Benjamin R Sperry

A Case Study of Induced Trips at Mixed-Use Developments

Conventional thinking suggests that pedestrian-friendly, mixed-land-use developments will contribute to an overall reduction in travel by providing an alternative to automobile travel. However, these elements may serve to increase travel demand by reducing the overall cost of travel—a phenomenon generally known as ‘induced’ travel. To date, most studies of induced travel have focused on aggregate travel patterns, without examining how development patterns may influence peoples trip-making decisions. To fill a void in the empirical research, we examine the potential for induced trip making at mixed-use developments by analyzing data obtained from a survey of travelers at a typical mixed-use site in suburban Dallas, Texas, USA. Our analysis found that during both the morning and afternoon study periods, at least some percentage of internal trips at the case-study site were induced, and not ‘captured’ from the external street network as is typically assumed. Induced trips by land-use pair and travel mode are also reported. Even with the induced trips, a reduction in regional vehicle-miles traveled can still be realized at mixed-use developments sites due to the propensity for those trips to be made on foot. Induced travel also has implications for the development of traffic-impact studies for proposed mixed-use sites, which generally assume that all internal trips are replacing external trips. Planners, policy makers, politicians, and other stakeholders exploring mixed-use developments as a land-use solution to urban traffic congestion and air-quality issues are encouraged to consider the implications of induced travel in the mixed-use environment.

Methodology to Gather Multimodal Trip Generation Data in Smart-Growth Areas

This study presents a method to quantify multimodal trip generation for developments in smart-growth areas. The technique combines door counts and intercept surveys to classify trips by mode, and it has several advantages over existing methods that use automated technologies to count automobiles entering and exiting access points to developments. These advantages are particularly important in urban areas with mixed-use developments, mixed-use buildings, and a variety of parking arrangements. First, door counts quantify the total number of trips generated by all modes. Second, door counts quantify all people traveling to and from particular land uses, even if a targeted use is part of a larger, mixed-use building. Third, intercept surveys differentiate between people who are walking for an entire trip and people who are walking as a secondary mode to or from parking or transit. The method was applied at 30 smart-growth study locations in California. Multimodal person trips and vehicle trips were documented at 24 of the study locations during the morning peak hour and at 27 study locations during the afternoon peak hour. Weighted averages from these locations show that suburban-based ITE peak hour vehicle trip estimates were 2.3 times higher than actual vehicle trips in the morning and 2.4 times higher than those in the afternoon. Total person trip generation at the smart-growth study locations was similar to the total person trips estimated from ITE data; however, larger shares of person trips at the smart-growth locations were made by walking, bicycling, or public transit.

Train Stop Scheduling in a High-Speed Rail Network by Utilizing a Two-Stage Approach

Among the most commonly used methods of scheduling train stops are practical experience and various “one-step” optimal models. These methods face problems of direct transferability and computational complexity when considering a large-scale high-speed rail (HSR) network such as the one in China. This paper introduces a two-stage approach for train stop scheduling with a goal of efficiently organizing passenger traffic into a rational train stop pattern combination while retaining features of regularity, connectivity, and rapidity (RCR). Based on a three-level station classification definition, a mixed integer programming model and a train operating tactics descriptive model along with the computing algorithm are developed and presented for the two stages. A real-world numerical example is presented using the Chinese HSR network as the setting. The performance of the train stop schedule and the applicability of the proposed approach are evaluated from the perspective of maintaining RCR.

Operational Impacts of Using Restricted Passenger Flow Assignment in High-Speed Train Stop Scheduling Problem

One key decision basis to the train stop scheduling process is the passenger flow assignment, that is, the estimated passengers’ travel path choices from origins to destinations. Many existing assignment approaches are stochastic in nature, which causes unbalanced problems such as low efficiency in train capacity occupancy or an irrational distribution of transfer passengers among stations. The purpose of this paper is to propose a train stop scheduling approach. It combines a passenger flow assignment procedure that routes passenger travel paths freely within a train network and is particularly capable of incorporating additional restrictions on generating travel paths that better resemble the rail planner’s purpose of utilizing capacity resources by introducing four criteria to define the feasibility of travel path used by a traveler. Our approach also aims at ensuring connectivity and rapidity, the two essential characteristics of train service increasingly required by modern high-speed rails. The effectiveness of our approach is tested using the Chinese high-speed rail network as a real-world example. It works well in finding a train stop schedule of good quality whose operational indicators dominate those of an existing stochastic approach. The paper concludes with a comprehensive operational impact analysis, further demonstrating the value of our proposed approach.

