Servic e ....................................................................................................... 56 7. CONCLUSIONS..............................................................................................................59 8. RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................61 REFERENCES......................................................................................................................63 APPENDIX A........................................................................................................................65 DATA COLLECTION LOCATIONS................................................................................. 65 APPENDIX B ........................................................................................................................67 PEAK PERIOD MEAN SPEED AND PEAK HOUR VOLUME.......................................... 67 APPENDIX C........................................................................................................................81 PEAK PERIOD MODAL SPLIT........................................................................................ 81 APPENDIX D........................................................................................................................93 PEAK PERIOD VOLUME & PERSON THROUGHPUT.................................................... 93 APPENDIX E ........................................................................................................................97 HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE (HOV) LANES PUBLIC SURVEY.................................. 97 APPENDIX F.......................................................................................................................101 RESPONDENTS’ COMMENTS...................................................................................... 101 APPENDIX G......................................................................................................................103 PERSONS INVOLVED WITH THE PROJECT................................................................ 103 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Calculation of number of test runs......................................................................................15