Intercity Passenger Rail Access to Airports: Case Study in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The increased demand for air travel and diminishing airport capacity, coupled with a new role for passenger rail in intercity corridors across the United States, have renewed interest in the development of intermodal connections between airports and intercity passenger rail among transportation planners and policy makers. As a result, there is a need for a better understanding of who might be using such connections and how the connections might support intermodal travel activities. This paper examines the characteristics of passengers using the airport–intercity passenger rail interface at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, airport—one of only four such direct connections currently in existence in the United States. In addition to providing a sustainable alternative to automobile ground access trips to the airport, intercity passenger rail at the Milwaukee airport has expanded the airports market area well into the Chicago, Illinois, region, approximately 80 mi to the south. The findings indicate that passengers value the convenience and reliability of the service in choosing intercity passenger rail to access the airport. Airport and intercity passenger rail planners are encouraged to consider the findings of this paper in planning activities for future airport–intercity passenger rail interfaces.

Guidebook on Pedestrian Crossings of Public Transit Rail Services

This report presents a wide array of engineering treatments to improve pedestrian safety for three types of public transit rail services: light rail, commuter rail, and streetcar. The Guidebook is a resource that addresses key pedestrian safety issues associated with public transit rail services; presents pedestrian crossing issues associated with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Americans with Disabilities Act; summarizes readily available decision flowcharts used to make decisions regarding pedestrian treatments at rail crossings; presents information for 34 pedestrian treatments used at rail crossings, grouped into eight appropriate categories; and includes four case studies that examine specific decisions with respect to pedestrian- rail crossings.

Development of Multicriteria Decision Method for Evaluating High-Speed Rail Corridor

Projects for high-speed intercity passenger rail are complex and require many years of planning and environmental activities before construction can begin. Given the complexity of planning and environmental reviews associated with planning a high-speed intercity passenger rail corridor, a systematic approach for high-level screening of various alternative routings for proposed high-speed rail corridors is desirable. In this context, a multicriteria decision-making framework was proposed to assist planners of high-speed rail with the preliminary screening and ranking of potential high-speed rail corridors. The proposed framework was applied to the question of ranking 13 alternative routings for connecting the South Central and Gulf Coast federally designated highspeed rail corridors located in Texas. Attributes that were incorporated into the decision framework include population, travel demand, capital costs, land use and environmental impacts, and engineering suitability. Although the developed framework cannot be used to replace the environmental review process and formal alternatives analysis completely, it can be used by planners as a tool for preliminary screening or ranking of proposed high-speed rail corridors for detailed analysis.

Economic Impacts of Amtrak Intercity Passenger Rail Service in Michigan: Community-Level Analysis

Amtrak operates three trains on routes in Michigan: the Wolverine, the Blue Water, and the Pere Marquette. Using the methodology established in the 2009 Michigan Passenger Rail Station Community Benefits Study, this study considered the economic impacts of Michigan Amtrak service in the 22 communities served by these routes. Results from the 2009 study were updated to reflect current ridership and ticket revenue data, as well as findings from passenger surveys conducted in spring 2011. Considering individual traveler savings, passenger spending at local businesses, and Amtrak-related expenditures, Amtrak service generated an estimated economic impact to the state of Michigan in excess of

Current Issues in Highway–Rail Grade Crossing Hazard-Ranking and Project Development

45.8 million in 2011. The average economic impact (excluding Amtrak expenditures) was

Development of Improved Trip Attraction Rates for Small and Medium-Sized Travel Demand Models

37.87 per passenger. Every